It's a series progression that no one may have seen coming—the St. Louis Blues have tied their first-round series with the Western Conference top seed, the Presidents' Trophy-winning Winnipeg Jets, at two games each after St. Louis fell behind in the first two games in Winnipeg.
This unlikely resurgence was spurred by Pavel Buchnevich's hat trick in Game 3, which ended up being a dominant 7-2 St. Louis win. Perhaps it was because Game 2 ended so drastically close, a 2-1 Jets win north of the US border. Also having a night in that game was Blues D Cam Fowler, who became the first defenseman in franchise history to register 5 points in a single playoff game, adding 1 goal and 4 assists for 1st star of the game honors. Buchnevich, for his troubles, had 4 total points, 3 goals and a helper of his own, and even the Blues' best player, Robert Thomas, had his own 4-point night. Thomas had his 2nd goal of the series in today's game, the icing on the cake in the Blues' 5-1 victory. That's right- a 2nd straight multi-goal victory over the team with the best regular season record. If St. Louis wins Game 5 in Winnipeg to take an improbable 3-2 series lead, they can punch their ticket to the 2nd round, where they'll face two other Western powerhouses in Dallas or Colorado, their biggest Central Division foes during the regular season.
Buchnevich's hat trick was significant for a couple of reasons. First, he was someone with just one goal in 22 previous postseason games, and he scored that goal just 48 seconds in by coralling the puck in his skates, then onto his stick and into the net, and then he tipped Thomas’ shot for a power-play goal at 3:11 for his 2nd of the game. Buchnevich and Fowler became the first Blues teammates with three points in a period of a playoff game since Al MacInnis and Chris Pronger in Game 3 of the 1998 Western quarter-final against the Kings. As for Fowler, the last time any Blues player in franchise history had at least 4 points in a playoff game? Brian Benning, with 4 points in Game 3 of the team's Norris Division semifinals series against the Toronto Maple Leafs on April 11, 1987, a series the Blues would eventually fall in 6 games.
Now, the series returns to Winnipeg and the raucous Whiteout crowd. Can the St. Louis Blues keep singing by picking up their 3rd straight win in this series? Given the razor-thin 2-1 defeat they took the last time this matchup played at the Canada Life Centre back on April 21, it's possible. Or will the Jets use home ice advantage and look to send St. Louis packing in Game 6 down in the Lou at the Enterprise Center? And of course, which Western Conference and Central Division foe stands in their way next if they pull up this all-time 1st round upset? Stay tuned, and get ready to play "Gloria" again if St. Louis pulls this one out!