WINNIPEG, MANITOBA – The Blues put themselves in position to gets its needed road win in its first round series of the Stanley Cup playoffs, but couldn’t hold on to two leads and lost to the Winnipeg Jets 5-3 on Saturday night at Canada Life Centre.
Kyle Connor scored with 1:36 to play after a faceoff following an icing call brought the puck back to the Blues end. Winnipeg added an empty-net goal to clinch it.
The Blues got goals from Robert Thomas, Oskar Sundqvist and Jordan Kyrou and some steady play in goal from Jordan Binnington, who was beat twice on deflections. The Blues couldn’t hold leads of 1-0 and 3-2.
Game 2 of the series is Monday at Canada Life Centre.
The Blues nursed a 3-2 lead until there was 10:42 to go in the third when the puck came from behind the net to Alex Iafallo on the doorstep and he was able to put it around Binnington and inside the far post to tie the game.
The Blues won the special teams battle, killing two of Winnipeg’s three power plays while scoring on two of its. But its offense diminished as the game went on, going from nine shots on goal in the first period to six in the second to just one in the third.
The Blues scored three goals on Connor Hellebuyck, the hands-down favorite for the Vezina Trophy as the best goaltender, in the first 22 minutes of the game, but that was it. They had six shots on goal the rest of the way.
The teams mixed it up with 18.6 seconds to play, with Iafallo going after Jake Neighbours, then the teams did it again with 2.4 seconds to play.
Kyrou breaks the tie
The Blues started the second period on a power play and used it take a 3-2 lead. With the power play winding down, Kyrou took a cross-ice pass from Justin Faulk, skated in on Hellebuyck and, with Sundqvist setting a screen, put it like a return-address label in the top left-hand corner. The last time the Blues made the postseason, Kyrou had seven goals in 12 games in 2022.
Kyrou could have had a second goal, coming in alone on Hellebuyck for one of the few odd-man rushes for either team, but couldn’t get it past Hellebuyck. Kyrou skated back to the bench frustrated, holding his stick crosswise across his helmet.
Kyrou had three shots in the period for the Blues, who as a team had only six. There was more work to do for Binnington, who stopped 10 shots and had to deal with some extended possessions by the Jets in his end of the ice.
Spirit of 2019
Two of the five veterans still with the team from the 2019 Stanley Cup champions, Thomas and Sundqvist, scored in the first period.
Thomas started the scoring on a power play with 11:08 to go in the period. Cam Fowler kept the puck in at the blue line, where it was recovered by Pavel Buchnevich, who got the puck back to Fowler. He then sent a very slow pass cross ice to Thomas, who was so open that the puck, even at a leisurely pace, beat the Winnipeg defense, and he fired it in to make it 1-0.
Thomas closed the regular season with a 12-game point streak, so this extended the streak unofficially to 13 games. Thomas had left the Blues’ final regular-season game in the third period with a leg injury and he sat out Thursday’s practice before returning Friday. It was the fifth postseason goal for Thomas.
Winnipeg got its own power play, on a slashing call against Jake Neighbours, and needed just 16 seconds to tie the game. Mark Scheifele had the puck just above the goal line and was trying to throw the puck in front of the net but it hit the stick of defenseman Ryan Suter and caromed past Binnington and in.
Eighty-four seconds later, Winnipeg went ahead on another deflection, this one on purpose. Luke Schenn, Brayden’s brother, took a shot from the blue line that Morgan Barron deflected, and then Jaret Anderson-Dolan deflected again past Binnington to make it 2-1 with 4:58 to play. Winnipeg fans began chanting “Luke is better.”
Sundqvist got the Blues even with 1:50 to play in the period. Zack Bolduc took a shot that was going wide but got blocked anyway, but the puck came to Sundqvist, who postage stamped it into the top right corner. It was the sixth playoff goal for Sundqvist, who had stints with Detroit and Minnesota between now and 2019. Sundqvist had four goals in the 2019 playoffs.
Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington stops a shot from the Jets’ Cole Perfetti during the first period of their NHL playoff series opener Saturday, April 19, 2025, in Winnipeg.
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St. Louis Blues’ Ryan Suter (22) defends against Winnipeg Jets’ Adam Lowry (17) during first-period NHL hockey playoff first-round action in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Saturday, April 19, 2025. (John Woods/The Canadian Press via AP)
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St. Louis Blues’ Oskar Sundqvist (70) celebrates after his goal against the Winnipeg Jets during first-period NHL hockey playoff first-round action in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Saturday, April 19, 2025. (John Woods/The Canadian Press via AP)
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St. Louis Blues’ Robert Thomas celebrates after his goal against the Winnipeg Jets during first-period NHL hockey playoff first-round action in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Saturday, April 19, 2025. (John Woods/The Canadian Press via AP)
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Winnipeg Jets’ David Gustafsson (19) and St. Louis Blues’ Zack Bolduc (76) collide during first period NHL playoff action in Winnipeg on Saturday, April 19, 2025. (John Woods/The Canadian Press via AP)
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Winnipeg Jets’ Adam Lowry (17) and St. Louis Blues’ Jimmy Snuggerud (21) collide during first period NHL playoff action in Winnipeg on Saturday, April 19, 2025. (John Woods/The Canadian Press via AP)
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Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington stops a shot from the Jets’ Cole Perfetti during the first period of their NHL playoff series opener Saturday, April 19, 2025, in Winnipeg.
