Hayes finished the night in a three-way tie for the team lead in shots on goal with five. He had two second period chances to increase Winnipeg's lead. The first, a deft deflection of a Mathieu Perreault shot that was swatted off the goal line.
The second, a breakaway opportunity where Hayes deked to the forehand, ran out of space, and tried to bank the puck in off a sprawling Binnington.
"Everything is dangerous. There are going to be chances that you're shaking your head at," said Maurice, referring to the fact the series hasn't been a high-event one, but chances that do happen are dangerous.
"(Hayes) had a hat trick on his stick. There are going to be a bunch of those," said Maurice. "It's tight. It's going to be one more save at the end."
With 20.5 seconds left in a scoreless second period, Jacob Trouba was called for roughing. The Jets took the penalty kill into the second and nearly got the kill, but Ryan O'Reilly found a loose puck in front of Hellebuyck and put it in the empty cage to cut the Jets lead to 2-1.
Then with 6:08 to go in regulation, the Blues would pull even. Brayden Schenn potted a pass from Sundqvist just before the net came off its moorings. The play would be reviewed, but it held up.
"It was close. Sometimes they call that, sometimes they don't," said Chiarot, who was on the ice for the goal. "They counted it. There's not much you can do now but move on."
Now the Jets prepare for a must-win Game 6 in St. Louis on Saturday. The road team has won every game in this series and the Jets know they'll have to be at their best in order to keep that trend alive.
"We have to win a hockey game," said Wheeler. "We've won almost 100 of them the last two years, so we're confident we can do that."
ICE CHIPS
Nikolaj Ehlers blocked a Colton Parayko shot in the third period and didn't return. Maurice didn't have an update on Ehlers immediately after the game, saying he would likely have an update on Friday.