It wasn't all smooth sailing for the Winnipeg Jets in Game 1, but they stuck to their game plan and found a way to pick up a vital win.
It was rocky at first, with the St. Louis Blues opening the scoring courtesy of their leading scorer, Robert Thomas. The Jets answered back with goals from Mark Scheifele and Jaret Anderson-Dolan before they coughed up the lead, allowing two unanswered goals.
The Jets sticking to their brand of hockey paid off in the third, with goals from Alex Iafallo to tie it and Kyle Connor to retake the lead.
The Jets outshot the Blues 26-17, holding them to just two shots in the final frame. It wasn't a great game from Connor Hellebuyck, beat cleanly on three separate occasions, but the Jets limited the Blues' opportunity, and it's exactly what HC Scott Arniel wanted.
"I thought the first period we looked real nervous," said Arniel. "Just kinda trying to find our way, kept going and built it up in the second, but then stuck with it and really played well in the third."
The Jets were outshot in the first period, 9-7, before responding by outshooting the Blues 10-6 and 9-2 in the middle and final frames.
"Our third period was Winnipeg Jets hockey," Connor told Sportsnet's Scott Oake. "We limited their chances, and I thought we did a great job of coming back and defending and turning those into offensive-zone shifts."
Connor and Scheifele stepped up, something they'll need to continue to do. Depth scoring is vital to overall success, but teams won't go very far in the playoffs if their best players aren't performing like their best players.
"I thought tonight was a perfect example of our stars being our stars," said captain Adam Lowry about Connor and Scheifele's performance.
The Jets won't be able to score five goals on Jordan Binnington and the Blues each game, so they'll need more out of Hellebuyck than what they received tonight. If they stay the course and do what Arniel asks of them, the Jets will continue to be the toughest team to defeat in the NHL.
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Jets Battle Back for 5-3 Win in Game 1 vs. Blues
The vibes were high, the crowd was loud, the colour was white.