JOHN WOODS, The Canadian Press via AP
Winnipeg Jets’ Alex Iafallo (9) looks on as Mark Scheifele’s (55) shot gets past St. Louis Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington (50) during first period NHL playoff action in Winnipeg on Saturday, April 19, 2025. (John Woods/The Canadian Press via AP)
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Winnipeg Jets’ Neal Pionk (4) and St. Louis Blues’ Brayden Schenn (10) collide during first period NHL playoff action in Winnipeg on Saturday, April 19, 2025. (John Woods/The Canadian Press via AP)
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St. Louis Blues’ Cam Fowler (17), Robert Thomas (18), Zack Bolduc (76), Jimmy Snuggerud (21) and Pavel Buchnevich (89) celebrate after Thomas’ goal against the Winnipeg Jets during first-period NHL hockey playoff first-round action in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Saturday, April 19, 2025. (John Woods/The Canadian Press via AP)
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Winnipeg Jets’ Mark Scheifele (55), Alex Iafallo (9), and Cole Perfetti (91) celebrate after Scheifele’s goal against the St. Louis Blues during first-period NHL hockey playoff first-round action in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Saturday, April 19, 2025. (John Woods/The Canadian Press via AP)
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Winnipeg Jets’ Jaret Anderson-Dolan (28) and Morgan Barron (36) celebrate after Barron’s goal against the St. Louis Blues during first-period NHL hockey playoff first-round action in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Saturday, April 19, 2025. (John Woods/The Canadian Press via AP)
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Winnipeg Jets players celebrate Morgan Barron’s (36) goal against the St. Louis Blues during first period NHL playoff action in Winnipeg on Saturday, April 19, 2025. (John Woods/The Canadian Press via AP)
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St. Louis Blues’ Philip Broberg (6), Oskar Sundqvist (70) and Justin Faulk (72) celebrate after Sundqvist’s goal against the Winnipeg Jets during first-period NHL hockey playoff first-round action in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Saturday, April 19, 2025. (John Woods/The Canadian Press via AP)
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Fans celebrate Winnipeg Jets’ Morgan Barron’s goal against the St. Louis Blues during first period NHL playoff action in Winnipeg on Saturday, April 19, 2025. (John Woods/The Canadian Press via AP)
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Winnipeg Jets’ Dylan Samberg (54) breaks away from St. Louis Blues’ Mathieu Joseph (71) during second-period NHL hockey playoff action in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Saturday, April 19, 2025. (John Woods/The Canadian Press via AP)
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Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, second from left, saves a breakaway shot by St. Louis Blues’ Jordan Kyrou (25) during second-period NHL hockey playoff action in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Saturday, April 19, 2025. (John Woods/The Canadian Press via AP)
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St. Louis Blues’ Cam Fowler (17) defends against Winnipeg Jets’ Alex Iafallo (9) as Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington (50) saves a shot during second-period NHL hockey playoff action in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Saturday, April 19, 2025. (John Woods/The Canadian Press via AP)
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St. Louis Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington (50) saves a shot by Winnipeg Jets’ Mason Appleton (22) during second-period NHL hockey playoff action in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Saturday, April 19, 2025. (John Woods/The Canadian Press via AP)
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Winnipeg Jets’ Luke Schenn (5) defends against St. Louis Blues’ Robert Thomas (18) as Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck (37) saves the puck during second-period NHL hockey playoff action in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Saturday, April 19, 2025. (John Woods/The Canadian Press via AP)
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Winnipeg Jets fans Kaev, Gerry, Blaine, Kerrin get warmed up at the White Out Party before the Winnipeg Jets meet the St. Louis Blues in game one of NHL playoff action in Winnipeg on Saturday, April 19, 2025. (John Woods/The Canadian Press via AP)
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Winnipeg Jets fans Eddie, Charlene, Jenna and Erik get warmed up at the White Out Party before the Winnipeg Jets meet the St. Louis Blues in game one of NHL playoff action in Winnipeg on Saturday, April 19, 2025. (John Woods/The Canadian Press via AP)
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Winnipeg Jets fans gather at the White Out Party before the Winnipeg Jets meet the St. Louis Blues in game one of NHL playoff action in Winnipeg on Saturday, April 19, 2025. (John Woods/The Canadian Press via AP)
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