Winner will advance to take on Stars
© Jonathan Kozub/NHLI via Getty Images
The Winnipeg Jets and St. Louis Blues will play Game 7 of the Western Conference First Round at Canada Life Centre in Winnipeg on Sunday (7 p.m. ET; CBC, TVAS, SN, TBS, MAX, FDSNMW).
The Blues forced the deciding game with a 5-2 win in Game 6 at Enterprise Center in St. Louis on Friday.
“We’re going to have to focus on Game 7,” Jets forward Cole Perfetti said. “It’s a one gamer, winner moves on, and we got the home ice and we got our fans behind us and our barn rocking. And, yeah, just going to put this one away, put this one behind us and focus on the next game.”
This is the second time the Jets have played a Game 7; the previous one was a 5-1 win at the Nashville Predators in the 2018 Western Conference Second Round. Current Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck made 36 saves in that game.
The Jets with the most experience in Game 7s are forwards Vladislav Namestnikov and Nino Niederreiter; each has played in four, but with other teams.
The Blues are 10-8 in Game 7s, their most recent coming in the 2019 Stanley Cup Final, a 4-1 win at the Boston Bruins. The Blues have won four straight Game 7s.
“It’s what you play for,” Blues captain Brayden Schenn said. “It’s one of those things where you have to have the ability to go enjoy the moment and take your work seriously but enjoy the moment while you’re there. It’s going to be a tough building to play in, we know that, but we feel like we haven’t had our best there yet, and we’re looking forward to it.”
Forward Radek Faksa and defenseman Nick Leddy (six each), and defensemen Cam Fowler and Ryan Suter (five each) have played the most Game 7s among Blues players, but they all came for other teams.
Goalie Jordan Binnington has a Game 7 record of 2-0 with an 0.82 goals-against average and .968 save percentage. He was the winning goalie in Game 7 of the 2019 Stanley Cup Final.
St. Louis coach Jim Montgomery is 1-2 in Game 7.
“It’s about seizing an opportunity for us,” Montgomery said. “We’re in Game 7 of the playoffs. It’s what we’ve all dreamed of in that organization, in that locker room together. These are the moments. You don’t think about winning Game 1 when you’re playing in your basement or you’re playing street hockey or your playing knee hockey with your best friend or your brother, whatever the case may be. It’s Game 7, it’s overtime and it’s about us seizing an opportunity. It’s an opportunity that we’ve earned and now we have to go seize it.”
The winner will advance to the second round and play the Dallas Stars, who rallied in the third period for a 4-2 win against the Colorado Avalanche in Game 7 of their first-round series in Dallas on Saturday.
🔹Ottawa Senators vs. Toronto Maple Leafs
🔹Florida Panthers vs. Tampa Bay Lightning
🔹Montreal Canadiens vs. Washington Capitals
🔹New Jersey Devils vs. Carolina Hurricanes
🔹St. Louis Blues vs. Winnipeg Jets
🔹Colorado Avalanche vs. Dallas Stars
🔹Minnesota Wild vs. Vegas Golden Knights
🔹Edmonton Oilers vs. Los Angeles Kings
