Saint-Louis draws his first blood in series

The Achilles' Heel of the Winnipeg Jets in the regular season was a penchant for the regular season – and the team was still shaken Wednesday night. This time, however, they found themselves face to face in a decisive first game after the season.

Winnipeg dropped a third-period goal lead as the St. Louis Blues won 2-1 in the opening game of the first round of the NHL first round, in front of a hilarious and dressed crowd. from white to Bell MTS Place.

The second match is scheduled for Friday at 20:30. at the downtown arena.

A rocket from Patrik Laine that beat Blues rookie goaltender Jordan Binnington with less than seven minutes to go in the first period was gigantic.

But Blues strikers David Perron and Tyler Bozak both found a jersey behind goalkeeper Connor Hellebuyck in the final quarter, while St. Louis shot first in the best-of-seven series.

The winner of the Bozak match arrived with only 2:05 remaining in the match, an overwhelming end to the hosts who had played defensive sound for two periods. But they ran out of energy in the last phase, while the Blues found a new life. It looked like they had teased the guests with a little string.

Jets captain Blake Wheeler said there were so many positives that it was useless to be too downcast.

"It was really good, the crowd was in. I thought everything was fine, they played one more piece than us," he said. "We have tried to be physical throughout the competition, we are a great team, we ski well and want to try to take time and space.

"They made a couple (in the third), we'd like to clean that up, but our goalkeeper made big saves, obviously they won that time."

Nine times during the regular season, the Jets led after 40 minutes, only to let slip a win. It was tied with the Florida Panthers for most league players.

The equalizer and winners came on the ability of the Blues to finally enter the Jets area with authority. The goal of Perron was the result of a defeat of Andrew Copp during the faceoff in the defensive zone, while Bozak escaped a sloppy cover and ended a black thread of Patrick Maroon .

"The first five minutes of this second and probably half of the third period, we did not go to the neutral zone with speed or patience," said Jets head coach Paul Maurice. "But correctable things and a part of the learning experience that you have to go through."

Neither Hellebuyck nor the man he faced on the ice did face a barrage of shots, but had to be net several times.

Hellebuyck pulled out a glove to strip Bozak of a good opportunity earlier in the third. He finished with 24 saves, which is Binnington's final total.

"It was a difficult and difficult match, just as we expected, our details were good, the majority of the match was good, it could easily have made our way," said Hellebuyck. "But you know, that's the way the shows are, it's just one, it's not four, we'll come back and keep fighting.

"I felt good, I could see it, it's a testimony from the guys in front of me, they were blocking a lot of shots, keeping it out, allowing me to see it. evening and it's unfortunate we did not have it. "

The only flaw in Binnington is the flamboyance of Laine that provoked a frenzy among Jets fans.

Through a number of permutations and combinations, Laine and Bryan Little have found no consistent chemistry since young Finn joined the Jets. But the veteran center made a brilliant play in the blue zone, stopping relentlessly, turning, then finding Laine in full cruise.

Laine, who is arguably the most committed forward of the Jets, broke the ball in six games. He had only one goal in his last 19 games before Wednesday.

But he was more concerned about the need for his team to clean up his game late in the games.

"Yes, it's always hard to lose the game in the third, so that should be our goal in the future, focus on the third periods and not always give up," said Laine.

"We had some goals where they scored the winning goal in the last two minutes, so it's still difficult, but that's the way it's going sometimes." We still had two minutes to tie the game. match, but we did not succeed, we need to focus on the next game. "

The Blues resumed their season after Christmas and were one of the best teams in the league in the second half, generating success with a neat defensive plan and a quick score.

But the Jets removed one page from their game book for two periods, severely limiting the Blues' ability to retain possession of their lands in Winnipeg and creating quality opportunities.

"Very tight, and that's what we expect," Wheeler said. "We expect that there will be seven (seven) matches and seven real close games, and that did not happen like us tonight."

Winnipeg's larger bodies also used their stature to hammer the Blues along the wall. Dustin Byfuglien's Blue Lineres, Tyler Myers and Ben Chiarot all dug hard shots in the first 20 minutes, and hosts led 36-21 in the hit department at the final whistle.

The killers of Winnipeg had a great night, erasing an opportunity to play power Blues in the first period and two more in the second period.

The Jets could not take advantage of their only power play opportunity later in the second period, although Byfuglien rattled a post.

The first solid blow of the game? An improbable delivery man and an even more improbable recipient. Barely 34 seconds into the match, Scheifele broke into the net, slid past the right post and bumped into Binnington, who rushed to the back of the cage.

The top scorer in Winnipeg (38) in the regular season was called a minor, but had to face Brayden Schenn first.

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Twitter: @WFPJasonBell