As the series between the St. Louis Blues and Winnipeg Jets shifted back north of the border, anyone expecting a nice, calm game was in for a rude awakening. Things went haywire in the first 90 seconds of the game.
Unfortunately, the Blues didn't get off to a hot start. The Blues killer, Kyle Connor, found a soft spot away from Alexandre Texier and scored at 1:23 to put the whiteout crowd into a frenzy.
St. Louis managed to calm down very quickly, and that translated into a tie game shortly after. It was 1-1 before the four-minute mark when Nathan Walker tipped in a Colton Parayko shot to put it through the five-hole.
Then, it got even crazier. Brayden Schenn was called for interference on a huge hit where the puck barely left the area.
The Blues almost took the lead as they had a two-on-one shorthanded. However, Oskar Sundqvist shot it back towards the pass direction, allowing Connor Hellebuyck to make the save.
Although the Blues would kill the penalty, the Jets would score shortly after. This time, the Blues did not clear the front of the net, and Nino Niederreiter got just enough of a deflection to sneak it past Jordan Binnington for a 2-1 lead.
The Blues came close to tying in the final minute. Colton Parayko had an open look just outside the circle, but Hellebuyck stayed patient and made a pad save to preserve the lead into the intermission.
The second period opened with the Blues taking a penalty. The refs continued to be confusing in this series, calling regular-season penalties in the playoffs when Justin Faulk barely slashed Niederreiter's stick, but he dropped his stick immediately.
The Blues did manage to kill it off again, but the constant special teams play allowed no flow to the game. Both teams did manage to get some back and forth play, but shots were hard to come by.
About six minutes in, the teams traded odd turnovers, and the Blues would take advantage. They gained the offensive zone and found Jimmy Snuggerud on the right wing. A wrist shot from the rookie slipped by Hellebuyck and the post, who had no business letting it in, and it was 2-2.
St. Louis was getting sloppy, though. They didn't get the puck out and were trapped out there for over 90 seconds. Then, a turnover led to a transition rush, and Binnington bailed the Blues out with a big glove save to keep it tied.
That didn't last long, though, as the puck luck kept benefiting the home team. A long shot from the Jets went off the backside of Colton Parayko, and it was 3-2 at 11:05 of the second.
The Blues couldn't muster any offense in the second, despite briefly having it tied up. St. Louis only had three shots in the middle frame and fell down by two goals just before the break. Another lapse in opponent tracking allowed an easy goal from the left side to make it 4-2 after two.
The third period didn't feature much until the very end. The Blues did have a decent push, getting 10 shots on goal, but the Jets were just too good defensively to consider blowing a two-goal lead.
Although the final score would be close, it wasn't that close. The Blues pulled their goaltender with about four minutes left, but Winnipeg scored first as Adam Lowry got the empty-netter to make it 5-2.
Walker got his second playoff goal to make it respectable. A scramble play in front led to a pad save from Hellebuyck, and the Aussie tapped in the rebound to make it 5-3, but that would be the final as the Jets took the 3-2 series lead.
Pro: Fourth line
Congrats to Nathan Walker for getting his first ever career playoff goal. He earned it.
The smallest guy on the ice planted himself in front of the net when the guy with the hardest shot had the puck. He got a great tip on the puck to put it through the legs and tie the game.
Beyond the two goals, the fourth line was simply the most consistent for the Blues. They were solid defensively, punishing physically, and actually generated some of the team's best looks in the first couple of periods.
Now, you can say that's because the Jets were more concerned with all the other lines, but the bottom line is the fourth line was leading by example. Even when they didn't score, you still saw Walker always in front and causing trouble, and all three guys were hitting and blocking shots.
Con: Defensive tracking
Fans will blame the defenders, but the Blues didn't do a good enough job tracking guys as a five-man unit all night. You could pretty much blame the inability to stick with guys for most of the goals.
On the Connor goal, Texier has to either front him or at least be in a position to deny the pass. Nobody else was around, so he was doing nothing when the pass came through.
On the Niederreiter goal, one defender is out near the top of the zone, and the other is on the far side of the net. That left Zach Bolduc as the only man even close. It just wasn't structured very well.
The third goal was just luck, but even before that, the Blues allowed two Jets forwards behind the defense. On the fourth goal, Faulk and Nick Leddy seemed too flat-footed, which allowed the backside to be open for an easy shot on goal.
The forwards bear as much of the blame as the defenders. It just wasn't a clean night.
Con: Officiating again
Listen, this is a personal gripe, not the reason the result went the way it did. However, this has just not been a playoff series in terms of how it's been officiated.
The refs have made soft calls like this was the season's first week. Early in the Toronto series, I saw Anthony Stolarz maul one of the Ottawa Senators and only get called for a penalty once he got away with about five others.
In this series, the Blues and Jets have had near everything called. And then the missed calls are just as baffling. Coming into game 5, the Blues were averaging 27 penalty minutes, and the Jets over 30.
It's been physical, but not nearly physical enough for both teams to be in the box for nearly half a game on average.
Con: Not taking advantage
Overall, the Jets were the better team and deserved to win. However, the Blues simply didn't take advantage of their opportunities to win this game.
Hellebuyck came up with some saves in the third, but for the third game in Winnipeg, he wasn't tested nearly enough. He was shaky again and the Blues couldn't take advantage. I usually defend goalies until I'm blue, but that Snuggerud goal had no business going in whatsoever.
St. Louis won the faceoff battle again, and it led to nothing. Binnington played well enough to win, but the Blues didn't take advantage by playing poor defensive hockey in front of him.
St. Louis had chances to swing the game. Sundqvist has to bury the puck on that two-on-one.
Overview:
Ultimately, the Blues were always going to have to win a game in Winnipeg to win the series, and that still holds true. Unfortunately, that means they must win Game 6 to keep the series alive and then try their luck in a potential Game 7.
I'm not too worried about that, but the Blues have to find a way to have home-ice performances on the road if they're to get anything done. The vast difference in the team we've seen in St. Louis vs. Winnipeg is concerning.
Getting the last change and getting certain matchups isn't an excuse for what we've seen. On the road, the Jets simply shut down the Blues' top three lines, and they rely on their fourth line. At home, the Blues can rely on almost any line regardless of who they're against. There's only a mental difference as an explanation for either team, really.
The second periods in Winnipeg have just been awful. I get the whole long change thing and St. Louis has allowed themselves to be hemmed in their zone too much, but you have to be smart and know that's coming.
Getting three shots on goal is unacceptable. St. Louis was in the offensive zone enough to do at least a little more, and they reverted to east-west passes and low-percentage plays that Winnipeg easily snuffed out.
The Blues still have the series. Hellebuyck is still not the reason the Jets are ahead, and a quick goal for St. Louis in Game 6 can send him right back into a tailspin, but they have to focus.
Crashing the net was still the reason they scored almost every goal, and they just didn't do that enough. Take nothing away from the Jets. They won this game, but the Blues didn't do enough to even make it interesting.
Hopefully we see the Game 3-4 Blues in Game 6 or else it will be an early summer.