It’s all come down to this for the St. Louis Blues and Winnipeg Jets.
One game. Winner take all. Survive and advance.
The Western Conference First Round series concludes with a Game 7 on Sunday at 6 p.m. at Canada Life Centre (FDSNMW, TBS, MAX, CBC, TVAS, SN, ESPN 101.1-FM).
It’s the 200th Game 7 in Stanley Cup playoff history and the winner advances to face the Dallas Stars in the second round after the Stars eliminated the Colorado Avalanche, 4-2 on Saturday in Game 7 of that series. The loser will have its season come to a close.
“It’s about seizing an opportunity for us. We’re in Game 7 of the playoffs,” Blues coach Jim Montgomery said. “It’s what we’ve all dreamed of in that organization, in that locker room together. These are the moments. You don’t think about winning Game 1 when you’re playing in your basement or you’re playing street hockey or your playing knee hockey with your best friend or your brother, whatever the case may be. It’s Game 7, it’s overtime and it’s about us seizing an opportunity. It’s an opportunity that we’ve earned and now we have to go seize it.”
The Blues, who made it a winner-take-all series after a 5-2 win in Game 6 on home ice Friday to extend their winning streak at Enterprise Center to 15 games, are the lone remaining wild card team left in the Stanley Cup playoffs. And they have the last opportunity for a road team to win a game in this series after each has held serve going 3-0 on home ice through six games.
“I think both teams have proven the game that they want to play on their home ice. We’ve done it here, they’ve done it there. Now we have to go in and try to get to that game early,” said Blues defenseman Cam Fowler, who leads all defensemen in scoring with 10 points (two goals, eight assists) in the playoffs and will be playing in his sixth career Game 7. “I think we can take a lot of the things that we’ve done here in our own building and transfer them to Winnipeg. But we know the situation we’re walking into, the team we’re playing against, the season they had, and they play really well on home ice. So we have to get off to a good start, stick to the things that we’ve done well in this series and look at those . Game 7, it’s a great opportunity for both teams, so we’re looking forward to the challenge.”
For the Blues, it’s their first Game 7 since June 12, 2019 when they defeated the Boston Bruins 4-1 to win their first Stanley Cup in franchise history.
“‘Binner’ won it. ‘Binner’ was unreal for us in the first,” said Blues captain Brayden Schenn, who was on the Cup-winning team along with Jordan Binnington, Oskar Sundqvist, Robert Thomas and Colton Parayko. “I’ve played in a couple Game 7s. You’ve got the whole hockey world glued to you and it’s going to be on us on Sunday night and I think both teams look forward to it.
“It’s what you play for. It’s one of those things where you have to have the ability to go enjoy the moment and take your work seriously but enjoy the moment while you’re there. It’s going to be a tough building to play in, we know that, but we feel like we haven’t had our best there yet and we’re looking forward (to it).”
Binnington is 2-0 in his career in Game 7s, both in the ’19 Cup run when he stopped 29 of 30 in the second round against the Stars in a 2-1 double-overtime win on the memorable series-clinching goal by Oakville’s Pat Maroon, and Binnington stopped 32 of 33 shots in the Cup Final against the Bruins.
His goals-against average is 0.82 in Game 7s with a .986 save percentage. Combine that with his performance in the 4 Nations Face-Off title game for Canada against the United States when he stopped 31 of 33 shots in a 3-2 overtime win, he is 3-0 with a 1.18 GAA and .958 save percentage.
“His track record speaks for itself,” Fowler said of Binnington. “He was unbelievable when they won the Cup here. You saw what he could do in the 4 Nations tournament this year as a world-class goaltender, so we have all the trust and faith in him. And his demeanor, too. He’s calm, he’s collected back there.
“[Blues defenseman Philip Broberg] spoke to the way he can move the puck, and how that helps us as D-men. It puts us in a lot of good situations that help us move the puck up the ice. He’s the total package. He’s a huge reason why we are where we are and we’ll continue to lean on him because he’s shown everybody time and time again that he’s world class.”
Montgomery, who was on the receiving end of the Binnington’s performance against the Stars in ’19 when he was coach of Dallas, knows what kind of goalie he has going in a big-stage game.
“Two words that come to mind right away is how calm he is and proven winner,” Montgomery said. “He’s done it, he’s been there, he knows how to not only get himself in the right zone, but also how to give confidence to his team in front of him.”
Montgomery is 1-2 career as an NHL coach in Game 7s, winning his most recent one as coach of the Bruins against the Toronto Maple Leafs in the Eastern Conference First Round last year.
“With my experience, I just think every time you go through it, the more grateful you are for the opportunity,” he said. “The first time you’re going through it, you’re just really excited. I think the experience gives you the knowledge of what to expect, when to expect it, how to handle the peaks and the valleys that are going to naturally happen. Not only within the game but between the days leading up to the game.”
What’s going to be left from two teams that have slugged and slaughtered each other through six games (252 hits for Blues, 249 for Jets)? Who can reach their optimal game first? And can the Blues rattle Jets goalie and Connor Hellebuyck after he was pulled three times in Games 3, 4 and 6?
“I think definitely take momentum from this game, take it with us,” said Blues forward Nathan Walker, who has three goals the past two games. “What has worked, use that to our advantage and obviously try and create our own energy there.”
The Blues are 10-8 all-time in Game 7s and have won four in a row, looking to make it five straight on Sunday.
Fowler and fellow defenseman Ryan Suter lead the way each with five Game 7s played, and Schenn and older brother Luke Schenn, a defenseman for the Jets, will be the first brother combo to oppose each other in a Game 7 since Rob Niedermayer (Anaheim Ducks) and Scott Niedermayer (New Jersey Devils) in the 2003 Cup Final.
The Blues can become the fifth team in NHL history to win at least five consecutive Game 7s, following a foursome that all claimed six in a row: Carolina Hurricanes (2006-2022), New York Rangers (2012-2015), Bruins (1983-1994) and Detroit Red Wings (1949-1964).
Read the full article here