In the Stanley Cup Playoffs, you need to play a full 60 minutes to win. There is no rounding up.
Despite playing a near-flawless opening 58:04, the St. Louis Blues surrendered two late goals against the Winnipeg Jets, and Adam Lowry’s 2OT deflection sent Jets fans into a frenzy and eliminated the Blues in seven games.
Two trends came back to bite the St. Louis Blues at the worst time- poor third periods and lackluster 5-on-6 defense. After a late second period goal by Radek Faksa made it a two-goal game again, the Blues went into preservation mode.
The Jets outshot the Blues 15-4 in the third period, but few were truly high-danger looks.
That changed when goaltender Connor Hellebuyck was pulled.
The Blues were able to ice the puck a couple of times before a Vladislav Namestnikov shot redirected off of a Blue and past Jordan Binnington to cut the lead in half.
The Jets thought they had tied the game with a minute left to play, as a scrum in front of the net looked to have knocked the puck in. However, it remained in Binnington’s equipment and it remained a one-goal game.
Up by one with a minute and change left, the Blues continued to struggle to clear the zone without icing the puck, including Pavel Buchnevich, who looked to have ice to carry the puck out but missing the empty net with under 50 seconds to play.
With the seconds winding down, it looked like the Blues were going to hold the puck in the corner and run out the clock. But, with under five seconds left, the puck got to Nikolaj Ehlers, who fired a pass to Kyle Connor, whose one-timer deflected off of Cole Perfetti’s stick and in the net, tying the game with under two seconds to play.
With such an unprecedented way to lose the lead, it was a surprise to some that overtime lasted as long as it did. The Blues were not without their chances, specifically Nathan Walker firing a shot off the post after a turnover. However, like the third, the Blues spent a lot of time trapped in their zone.
A goal was imminent, and when Lowry’s redirect off of a Neil Pionk shot beat Binnington at 16:10 of the second overtime, it was the Jets’ 19th shot of OT compared to just nine for the Blues.
Much of the discourse coming into Sunday’s tilt was about the goaltending, as Hellebuyck had been pulled three times in three losses.
Hellebuyck was not without his faults, as goals to Mathieu Joseph and Faksa were ones he may want to have back. However, with 26/29 saves, he stayed in the game as the team rallied around him.
Conversely, Binnington, a player who lives for the big game, did all he could by stopping 43/47 Jets shots and extending the game as far as he could. It was four deflected shots that beat him on Sunday.
It’s the late-game net-front defense that failed the Blues in Game 7, and it cost them a date with the Dallas Stars. Doug Armstrong and Alex Steen have a big offseason and decision to face in the next several months, hoping to bring a team with its’ collective heart broken back to the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
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