Blues forward Alexey Toropchenko, right, celebrates his goal against Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck during second-period action of Game 6 of the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs on Friday at Enterprise Center.
Laurie Skrivan, Post-Dispatch
And back to Winnipeg they go.
That should come as no surprise, considering how the Blues’ series with the Jets has gone. It continues to make a series of hairpin turns, with the fates of the teams shifting back and forth between Missouri and Manitoba.
With Game 6 being played at Enterprise Center, there was no choice but for it to be a dominating win for the Blues, who broke the game open with four goals in 5 minutes, 23 seconds in the second period and beat the Jets 5-2 to send the series back to Canada for a decisive Game 7 on Sunday.
“It’s what you play for,” said Blues captain Brayden Schenn.
The challenge, of course, will be that through the first six games of this series, home ice has meant everything. The series may be tied 3-3, but home teams are 6-0. Winnipeg won Games 1, 2 and 5, the Blues won Games 3, 4 and 6 and for the Blues to win, that has to change. The games in St. Louis had a recurring theme: dominating play by the Blues, lopsided scores and Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck being removed from the game. In Game 6, Winnipeg coach Scott Arniel waited until the second period was over to take out the NHL’s best goalie rather than having him skate ignominiously to the bench in the middle of the period. In three games at Enterprise Center, the Blues outscored Winnipeg 17-5.
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The Blues got goals from an eclectic group: defensemen Philip Broberg and Cam Fowler. Fourth-liners Nathan Walker and Alexey Toropchenko. The other goal came from Schenn, the only one of the group who had more than 10 goals in the regular season.
“That’s just the NHL playoffs,” said Blues coach Jim Montgomery. “There are so many unsung heroes. We know how important Nathan Walker’s been. I think he’s a fan favorite because he embodies what it means to be a Blue. That’s why he’s a fan favorite. The other part is our defensemen. They get skating and we just start to go north and we really start to come. It really allows us to be physical.”
The game was tied 1-1 when Walker scored in front of the net, the same place he got two goals in Game 5 — Walker has one more goal in this series than Jordan Kyrou — and that opened the floodgates and sunk the Jets. Fifty-three seconds later, Schenn scored from outside. Seventy-three seconds later, it was Fowler scoring to make it 4-1. (“It felt like when Fowler scored it almost popped the roof right off,” Schenn said.) And then Toropchenko scored with 3:03 to go in the period to make it 5-1 and effectively end the game. The third period was mostly an exercise in hard feelings, with a series of scrums that at times had the penalty boxes overflowing with players.
“We utilized our speed and our physicality,” Montgomery said. “I thought we were able to be physical down low, we were able to skate with some speed through the neutral zone and we were really committed to getting to the net front again. Those first couple of goals, they’re really good screen goals. That (fourth) line was dominant tonight.”
There was also the goal by Broberg that started the scoring and broke the Blues out of a game-opening doldrums.
“It was really important,” Montgomery said. “I thought it was a great play by (Justin) Faulk to drive wide and that’s that speed we’re talking about and then we had people drive through and were able to go low to high and pound that puck. It was really important because I did not like the start of our first 8-10 minutes, then we started to come after that goal.”
“After that, I think we played better and played to our strengths,” Broberg said.
The goal was also important because Arniel used his timeout to give he and his staff time to decide whether to challenge for goalie interference. Pavel Buchnevich had moved into the crease in front of Hellebuyck, but he was pushed out of the way by Winnipeg defenseman Dylan Samberg, who ended up doing most of the screening of his goalie. The Jets decided not to challenge, but in the process lost the timeout that they could have used to blunt the Blues’ momentum in that run.
The fourth line of Walker, Toropchenko and center Radek Faksa continues to make its mark. Walker has three goals in the series, Toropchenko has two and Faksa has three assists. They had the best expected goals total among the four regular lines on Friday, according to Moneypuck.com.
“They’ve been the most consistent line all year with the way they play, pretty much right from Game 1,” Schenn said. “They don’t really get broken up that much and it’s almost like they play robotic because they’re so on the same page, they play on the goal line, they wear other teams down. They’re big, they can skate and they hold on to pucks and get to the net. Obviously good chemistry and guys that get along off the ice that’s translating on to the ice.”
“In a series, there’s the game within the game of a series,” Montgomery said. “They’re a load to handle. It doesn’t matter. They’ve scored goals against every D pairing, so they’re hard to handle down low. Over and over it gets hard and they’re creating that identity that we look for that allows us to get to net fronts, to win races and get screened goals.”
