After leading the way for the Winnipeg Jets in the regular season, Kyle Connor and Mark Scheifele were at the forefront again to open the Stanley Cup playoffs, with each notching three points in the Jets’ series-opening win against the St. Louis Blues.
They and their teammates will look to keep it going when the Jets host the Blues for Game 2 of their best-of-seven set on Monday.
Connor, who led Winnipeg with 97 points (41 goals, 56 assists) in the regular season, scored the go-ahead goal late in the third period of Saturday’s 5-3 victory in Game 1. He also assisted on Alex Iafallo’s game-tying goal midway through the frame and on Scheifele’s tally that tied the game 1-1 in the first.
Scheifele, who finished second on the team with 87 points (39 goals, 48 assists), earned the primary helpers on both Iafallo’s and Connor’s goals.
“They are just two elite players who see the game so well,” Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck said. “There are guys with a ton of skill and then there are guys who are smart. They kind of have both. And when you put them together, they use both. That’s what makes them so elite together.”
A lot went well for Winnipeg this season to propel the team to the top of the NHL’s overall standings. They owned the second-best home record in the regular season at 30-7-4, trailing only the Los Angeles Kings (31-6-4). They led the NHL with 54 regulation and overtime wins, and their 43 regulation wins were second-most behind the Vegas Golden Knights. The Jets also boasted a league-best plus-86 goal differential while allowing a league-low 191 goals, a 2.32 goals-against average.
But one area the Jets were surprisingly underwhelming was in comeback wins after two periods. Though they only trailed 18 times after 40 minutes, they managed just two wins in those instances, second-fewest in the league. On Saturday, they accomplished the feat for the first time since Feb. 24. Since then, they had lost eight games when trailing after two periods.
The Blues, meanwhile, will be searching for a better effort as they aim to earn a two-game split before the series shifts to St. Louis.
“Tomorrow’s a new day, and it’s going to be a long series,” captain Brayden Schenn said. “Two good teams that play tight defensively and like I said, obviously would have liked to have a better third period, but move on and worry about Game 2, and we’re going to get better.”
That includes getting better at managing their emotions and their sticks. Jake Neighbours, playing in his first playoff game, was called for slashing as he skated back to the bench and Winnipeg scored on the ensuing power play. Zack Bolduc was whistled for cross-checking during a stoppage while the Blues were on the power play.
“We can’t take that penalty in the playoffs,” St. Louis coach Jim Montgomery said. “I do know that. I thought we killed the penalty pretty good. I can’t say it built momentum for them, but it took us from a situation where I thought we were a little bit in control and then we weren’t.”
“A lesson for everyone,” Schenn said.
–Field Level Media
