The vibes were high, the crowd was loud, the colour was white.
And the home team got the win.
Entering the game with an NHL-best 116 points in 82 games, the Winnipeg Jets came out and took the first game of the opening round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs by a 5-3 final over the eighth-seed St. Louis Blues.
The Saturday night affair was the first scheduled game of the playoffs for any team, and it most certainly did not disappoint.
Kyle Connor scored the winner with just 1:36 remaining off a cross-ice pass from Mark Scheifele, while Connor Hellebuyck turned aside 14 of the 17 shots he faced for his first win of the playoffs.
A chaotic first period saw four total goals scored, two per team.
It was an up and down first period for trade deadline acquisition Luke Schenn. He was in the box to see the Blues score the game’s opening goal, on a play that left Robert Thomas all alone in the high slot. He didn’t miss, and beat Connor Hellebuyck just 39 seconds into the interference minor.
After Scheifele scored a power play goal just moments into a Jake Neighbours slashing call, Schenn set Jaret Anderson-Dolan up for a deflection, leading to Winnipeg’s 2-1 lead. His long-range point shot was tipped by both Morgan Barron and Anderson-Dolan, bouncing past Jordan Binnington and into the Blues’ net.
But then, Schenn was victimized on a bad bounce later in the period. He blocked a point shot but couldn’t corral his rebound. It landed directly on the stick of Oskar Sundqvist, who quickly buried up high, past Hellebuyck, making it 2-2 before the period came to a close.
But before the clock his zeros, Neal Pionk found himself in the box for yet another suspicious call. All three of the first period penalties were questionable at best.
Again, the Blues struck, getting their second of the game shortly into the second. It was Jordan Kyrou who put a perfectly-placed wrist shot through traffic and into the net, making it 3-2 just 1:13 into the middle stanza.
Kyrou’s goal was the difference in the period, with St. Louis holding onto a 3-2 lead through 40 minutes of play. Winnipeg outshot the visitors 10-6 in the frame, pulling ahead to a 17-15 lead entering the third period.
Winnipeg tied things up on a gritty goal from first-line fill-in Alex Iafallo midway through the third. A power move from Scheifele behind the net saw Iafallo grab the puck in close and beat Binnington five-hole.
Then, with just 1:36 remaining, Connor blasted his first of the postseason into the net – a goal that proved to be the game-winner. Once again, it was Scheifele who picked up the primary assist, helping the Jets to the 4-3 advantage.
Adam Lowry got the insurance marker, banking a missed Mason Appleton dump in into the empty net, sealing the deal on a Game 1 victory.
Some minor fisticuffs ensued, but it was the Jets that came out on top 5-3.
Game 2 goes on Monday night, with the Jets and Blues facing off at 6:30 PM central time. The game will be aired live on Sportsnet.
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