“I think we’re just keeping it simple,” Walker said. “We like to get pucks up top, get to the net and create some chaos that way and I think over the time of the series, that can kind of wear down and then I think other things kind of open up.”
And because of that, the Blues have pushed the team that had the most points in the regular season to the brink.
Photos: Blues force Game 7 in Winnipeg with 5-2 win over Jets
St. Louis Blues forward Alexey Toropchenko (13)celebrates his goal against Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck (37) during second period action of Game 6 of the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs on Friday, May 2, 2025, at Enterprise Center.
Laurie Skrivan, Post-Dispatch
St. Louis Blues forward Nathan Walker (26) celebrates Blues’ defenseman Cam Fowler (17)against Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck (37) during second period action of Game 6 of the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs on Friday, May 2, 2025, at Enterprise Center.
Laurie Skrivan photos, Post-Dispatch
St. Louis Blues forward Brayden Schenn (10)celebrates his goal against Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck (37) during second period action of Game 6 of the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs on Friday, May 2, 2025, at Enterprise Center.
Laurie Skrivan
Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington stops a shot by Jets center Gabriel Vilardi during third-period action of Game 6 of the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs on Friday at Enterprise Center.
Laurie Skrivan, Post-Dispatch
St. Louis Blues forwards Jimmy Snuggerud (21) and Zack Bolduc (76) try to score against Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck (37) during first period action of Game 6 of the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs on Friday, May 2, 2025, at Enterprise Center.
Laurie Skrivan, Post-Dispatch
St. Louis Blues defenseman Philip Broberg (6) shoves Winnipeg Jets defenseman Neal Pionk (4) during a scrum in third period action of Game 6 of the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs on Friday, May 2, 2025, at Enterprise Center.
Laurie Skrivan, Post-Dispatch
St. Louis Blues forward Jordan Kyrou (25) watches as a shot Blues defenseman Cam Fowler (17) scores against Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck (37) during second period action of Game 6 of the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs on Friday, May 2, 2025, at Enterprise Center.
Laurie Skrivan, Post-Dispatch
St. Louis Blues defenseman Justin Faulk (72) shoves Winnipeg Jets forward Nikolaj Ehlers (27) in first period action of Game 6 of the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs on Friday, May 2, 2025, at Enterprise Center.
Laurie Skrivan, Post-Dispatch
St. Louis Blues head coach Jim Montgomery disagrees with a call during third period action of Game 6 of the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs against the Winnipeg Jets on Friday, May 2, 2025, at Enterprise Center.
Laurie Skrivan, Post-Dispatch
St. Louis Blues defenseman Nick Leddy (4) keeps the puck away from Winnipeg Jets left wing Brandon Tanev (73) in first period action of Game 6 of the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs on Friday, May 2, 2025, at Enterprise Center.
Laurie Skrivan, Post-Dispatch
Jets defenseman Dylan Samberg, left, upends Blues forward Jimmy Snuggerud during first-period action of Game 6 of the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs on Friday, May 2, 2025, at Enterprise Center.
Laurie Skrivan, Post-Dispatch
St. Louis Blues forward Brayden Schenn (10)celebrates his goal against Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck (37) during second period action of Game 6 of the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs on Friday, May 2, 2025, at Enterprise Center.
Laurie Skrivan, Post-Dispatch
St. Louis Blues defenseman Philip Broberg (6) celebrates his goal during first period action of Game 6 of the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs against the Winnipeg Jets on Friday, May 2, 2025, at Enterprise Center.
Laurie Skrivan, Post-Dispatch
St. Louis Blues forward Jake Neighbours (63) controls the puck in the offensive zone during second period action of Game 6 of the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs against the Winnipeg Jets on Friday, May 2, 2025, at Enterprise Center.
Laurie Skrivan, Post-Dispatch
St. Louis Blues forward Nathan Walker (26) celebrates his goal against Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck (37) during second period action of Game 6 of the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs on Friday, May 2, 2025, at Enterprise Center.
Laurie Skrivan, Post-Dispatch
Blues forward Alexey Toropchenko, right, celebrates his goal against Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck during second-period action of Game 6 of the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs on Friday at Enterprise Center.
Laurie Skrivan, Post-Dispatch
St. Louis Blues defenseman Justin Faulk (72) shoves Winnipeg Jets left wing Nikolaj Ehlers (27) in first period action of Game 6 of the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs on Friday, May 2, 2025, at Enterprise Center.
