The Winnipeg Jets will have a chance to close out the St. Louis Blues on Friday night.

Thanks to a 5-3 home victory over the Blues in Game 5, Winnipeg has taken a 3-2 series lead in its first round matchup with fellow Central Division opponent, St. Louis.

Kyle Connor scored and had two assists, Mason Appleton had three helpers, while Connor Hellebuyck made 16 saves on the night, but the bigger storyline was that of the health of top line centre Mark Scheifele.

As has been the case all series, the Jets' alternate captain was targeted shift-after-shift with heavy contact - most notably an interference call on Brayden Schenn in the first period. He played out the full 20 minutes of the opening frame, but did not return for the second or third periods. 

“Really proud of the effort," captain Adam Lowry said. "Sometimes when you lose your No. 1 centre, you lose a key piece to your lineup there can be a bit of a sag, an emotional letdown. But you know, I thought the guys really rallied around it. Coming in the intermission and finding out he’s not coming back, guys were upbeat. Guys needed to step up."

Getting Gabe Vilardi back on the top line after a lengthy injury absence proved beneficial for Winnipeg, which found a way to pick up its first victory after losing in a playoff series since 2019. But it came at the cost of Scheifele. 

The first period had a little bit of everything in it. Winnipeg began quickly, scoring on its first shift. Mason Appleton kicked the puck to Scheifele, who found Connor all alone in front of the Blues' net. He buried his fourth of the series past Jordan Binnington, giving the Jets a 1-0 lead just 1:23 in.

But St. Louis responded quickly, getting one right back from Nathan Walker. Following their script from the first four games, the Blues clogged up the slot and used multiple point shots to find a way to beat Hellebuyck. It was Nathan Walker who redirected a Colton Parayko shot 3:42 in, tying the game at ones.

But Winnipeg got it back before the period ended, with Niederreiter redirecting a goal of his own past Binnington 8:38 in. Neal Pionk got the puck to Dylan Samberg, whose wrist shot bounced perfectly off Niederreiter's stick and into the net.

The opening frame also had multiple mini scuffles, an embellishment penalty, a handful of unsuccessful power plays, a huge paddle stop from Hellebuyck and the heavy, high hit on Scheifele from Luke Schenn's little brother.

When the Jets hit the ice for the second period, Scheifele was not with his teammates. 

“I didn’t really re-watch the hit, but there are some times that he gets away with some higher hits," Appleton said of Schenn's hit. "Whether he left his feet on that one or not, I can’t say that I saw the replay. But at the end of the day, you just hope that fives is alright.”

Making matters worse, Jimmy Snuggerud scored a weak goal to tie the game up at two for the Blues. Walking in down Hellebuyck's left side, Snuggerud put home a soft wrist shot that dribbled by the Vezina Trophy finalist 6:06 in.

But then it was back-to-back Jets goals that gave the home team a two-goal lead. 

First, it was Dylan DeMelo who restored Winnipeg's third lead of the game, banking a wrist shot off Parayko and into the net. Then, with just 1:09 to play, Vlad Namestnikov put Connor's pass into the net on a strong net drive, scoring with just 1:09 to play in the second - a period the Jets dominated by way of 12 shots to St. Louis' four. 

Winnipeg shut down the Blues' attack for the remainder of the game, even down a man with Binnington on the bench for the extra attacker. Adam Lowry sealed it with an empty net strike with 3:13 to play, sending Canada Life Centre into an uproar. 

Hellebuyck finished the night with 16 saves on the 19 Blues shots he faced, while Binnington turned aside 21 of Winnipeg's 25 pucks fired his way.

“My view was great," Appleton said of Hellebuyck's best stop of the game - and series. "I saw an empty net and then all of a sudden a stick comes in and saves it. It’s one of those saves that Bucky wows you with. He has a tendency to do things like that. That’s why he’s the best goalie in the world. That was an absolutely insane save and it kind of flipped the momentum of the game there.” 

The series will now return to St. Louis on Friday for Game 6. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 PM central time.