Well, Winnipeg Jets fans, you survived. The injuries, the goaltending questions, the defensive questions, two quick goals against in Game 7, all of it. They pulled through and have a date with the Dallas Stars in Round 2 thanks to a 4-3 double overtime victory over the St. Louis Blues on Sunday night.
Related: Adam Lowry the Overtime Hero as Jets Down Blues 4-3 in Game 7
Much like Saturday night in Dallas, it was a storybook ending for the Jets. Down 3-1 after 40 minutes, they needed a full 19 minutes and 59 seconds to force overtime. After that, it took 36 more minutes for captain Adam Lowry to send the Winnipeg faithful into a frenzy and the Jets into Round 2.
Here are three takeaways from the night that was at Canada Life Centre in Winnipeg.
Not the Start the Jets Wanted, But the Ending They Needed
We all knew the narrative heading into Game 7: Connor Hellebuyck can’t be depended on in the playoffs, and his team will self-destruct when he lets in a bad goal, but the home team has won every game in this series, so maybe they’ll be ok.
The Jets had a bad habit of falling behind early in this series, and it was no different on Sunday night. With those narratives fresh in everyone’s minds, the Blues were up 2-0 less than eight minutes into the game and outshot the Jets 7-3 in the first period. The second goal, in particular, was shaky, and as the night wore on, it didn’t seem like the Jets had what it took to get it done. The Blues did a terrific job at limiting quality chances on goaltender Jordan Binnington, and with every shot the Blues took against Hellebuyck, the Winnipeg faithful held their collective breath.
The Jets picked up their game a little bit in the second, but the Blues still seemed to have control. Cole Perfetti tipped in a power-play goal halfway through the period to get the Jets back into the game, and the momentum slowly began to shift toward the home team. Then, Radek Faksa took that momentum right back, scoring with just 35 seconds left in the period to restore the Blues’ two-goal lead. Jets fans, maybe I’m wrong. But, when that 3-1 goal went in, I thought the game was over, and it was, almost.
Win or lose, the third period would tell us everything we needed to know about Winnipeg. The Blues had the Jets’ number all series when playing with a lead, and it would take everything they had to get to overtime, let alone win the series. The Jets outshot the Blues 15-4 in the final frame, yet the Blues seemed relatively in control as the period went on. However, at 18:04 of the third period, Vladislav Namestnikov injected new hope into the Canada Life Centre with what looked like a harmless shot from the bottom of the right circle. Then, Cole Perfetti tipped in the game-tying goal with 1.6 seconds left on the clock to send the game into overtime. That goal, by the way, was the latest goal to ever be scored in Stanley Cup Playoff history.
After that goal, something snapped in the Jets. Winnipeg dominated for most of the two overtime periods, and whatever control the Blues had throughout the game was gone when the puck dropped at the start of the fourth period. Finally, with less than four minutes left in the second overtime, Lowry deflected the game-winning goal to complete the epic comeback that will be remembered for a long, long time.
The Jets were criticized a lot in the opening round, and I don’t mean to add to it. However, there is nothing that we saw from the previous six games that told us the Jets were capable of that Game 7 victory. Sure, they came back at the end of Game 1, but the context was different. When the Blues won, they beat the Jets down, but on Sunday night, the Jets proved they have the resilience they need to go on a deep run.
Cole Perfetti Continues Breakout Season for Jets
Perfetti has been a polarizing figure in Winnipeg. He’s had a hard time staying on the ice consistently, whether it’s because of his play, his coach’s lack of faith in him, or both. In 2022-23, Perfetti had eight goals and 30 points in 51 games. In 2023-24, he had 19 goals and 38 points in 71 games. This season, he had 18 goals and 50 points and played in all 82 games. The fact that he played every single game without being scratched must have done wonders for his confidence, and that confidence carried into the playoffs.
It was Perfetti’s goal that got the Jets on the board, and it was his second goal of the game and third of the series that sent the Jets to overtime. With Mark Scheifele out of the lineup due to injury, someone needed to step up, and Perfetti was that someone.
Total Team Effort in Winnipeg
Nikolaj Ehlers missed the first five games of the series before coming back for Games 6 and 7, but the Jets lost Scheifele for the final two games of the series. Defenseman Logan Stanley was ruled out on Sunday, and Haydn Fleury dressed for his second game of the postseason. On top of that, star D-man Josh Morrissey played only two minutes in Game 7, leaving the Jets with five defensemen for the remaining 94 minutes of play.
On Sunday, Neal Pionk played 46:15, which is 47% of the game, and had three assists, three shots, four blocked shots, and six hits. Fleury played 33:02, Dylan DeMelo played 36:40, and Dylan Samberg played 44 minutes. It was a total effort on defence, especially from their top pair. Up front, eight forwards played more than 25 minutes, including Kyle Connor, who led the way with 36:08.
It wasn’t a perfect game, but once it was tied and the first overtime started, something clicked for the Jets, and they didn’t look back.
Putting a Bow on Round 1 for Winnipeg
Yes, playoff demons of the past popped up for the Jets in this series. Hellebuyck was leaky, and when he was, the defence was shaky. But when it mattered most, this team showed its true colours. The playoffs are not over, and the demons have not been fully exorcised. However, the Jets survived and now have the chance to continue to prove that they are different from Jets teams of the past. Round 2 against the Dallas Stars starts in Winnipeg on Wednesday night.