Laurie Skrivan, Post-Dispatch
St. Louis Blues defenseman Philip Broberg (6) celebrates his goal during first period action of Game 6 of the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs against the Winnipeg Jets on Friday, May 2, 2025, at Enterprise Center.
Laurie Skrivan, Post-Dispatch
St. Louis Blues forward Robert Thomas (18) defends against Winnipeg Jets forward Brandon Tanev (73) during first period action of Game 6 of the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs against the Winnipeg Jets on Friday, May 2, 2025, at Enterprise Center.
Laurie Skrivan, Post-Dispatch
St. Louis Blues defenseman Colton Parayko (55) clears the puck in third period action of Game 6 of the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs against the Winnipeg Jets on Friday, May 2, 2025, at Enterprise Center.
Laurie Skrivan, Post-Dispatch
St. Louis Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington (50) stops a shot by Winnipeg Jets defenseman Josh Morrissey (44) in third period action of Game 6 of the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs on Friday, May 2, 2025, at Enterprise Center.
Laurie Skrivan, Post-Dispatch
St. Louis Blues forward Radek Faksa (12) congratulates Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington (50) on the Blues 5-2 win over the Winnipeg Jets action of Game 6 of the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs on Friday, May 2, 2025, at Enterprise Center.
Laurie Skrivan, Post-Dispatch
St. Louis Blues fan Ryanna Bailey, center, cheers as Blues go up 5-1 during second period action of Game 6 of the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs against the Winnipeg Jets on Friday, May 2, 2025, at Enterprise Center.
Laurie Skrivan, Post-Dispatch
St. Louis Police Officer Nathan Spiess and his girlfriend Taylor Dowling admire his honorary Blues jersey before the start of Game 6 of the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs against the Winnipeg Jets on Friday, May 2, 2025, at Enterprise Center.
Laurie Skrivan, Post-Dispatch
The St. Louis Blues honor St. Louis Police Officer Nathan Spiess who was injured in the line of duty while attempting to arrest a suspected car thief back in March before the start of of Game 6 of the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs against the Winnipeg Jets on Friday, May 2, 2025, at Enterprise Center.
Laurie Skrivan, Post-Dispatch
St. Louis Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington (50) takes the ice before Game 6 of the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs against the Winnipeg Jets on Friday, May 2, 2025, at Enterprise Center.
Laurie Skrivan, Post-Dispatch
First Period—1, St. Louis, Broberg 1 (Thomas, Snuggerud), 6:05. Penalties—DeMelo, WPG (Delay of Game), 6:37; Neighbours, STL (Interference), 10:26; Niederreiter, WPG (Interference), 16:25.
Second Period—2, Winnipeg, Perfetti 1 (Morrissey, Connor), 5:43 (pp). 3, St. Louis, Walker 3 (Broberg, Faulk), 11:34. 4, St. Louis, Schenn 2 (Neighbours, Suter), 12:27. 5, St. Louis, Fowler 2 (Parayko, Toropchenko), 13:40. 6, St. Louis, Toropchenko 2 (Faksa), 16:57. Penalties—Faulk, STL (Hooking), 0:26; Walker, STL (Slashing), 5:31; Morrissey, WPG (Roughing), 14:46; Stanley, WPG (Holding Stick), 18:08.
Third Period—7, Winnipeg, Niederreiter 2 (Namestnikov, Appleton), 8:54 (pp). Penalties—Morrissey, WPG (Roughing), 3:14; Tanev, WPG (Roughing), 3:14; Faulk, STL (Roughing), 3:14; Buchnevich, STL (Roughing), 3:14; Toninato, WPG (Roughing), 3:14; Schenn, STL (Unsportsmanlike Conduct), 7:10; Toropchenko, STL (Misconduct), 7:10; Stanley, WPG (Misconduct), 7:10; Appleton, WPG (Slashing), 11:30; Neighbours, STL (Roughing), 11:30; Faulk, STL (Roughing), 11:30; Niederreiter, WPG (Unsportsmanlike Conduct), 11:30; Niederreiter, WPG (Roughing), 11:30; Parayko, STL (Roughing), 12:38; Thomas, STL (High Sticking), 16:00.
Shots on Goal—Winnipeg 2-9-12—23. St. Louis 8-15-4—27.
Power-play opportunities—Winnipeg 2 of 6; St. Louis 0 of 7.
Goalies—Winnipeg, Hellebuyck 3-3-0 (23 shots-18 saves), Winnipeg, Comrie 0-0-0 (4-4). St. Louis, Binnington 3-3-0 (23-21).
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