ESPN News Services
May 4, 2025, 09:24 PM ET
WINNIPEG, Manitoba -- Trailing 3-1 in the third period of Game 7, with their season on the line, the top-seeded Winnipeg Jets rallied to stun the St. Louis Blues in overtime, 4-3, securing a victory Sunday night in their dramatic first-round series.
The Jets forced the extra session with two goals in the final two minutes of regulation. Vladislav Namestnikov scored his second of the series at the 18:04 mark, and Cole Perfetti's deflection past St. Louis goaltender Jordan Binnington with three seconds remaining sent the crowd into a frenzy, before captain Adam Lowry completed the rally with a goal in the second overtime frame.
Winnipeg -- which won the Presidents' Trophy this season, the award handed out to the NHL's top regular-season team -- moves on to meet the Dallas Stars in Round 2, while the Vegas Golden Knights will take on the Edmonton Oilers in the other Western Conference semifinal series.
The Jets did not make it easy on themselves. Playing without injured star forward Mark Scheifele, the No. 1 seed Jets often looked lifeless for crucial stretches of the first two periods, and goaltender Connor Hellebuyck continued his inconsistent postseason play, allowing two first-period goals, and a third with just 35 seconds left in the second period.
"We came out real nervous in that first period, and they got two quick goals," Jets coach Scott Arniel said in his rinkside, postgame interview on TBS. "But we just kept telling the guys, 'stay in it, stay in it.'"
The Jets clearly missed Scheifele, who left Game 5 after the first period with an undisclosed injury after taking a pair of big hits and was absent from the Blues' 5-2 win Friday in St. Louis. The center had two goals and four assists in five games this series.
"This crowd at home, obviously, they are our seventh man, they set the tone for us," Arniel said, making reference to how the team fared without their best offensive player. "But all year long, we've had 'next man up, next man up.' We did it again tonight."
Jordan Kyrou, Mathieu Joseph and Radek Faksa scored for the Blues, who rallied behind coach Jim Montgomery, a midseason addition, just to squeeze into the Western Conference playoffs with the final spot.
The win keeps up hope that the Presidents' Trophy curse may someday be undone. The award, handed out to the league's top regular-season team, hasn't landed in the hands of an eventual Stanley Cup champion since the 2012-13 season, when the Chicago Blackhawks won both trophies.
The home team won every game in this first-round series, which was the first of the NHL's eight to begin, and the last one to end. Round 2 begins Monday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
