It’s going to be nothing short of a long and painful offseason for the St. Louis Blues, who were literally 1.8 seconds away from eliminating the President’s Trophy-winning Winnipeg Jets from the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The Jets seized victory from the jaws of defeat, scoring twice in the final two minutes of Game 7 on Sunday night despite having trailed 3-1. Jets team captain Adam Lowry was then credited with the overtime game-winning goal in the second extra session that was required after neither team scored in the opening overtime.
The Jets are now moving on to play the Dallas Stars in the Conference Semi-Final, while the Blues now face a long and likely silent plane ride back to St. Louis.
The Blues’ Season Is Over After They Failed To Protect Their Lead
Things started off about as well as the Blues could have asked for in the opening 20 minutes of play, as they took a quick 2-0 lead thanks to goals from Jordan Kyrou and Mathieu Joseph; Joseph’s goal was a weak short-side shot that Connor Hellebuyck should have stopped.
The Jets got back into the game with a power-play goal from Cole Perfetti midway through the second period, only to have Blues forward Radek Faksa restore the two-goal lead with his first goal of the playoffs late in the period.
The Jets pressed hard for the tying marker, pulling Hellebuyck for an extra attacker and getting goals from Vladislav Namestnikov and the tying goal from Perfetti with 1.8 seconds left.
Neither team scored in the first overtime, requiring another period. Ultimately, the Jets came out on top thanks to Adam Lowry:
ADAM LOWRY IS YOUR #GAME7 DOUBLE OVERTIME HERO!! 🤯
The @NHLJets have punched their ticket to the Second Round of the #StanleyCup Playoffs thanks to their captain's @energizer overtime goal!! pic.twitter.com/x7Fxq5nuHn
— NHL (@NHL)
3 Blues Who Failed To Deliver In Game 7 Double OT Loss to Jets
#1. Robert Thomas
The top offensive force for St. Louis was completely missing from any of the rare high-danger chances that the Blues had during the game.
Thomas appeared in 32:01 of ice time and had exactly zero points; he also managed only a single shot on goal, took a trip to the penalty box, and committed a giveaway.
This was the kind of game that the Blues needed more from Thomas, and he failed to deliver.
#2. Brayden Schenn
The Blues’ captain and their emotional leader failed to make an impact when his club needed it the most.
Not only did he finish the game (which consisted of over 96 total minutes) with zero points, but also managed only a single shot on goal.
He also finished tied for a team-worst -3 rating, having been out of position on three of Winnipeg’s four goals on the night.
#3. Pavel Buchnevich
While Buchnevich may have contributed an assist, he’ll have a hard time forgetting about missing a wide-open net late in regulation that would have sealed a victory for his club.
His shot sailed just over the crossbar, resulting in an icing call and another face-off deep in the St. Louis defensive zone.
Buchnevich also committed four giveaways, the most of any Blues forward.
