Lowry scores late in 2OT to rally
Jets to 4-3 win over Blues in Game 7 to advance to 2nd round
[May 05, 2025]
WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) — Adam Lowry scored on a tipped shot
16:10 into the second overtime and the Winnipeg Jets rallied to beat
the St. Louis Blues 4-3 on Sunday night to advance to the second
round of the NHL playoffs.
Cole Perfetti had two goals, Vladislav Namestnikov also scored, and
Kyle Connor and Neal Pionk each had three assists for Winnipeg,
which scored twice in the final two minutes of regulation to tie the
score. Connor Hellebuyck finished with 26 saves.
Lowry deflected Pionk's shot from the right point late in the second
overtime to end the third-longest Game 7 in NHL history at 96:10.
“It’s incredibly special,” Lowry said. “I probably dreamt it was a
little nicer than just going off my leg, but it’s one of those
things, on the outdoor rink, in the driveway, you dream about being
the hero in a Game 7 and giving yourself a chance to continue
chasing a Stanley Cup."
The Jets will next face the Dallas Stars starting Wednesday at home
in the teams' first postseason meeting.
Jordan Kyrou, Mathieu Joseph and Radek Faksa scored for the Blues.
Jordan Binnington had 43 saves.
Winnipeg won the franchise’s first Presidents’ Trophy after having a
league-best 56-22-4 regular-season record and were the favorites
against the eighth-seeded Blues. They needed a late comeback to
avoid getting knocked out in the first round for a third straight
year.
“To lose in those first rounds, those were heartbreaking,” said Jets
first-year coach Scott Arniel, who was the club’s associate coach
the previous two seasons. “Last year, obviously with the season we
had (52 wins), to do it this year we didn’t want to go out. That was
one of the messages I said to these guys, ‘Bring your best game
forward and have no regrets.’ And that’s what it was all about.”
Winnipeg was down 3-1 in the third period when Namestnikov scored
with 1:56 remaining after his shot went in off Blues defenseman Ryan
Suter.
With Hellebuyck pulled for an extra skater, Winnipeg appeared to
tied it up 50 seconds later, but a review ruled the puck didn’t
cross the goal line.
Perfetti then scored his second redirected goal of the game with 3
seconds remaining to lift 15,225 frenzied white-clad fans out of
their seats inside Canada Life Centre.
“Even down 3-1, there was no doubt,” Perfetti said. “We had belief
in one another and belief that we were going to come back. I’m just
so proud of this group and so proud to be a part of it.”
Winnipeg went on the power play 6:20 into the first overtime when
St. Louis captain Brayden Schenn was called for delay of game. The
Jets tried to pound the puck in the crease, but Binnington covered
it. He also stopped Nikolaj Ehlers on a breakaway.
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Winnipeg Jets' Cole Perfetti (91) celebrates after his goal with
teammates to tie the St. Louis Blues during during the third period
of Game 7 in an NHL hockey first-round playoff series in Winnipeg,
Manitoba, Sunday, May 4, 2025. (Fred Greenslade/The Canadian Press
via AP)
The Jets were without star center Mark Scheifele
(upper body injury) for the second straight game and then lost top
defenseman Josh Morrissey about eight minutes into the first period.
“To play this long of a game with five defensemen, it’s pretty
incredible,” Ehlers said. “So hats off to those guys. They stuck
with it.”
The home team won each game in this series.
Kyrou scored on the Blues' first shot of the game at 1:10 of the
first period after he and Colton Parayko went on the rush. It marked
the fastest goal to begin a Game 7 in Blues’ history.
Joseph made it 2-0 after picking up a loose puck dropped by Connor
in the neutral zone. Using Morrissey as a screen, Joseph sent a
wrist shot past Hellebuyck on the stick side at 7:16.
Morrissey went to the dressing soon after the goal. Earlier in the
game, he got hit into the boards by Blues forward Oskar Sundqvist
and appeared to be in pain as he sat on the bench. He didn’t return.
The Jets missed on a couple chances early in the second period, but
got the game’s first power play and quickly made it count. Seven
seconds after Sundqvist was called for slashing, Connor sent the
puck toward Perfetti at the side of the net and Perfetti redirected
it by Binnington with 8:19 remaining.
St. Louis regained a two-goal lead after Ehlers lost the puck and
Faksa beat Hellebuyck high over his glove with 34.1 seconds left in
the second.
The Winnipeg/Atlanta Thrashers franchise is now 2-8 all-time when
facing elimination. The other win came in Game 7 of their
second-round series against Nashville in 2018. The original version
of the Jets lost a pair of Game 7s on the road in 1990 and ’92.
St. Louis is now 10-9 in Game 7s.
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