Blues head coach Jim Montgomery questions referee Kelly Sutherland during first-period action against the Jets during Game 5 of their Stanley Cup playoffs series Wednesday, April 30, 2025, in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
John Woods, The Canadian Press via AP
WINNIPEG, Manitoba — It’s going to take something special to crack the iron grip home teams seem to have in the Blues-Jets series, and on Wednesday night, the Blues didn’t have it.
The Blues couldn’t do what they did in Games 3 and 4 in Game 5, which coach Jim Montgomery said was their worst of the series and Winnipeg’s best. The end result was a 5-3 Winnipeg win, and the score probably doesn’t do justice to the control the Jets had in the game. In the decisive second period, the Blues managed only three shots on goal while Winnipeg seemed parked in the Blues zone, getting two goals that seemed inevitable.
Meanwhile, having chased Winnipeg goalie Connor Hellebuyck from the previous two games, the Blues put just 10 shots on him in the first two periods, though he showed his regular-season form when he stopped Oskar Sundqvist on a shorthanded two-on-one in the second period.
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The Blues trail the best-of-seven series 3-2 and will be playing for their season at 7 p.m. Friday at Enterprise Center. If there’s anything encouraging for the Blues, it’s that with the home team going 5-0 so far, everything points to a Sunday return trip to Manitoba for Game 7.
“We know we can play better, and we know what this group is capable of,” defenseman Justin Faulk said. “We’re excited to get back home, get the job done there and you never know. We’ve just got to win that one and get to Game 7.”
But in an event that changed the course of this game, and could have an impact on however much remains of the series, Winnipeg lost center Mark Scheifele, who had 39 goals and 48 assists in the regular season. He missed the final two periods, and his status going forward is in doubt, especially with Games 6 and 7 coming in rapid succession after the plodding pace of the first five games. Recovery time is limited, and both teams will be on planes on Thursday heading to St. Louis.
The injury led to a war of words between Montgomery and Winnipeg coach Scott Arniel about what caused Scheifele’s injury.
Scheifele got hit hard twice in the first period, first by Brayden Schenn, who leveled him with a hit along the boards six minutes into the first period that led to most of the Winnipeg team descending on Schenn. Scheifele stayed in the game and played on the ensuing power play. With 2:56 to go in the period, Scheifele skated the puck in to the Blues zone and got drilled by Radek Faksa, landing on his backside. He finished that shift, went to the bench and then came back for one more shift before the period ended.
But that was it. He was not on the ice when the second period began and didn’t play again.
Schenn was called for interference and roughing — “I haven’t seen the replay, but I didn’t believe I hit him in the head,” he said — while Arniel thought he left his feet and could have been called for a major.
“Let’s make it clear,” Montgomery said. “(Scheifele) got hurt from the Faksa hit. He played six minutes after the Schenn hit. He didn’t come back after he got rocked by Faksa.”
“I didn’t know Monty got his medical degree, trying to say how our player got hurt,” he said. “He’s way off base. He should not make that comment. There’s some things that have been going on in this series, and that was a repeat of what we’ve seen before. A player leaving his feet and then hitting a player in a very unprotected spot. Hitting him in the sense of almost blindsiding him. I’m not happy with how the call was made. A two-minute minor. Not even looking at it is what I was upset about. And it is something that we have talked to the league about for five games.”
Losing their leader seemed to spark the Jets, who then took over the second period, especially after Jimmy Snuggerud tied the game 6:06 into the period. The Blues had two shots on goal in the remaining 14 minutes, by Alexey Toropcheno and Faulk, both from outside.
“We didn’t really establish our forecheck and hem them in and get them in three-quarter ice,” Faulk said. “They were able to do that to us a little bit and then obviously got a couple of goals there to pull away with a lead a bit. They were the better team in the second period there.”
“I just don’t think we liked our game tonight,” Schenn said. “At the end of the day, we weren’t good enough tonight to turn the tides. We got some key goals at key times and just weren’t able to grab momentum after that. Obviously a little bit deflating. At the end of the day, you turn the page, move on and go to Game 6.”
Montgomery was eager to turn the page as well.
“They were better than us,” he said.
Eventually, he expanded on the situation.
“We’ve got to be more connected,” he said. “I didn’t think our puck support was good enough, I didn’t think we got back quick enough, I didn’t think we won our forecheck, we didn’t establish it. Like I said, it’s every facet. But you know what, it’s a series. It’s going to happen. Unfortunately, we’re not happy about it, but we’re onto the next one. It’s as simple as that. We’ve got to forget about it. We’re in a series.”
When Scheifele was still around, he assisted on Winnipeg’s first goal, sending a puck from behind the net to Kyle Connor in the slot for a goal 1:23 into the game. Nathan Walker tied the game with a deflection in front of the net, the first of his two goals in the game, and Winnipeg regained the lead on a goal by Nino Niederreiter.
Snuggerud tied the game after the Jets bungled a Blues bungled breakout attempt, but that was the Blues’ last promising moment. Dylan DeMelo banked a shot in off of Colton Parayko’s backside to take the lead and then with the Jets seemingly camped in the Blues zone, Vladislav Namestnikov, who had moved into Scheifele’s spot centering the top line, scored on a late developing two-on-one. It was a goal you could see coming.
And now it’s back to St. Louis, hoping for a trip back to Winnipeg.
