WINNIPEG 鈥� Kyle Connor smiled when asked if he was only scoring game-winners in the playoffs.
鈥淵eah, I鈥檒l take it,鈥� the Winnipeg Jets top winger said Monday after another timely goal.
Connor scored his second consecutive game-winner in the third period and Mark Scheifele had a goal and assist to propel Winnipeg to a 2-1 victory over the St. Louis Blues and a two-game lead in their opening-round playoff series.
It was the first time in three NHL seasons the Jets have started with a 2-0 series lead in the Western Conference best-of-seven contest. The past two years, Winnipeg won the first game and then lost the next four to be eliminated.
Game 3 is Thursday in St. Louis.
Did it provide a mental boost to get over that Game 2 hump?
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know if it鈥檚 a mental boost, but we鈥檙e aware of it coming into it,鈥� Connor said. 鈥淚 think over the past couple of years, this group is motivated.
"We talked about it over the off-season, we preached about it all year, it鈥檚 in this room. Everybody needs to be better, bear down, it鈥檚 dragging everybody into the fight. Yeah it鈥檚 a second win, but we鈥檙e not resting here. We鈥檝e got a long ways to go.鈥�
A fan favourite, his KC initials often spark fans to dress up as Colonel Sanders of KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) fame. One of those fans held a sign inside Canada Life Centre asking for a hockey stick in exchange for a chicken drumstick.
Connor made it 2-1 at 1:43 of the third period after getting a feed out front by Cole Perfetti at the side of the net.
In Winnipeg鈥檚 5-3 victory last Saturday, Connor's goal with 1:36 remaining in the third gave the team a 4-3 lead.
Connor Hellebuyck made 21 saves in front of a full house of 15,225 loud, white-clad fans.
Taking a 2-0 lead in the series wasn鈥檛 cause for celebration by Jets head coach Scott Arniel.
"This is all (about) Game 3 now,鈥� Arniel said. 鈥淲e'll do our post-game work tomorrow or over the next couple of days here. The guys know how hard it is, now.鈥�
Rookie Jimmy Snuggerud scored his first playoff goal and Jordan Binnington stopped 20 shots for eighth-seeded St. Louis.
鈥淲innipeg has made one more play than us. Both games,鈥� Blues head coach Jim Montgomery said. 鈥淪hots are dead even, so they're just making one more play, and their best players are making them.鈥�
Scheifele escaped Blues defenceman Cam Fowler behind the St. Louis net and sent the puck to Perfetti to feed Connor.
鈥淪cheif is so smart when it comes to that, body positioning, getting inside a guy or just making a little poke on the puck,鈥� Perfetti said. 鈥淎nd he was able to get the guy's stick and then make just a little poke. That was all that he needed for the puck to come to me and create that little bit of space.鈥�
The Blues continued their hitting ways from the first game鈥檚 loss and the Jets didn鈥檛 back down.
Within the first minute of Monday鈥檚 tilt, St. Louis skaters delivered five hits. Winnipeg responded with a pair of their own.
Six-foot-seven Jets defenceman Logan Stanley later crushed Jordan Kyrou into the boards. The forward carefully went to the bench with about seven minutes remaining in the period.
Blues captain Brayden Schenn, who had seven hits in the first period of Game 1, skated across the ice and flew into Jets captain Adam Lowry. He finished with four hits in the period and five overall.
Winnipeg ended up out-hitting the visitors 33-29.
鈥淎fter the game you go home and you feel sore, but it鈥檚 a good sore, and a good tired,鈥� said Jets defenceman Luke Schenn, who had seven hits. 鈥淵ou know, when you come away with the win, it obviously doesn鈥檛 hurt as much.鈥�
Scheifele scored on a great effort to get around a St. Louis defender and then fired a backhand from the slot. The puck bounced off Snuggerud into the net with 3:28 left.
Winnipeg didn鈥檛 capitalize on two power plays, but the Blues cashed in on their first one.
Snuggerud sent the puck high over Hellebuyck鈥檚 blocker side on the man advantage with two seconds remaining in the first frame to make it 1-1.
Montgomery had flipped Snuggerud and left-winger Jake Neighbours for the game, moving the former University of Minnesota star from the second line to the top one with centre Robert Thomas and Pavel Buchnevich. He said the motive was to produce more offence.
St. Louis got its fourth straight power play six minutes after Connor鈥檚 goal, but Winnipeg鈥檚 defenders killed it.
SWITCHING SETTINGS
As the series moves to St. Louis, the Blues will try to capitalize on their 24-14-3 regular-season home record, including 12 consecutive victories.
The Jets went 3-1 against the Blues in their four-game regular-season series, winning two matches in Missouri.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 21, 2025.
Judy Owen, The Canadian Press
