WINNIPEG — Vladislav Namestnikov and his Winnipeg Jets teammates knew they had to find another gear after losing star centre Mark Scheifele in Game 5 against the St. Louis Blues on Wednesday.
They did just that with a 5-3 victory over the Blues that earned them a 3-2 lead in their best-of-seven Western Conference playoff series. Game 6 is Friday in St. Louis.
Namestnikov replaced Scheifele on the top line after he took big hits from Brayden Schenn and Radek Faksa in the first period and didn’t return for the second.
Namestnikov scored the game-winning goal and added an assist in relief.
“When things don’t go your way, we lost (Scheifele), people have to step up. So I think as a team we stepped up today and got the win,” Namestnikov said.
According to the NHL, teams that take a 3-2 lead in a series go on to win the series 79 per cent of the time (233-62).
Jets head coach Scott Arniel had no update on Scheifele and couldn’t answer if he would make the trip to St. Louis.
“I don't know, we'll have to wait and see till (Thursday),” Arniel said.
Six minutes into the game, Scheifele was crushed into the boards by Schenn, who appeared to jump up before the hit. Scheifele continued playing and got hit by Faksa late in the period and didn’t return after the intermission.
“Really proud of the effort,” said Jets captain Adam Lowry, who scored an empty-netter. “Sometimes when you lose your No. 1 centre, you lose a key piece to your lineup there can be a bit of a sag, an emotional letdown. But you know, I thought the guys really rallied around it.”
Kyle Connor had a goal and two assists and Nino Niederreiter scored once and added an assist. Dylan DeMelo also scored and Mason Appleton contributed three helpers in front of the whiteout crowd at Canada Life Centre.
Connor Hellebuyck made 16 saves for Winnipeg, including a key paddle save on Oskar Sundqvist in the first period. Jets winger Gabriel Vilardi was back in action after he missed 15 games with an upper-body injury.
Namestnikov hopes for a repeat of everyone’s effort on Friday.
“Just take the momentum from tonight's game and play the same way in their building,” he said. “It's a tough building to play in, but I know we can get the win there.”
Not many teams have accomplished that lately.
The Blues outscored the Jets 12-3 in Games 3 and 4 while extending their home record to 14 consecutive victories since the Four Nations Face-Off break.
Nathan Walker scored twice and rookie Jimmy Snuggerud also had a goal for the Blues on Wednesday. Jordan Binnington stopped 21 shots.
“They’re a good team, but we’ve played some good hockey at home for a couple of months now, so we’re comfortable there and fans (are) behind us,” Schenn said.
Winnipeg led 2-1 after the first period and 4-2 following the second.
Scheifele sent the puck from behind the net out to Connor, who snapped it past Binnington 1:23 into the opening period.
The Blues quickly responded when Walker stayed in front of Hellebuyck and tipped in a point shot from Colton Parayko at 3:42.
St. Louis defenceman Cam Fowler also picked up an assist, extending his point streak to five games with one goal and eight assists. He leads the Blues in scoring.
After the hit on Scheifele, Schenn was called for interference and then roughing when Jets forward Brandon Tanev defended his teammate.
Twenty-seven seconds after Schenn’s extra penalty expired, Niederreiter went net front and tipped in a Dylan Samberg shot at 8:39.
Both teams took four penalties, and had 17 hits each, as the temperatures rose during the opening period.
Snuggerud scored his second goal of the playoffs with a low shot that went between Hellebuyck’s left pad and the post at 6:06.
DeMelo scored Winnipeg’s first second-period goal of the series when his point shot went off the back of Parayko and into the net at 11:05.
Namestnikov broke his 20-goal scoring drought to make it 4-2 with 1:09 remaining in the second.
Winnipeg outshot the visitors 14-3 in the middle period and 22-9 through 40.
TURNING THE TIDE
The Jets had gone 2-4 in previous Game 5s, including losing four straight.
Their last Game 5 victory was in the second round of the 2018 Stanley Cup playoffs, when they beat the Predators 6-2 in Nashville.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 30, 2025.
Judy Owen, The Canadian Press