Photos: Blues drop Game 5 in Winnipeg to Jets
St. Louis Blues’ Nathan Walker (26) tips the puck past Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck (37) for the goal as Nino Niederreiter (62) defends during first period NHL playoff action in Winnipeg on Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (John Woods/The Canadian Press via AP)
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St. Louis Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington (50) saves the shot from Winnipeg Jets’ Jaret Anderson-Dolan (28) during first period NHL playoff action in Winnipeg on Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (John Woods/The Canadian Press via AP)
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Winnipeg Jets’ Nino Niederreiter (62) scores on St. Louis Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington (50) during first period NHL playoff action in Winnipeg on Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (John Woods/The Canadian Press via AP)
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St. Louis Blues’ Nathan Walker (26) tips the puck past Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck (37) for the goal as Nino Niederreiter (62) defends during first period NHL playoff action in Winnipeg on Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (John Woods/The Canadian Press via AP)
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Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington saves the shot from Winnipeg’s Jaret Anderson-Dolan (28) during the first period of Game 5 of their first-round playoff series in Winnipeg, Alberta, on Wednesday, April 30, 2025.
John Woods, Canadian Press
St. Louis Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington (50) saves the shot from Winnipeg Jets’ Cole Perfetti (91) as Colton Parayko (55) and Ryan Suter (22) defend during first period NHL playoff action in Winnipeg on Wednesday, April 30, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/John Woods/The Canadian Press via AP)
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Winnipeg Jets’ Nino Niederreiter (62) celebrates his goal against the St. Louis Blues during first period NHL playoff action in Winnipeg on Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (John Woods/The Canadian Press via AP)
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St. Louis Blues’ Nathan Walker (26) celebrates his goal against Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck (37) during first period NHL playoff action in Winnipeg on Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (John Woods/The Canadian Press via AP)
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Winnipeg Jets’ Morgan Barron (36) and St. Louis Blues’ Robert Thomas (18) collide during first period NHL playoff action in Winnipeg on Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (John Woods/The Canadian Press via AP)
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St. Louis Blues’ Nathan Walker (26) celebrates his goal against the Winnipeg Jets during first period NHL playoff action in Winnipeg on Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (John Woods/The Canadian Press via AP)
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Blues head coach Jim Montgomery questions referee Kelly Sutherland during first-period action against the Jets during Game 5 of their Stanley Cup playoffs series Wednesday, April 30, 2025, in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
John Woods, The Canadian Press via AP
St. Louis Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington (50) saves the shot from Winnipeg Jets’ Cole Perfetti (91) as Justin Faulk (72) defends during first period NHL playoff action in Winnipeg on Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (John Woods/The Canadian Press via AP)
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Winnipeg Jets’ Nino Niederreiter (62) attempts to tip the puck past St. Louis Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington (50) as Justin Faulk (72) defends during second period NHL playoff action in Winnipeg on Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (John Woods/The Canadian Press via AP)
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Winnipeg Jets’ Nino Niederreiter (62) attempts to tip the puck past St. Louis Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington (50) as Justin Faulk (72) defends during second period NHL playoff action in Winnipeg on Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (John Woods/The Canadian Press via AP)
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Winnipeg Jets’ Dylan DeMelo (2), Vladislav Namestnikov (7), Gabriel Vilardi (13) and Kyle Connor (81) celebrate DeMelo’s goal against the St. Louis Blues during second period NHL playoff action in Winnipeg on Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (John Woods/The Canadian Press via AP)
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Winnipeg Jets’ Gabriel Vilardi (13) looks on as Dylan DeMelo’s (2) shot goes off St. Louis Blues’ Colton Parayko (55) and past goaltender Jordan Binnington (50) during second period NHL playoff action in Winnipeg on Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (John Woods/The Canadian Press via AP)
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Winnipeg Jets’ Gabriel Vilardi (13) looks on as Dylan DeMelo’s (2) shot goes off St. Louis Blues’ Colton Parayko (55) and past goaltender Jordan Binnington (50) during second period NHL playoff action in Winnipeg on Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (John Woods/The Canadian Press via AP)
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The Jets’ Neal Pionk (4) defends against the Blues’ Oskar Sundqvist (70) in front of goaltender Connor Hellebuyck (37) during the third period of Game 5 of their Stanley Cup playoffs series Wednesday, April 30, 2025, in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
John Woods, The Canadian Press via AP
The Jets’ Morgan Barron (36) crashes into Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington (50) after he made a save during the third period of Game 5 of their Stanley Cup playoffs series Wednesday, April 30, 2025, in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
John Woods, The Canadian Press via AP
St. Louis Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington (50) makes the save off Winnipeg Jets’ Gabriel Vilardi’s (13) wraparound attempt during the third period of an NHL playoff game in Winnipeg on Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (John Woods/The Canadian Press via AP)
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Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck (37) makes the save after St. Louis Blues’ Zack Bolduc (76) tips the puck and Neal Pionk (4) defends during the third period of an NHL playoff game in Winnipeg on Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (John Woods/The Canadian Press via AP)
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Winnipeg Jets’ Adam Lowry (17) attempts a wraparound as Nino Niederreiter (62) crashes into St. Louis Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington (50) and Ryan Suter (22) defends during the third period of an NHL playoff game in Winnipeg on Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (John Woods/The Canadian Press via AP)
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Winnipeg Jets and St. Louis Blues players rough it up after the Blues score during the third period of an NHL playoff game in Winnipeg on Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (John Woods/The Canadian Press via AP)
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