On a winter Monday in Winnipeg, a Jets team that had lost three straight and changed nearly its entire forward group against the Blues spent two periods chasing a game that seemed to be slipping away, only to erase a 2-0 deficit in the third and win 4-2. It is the sort of night hockey keeps returning to: a team tired of its own failures finding a fourth goal before the clock runs out. Even the evening's quiet moment, a tribute to Bobby Hull, reminded the crowd that this sport has always carried its own history. What the comeback means will be measured not tonight but in the games that follow.
Jets erase 2-0 deficit with four straight third-period goals to beat Blues 4-2
Four straight goals, and the Blues' lead was gone in under eight minutes
Mark
Four goals in one period after being down 2-0. How fast did it actually turn?
Mimi
Very fast. Alexandrov made it 2-0 at 2:02 of the third, Morrissey scored 40 seconds later, and by 9:32 Scheifele had tied it. Morrissey scored again 21 seconds after that.
Luke
Worth noting the go-ahead goal deflected off Brayden Schenn. That's a bounce, not a breakdown in the Blues' structure.
Mark
Still, the Jets were dominant before that, weren't they?
Mimi
In shots, yes. They outshot St. Louis 19-7 in the second and were 0-for-6 on the power play through two periods. Binnington kept it from showing on the scoreboard.
Luke
Right, but shot totals aren't the whole story. The report gives the second-period margin and the power-play record, and nothing on shot quality beyond a couple of Binnington saves.
Mark
The Jets also changed all four lines to start. Did that matter?
Mimi
The report says they did it, and that they'd gone 3-5-0 in eight games. It doesn't say why, or whether it caused the comeback.
Luke
Exactly. That's a correlation the story doesn't claim, so we shouldn't either.
Mark
And the Bobby Hull tribute?
Mimi
It framed the night. He died Monday at 84, and he'd joined the Jets in the WHA in 1972 for a then-record $1 million.
O Pulso
- St. Louis led 2-0 late in the third and looked poised to snap a five-game slide that was dragging on.
- Winnipeg fired shot after shot through two scoreless-then-trailing periods and could not solve Jordan Binnington.
- Morrissey and Scheifele each scored twice in a four-goal third-period burst that turned the game in under nine minutes.
- Scheifele's empty-net goal with 24 seconds left sealed a win that snapped Winnipeg's three-game losing skid.
- Both clubs now face a Feb. 11 test, with the Jets hosting Chicago and the Blues hosting Arizona, to see whether the comeback holds.
On a winter Monday in Winnipeg, a Jets team that had lost three straight and changed nearly its entire forward group against the Blues spent two periods chasing a game that seemed to be slipping away, only to erase a 2-0 deficit in the third and win 4-2. It is the sort of night hockey keeps returning to: a team tired of its own failures finding a fourth goal before the clock runs out. Even the evening's quiet moment, a tribute to Bobby Hull, reminded the crowd that this sport has always carried its own history. What the comeback means will be measured not tonight but in the games that follow.
For two periods in Winnipeg, the St. Louis Blues seemed on the verge of ending their losing streak. Nikita Alexandrov's goal at 2:02 of the third gave them a 2-0 lead, and it looked like the Jets had run out of answers. Winnipeg had outshot the visitors but could not beat Jordan Binnington, and its power plays kept fizzling.
Then the Jets found their footing. Josh Morrissey answered within 40 seconds, Mark Scheifele tied the score after a St. Louis giveaway, and Morrissey put Winnipeg ahead when his shot deflected off Brayden Schenn. Scheifele sealed it with an empty-net goal, his 31st of the season, with 24 seconds left. Morrissey and Scheifele each finished with two goals, all in the third.
The win lifted Winnipeg to 32-19-1 and ended a three-game skid, though the Jets had changed all four of their lines to shake things up. St. Louis, now 23-25-3, saw its losing streak reach five games. Both teams return to action on Feb. 11, when the Jets host Chicago and the Blues host Arizona, and those games will show whether this comeback was a turning point or a single good night.
For two periods in Winnipeg on Monday night, the St. Louis Blues looked like they might break their losing streak. Then the third period started, and the Jets scored four goals in a row to win 4-2.
The Blues took a 2-0 lead at 2:02 of the third, when Nikita Alexandrov scored his goal. Josh Morrissey answered 40 seconds later. At 9:32, Mark Scheifele tied it after a St. Louis giveaway. Twenty-one seconds after that, Morrissey put Winnipeg ahead when his shot deflected off the Blues' Brayden Schenn. With 24 seconds left, Scheifele scored into an empty net, his 31st goal of the season. Morrissey and Scheifele each finished with two goals, all of them in the third.
The win moved Winnipeg to 32-19-1 and ended a three-game losing skid. It also stretched the Blues' losing streak to five games. St. Louis, now 23-25-3, finished a three-game road trip. The Jets had gone 3-5-0 over their previous eight games and changed all four lines to start this one. Saku Maenalanen and Kyle Connor each added two assists, and Connor Hellebuyck made 24 saves.
The first two periods did not point toward a comeback. Nothing was scored in the first, though there were plenty of chances. The Blues came up empty on the game's first power play. Then Alexandrov took a double minor for high-sticking Connor in the face, handing Winnipeg four minutes with the man advantage. The Jets managed only one shot on Jordan Binnington in that stretch. Late in the period, Binnington stretched out a pad to stop a close-in shot from Pierre-Luc Dubois, then used his glove while on his stomach to deny a Maenalanen attempt. Shots were 12-12 after 20 minutes.
The second period belonged to Winnipeg on the shot clock and to St. Louis on the scoreboard. The Jets had two more power plays early in the period, and six shots in total could not beat Binnington. St. Louis made its next power play count. Binnington sent the puck to Nick Leddy, who made a stretch pass to Jake Neighbours, and Neighbours beat Hellebuyck with a backhand at 14:36. Binnington was credited with an assist. The Blues then took two quick penalties, but Winnipeg could not score on a 25-second two-man advantage or on the five-on-four that followed. The Jets outshot the visitors 19-7 in the period and were 0-for-6 on the power play after 40 minutes. St. Louis was 1-for-2. Binnington finished with 34 saves, and Neighbours ended with a goal and an assist.
The game was also the only one on the NHL schedule Monday, and it began with a tribute. Before puck drop, the Jets played a video and held a moment of silence for Bobby Hull, who died Monday at 84. Hull, a Hall of Famer, starred for the Chicago Blackhawks before signing a then-record $1-million deal in 1972 to join the Winnipeg Jets of the upstart World Hockey Association. He spent eight seasons with the club, the last coming when it merged with the NHL.
Both teams are next in action on Feb. 11. Winnipeg hosts the Chicago Blackhawks, and St. Louis hosts the Arizona Coyotes. Those games will show whether the Jets' comeback becomes a turning point or a one-night reprieve.
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