The vibes were high, the crowd was loud, the colour was white. Photo by Scott Stroh [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/53aff5d0-9b00-428d-a4f0-d6a69fdcd2c0.jpeg] Photo by Scott Stroh And the home team got the win. Entering the game with an NHL-best 116 points in 82 games, the Winnipeg Jets came out and took the first game of the opening round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs by a 5-3 final over the eighth-seed St. Louis Blues. The Saturday night affair was the first scheduled game of the playoffs for any team, and it most certainly did not disappoint. Kyle Connor scored the winner with just 1:36 remaining off a cross-ice pass from Mark Scheifele, while Connor Hellebuyck turned aside 14 of the 17 shots he faced for his first win of the playoffs. A chaotic first period saw four total goals scored, two per team. It was an up and down first period for trade deadline acquisition Luke Schenn. He was in the box to see the Blues score the game's opening goal, on a play that left Robert Thomas all alone in the high slot. He didn't miss, and beat Connor Hellebuyck just 39 seconds into the interference minor. After Scheifele scored a power play goal just moments into a Jake Neighbours slashing call, Schenn set Jaret Anderson-Dolan up for a deflection, leading to Winnipeg's 2-1 lead. His long-range point shot was tipped by both Morgan Barron and Anderson-Dolan, bouncing past Jordan Binnington and into the Blues' net. But then, Schenn was victimized on a bad bounce later in the period. He blocked a point shot but couldn't corral his rebound. It landed directly on the stick of Oskar Sundqvist, who quickly buried up high, past Hellebuyck, making it 2-2 before the period came to a close. But before the clock his zeros, Neal Pionk found himself in the box for yet another suspicious call. All three of the first period penalties were questionable at best. Again, the Blues struck, getting their second of the game shortly into the second. It was Jordan Kyrou who put a perfectly-placed wrist shot through traffic and into the net, making it 3-2 just 1:13 into the middle stanza. Kyrou's goal was the difference in the period, with St. Louis holding onto a 3-2 lead through 40 minutes of play. Winnipeg outshot the visitors 10-6 in the frame, pulling ahead to a 17-15 lead entering the third period. “I’m just only speaking about our team, I just thought we were a little bit sloppy. Hesitant at times," head coach Scott Arniel said. "We didn’t execute very well. And I think, first game, there’s a lot of pressure. But then we calmed down and got back to doing what we do.” Winnipeg tied things up on a gritty goal from first-line fill-in Alex Iafallo midway through the third. A power move from Scheifele behind the net saw Iafallo grab the puck in close and beat Binnington five-hole. Then, with just 1:36 remaining, Connor blasted his first of the postseason into the net - a goal that proved to be the game-winner. Once again, it was Scheifele who picked up the primary assist, helping the Jets to the 4-3 advantage. "Oh it’s amazing," Scheifele said of Connor. "All I want to do is put the puck in his hands and he does some fantastic things. Like I said before, I’m lucky to play with him. He’s absolutely fantastic, he shoots the puck fantastic, he does so many little things fantastic. Like I said a million times, he’s amazing to play with." His coach had his own opinion of the play, which related more to the mechanics leading to the setup. “We caught them on an icing. That helped," Arniel said. "Obviously a big faceoff win. It wasn’t a clean win, but KC came off the wall to help get a piece of that - and it starts there. We had a faceoff play on. You don’t always get away with them, but the whole sequence of it was executed perfectly.” With his assist to Connor, Scheifele became the Thrashers/Jets' all-time leading scorer in postseason games with 40 points. "Yeah, it’s obviously really cool," he said of the milestone. "Obviously, it’s cool. To do it in front of the fans tonight was pretty special. That was a fun game to be a part of, just had a fun time." Winnipeg shut down the Blues the entire third period. As a matter of fact, the Jets allowed just two shots on goal in the final 20 minutes, and one goal in the final 38 minutes. “I thought we just continued with our details, continued putting the pressure on and getting the puck deep and not turning it over in the right areas," Hellebuyck said of his team's defensive efforts. "When we’re holding the puck the whole time it makes it like that.” Adam Lowry got the insurance marker, banking a missed Mason Appleton dump in into the empty net, sealing the deal on a Game 1 victory. "They're a great forechecking team," Lowry said of the Blues. "I think that's part of their M.O. They attack off the rush, they hit that second wave and try to turn over pucks on the forecheck. They've got some real physical guys up front. I think just trying to bring everyone into the fight. I'm not sure if it was necessarily their game plan or not. I thought we did a pretty good job of matching it, mitigating it and kind of settling into our style." Some minor fisticuffs ensued, but it was the Jets that came out on top 5-3. Game 2 goes on Monday night, with the Jets and Blues facing off at 6:30 PM central time. The game will be aired live on Sportsnet.
