Blues rally to defeat Jets in Game 5, take series lead

WINNIPEG -- Jaden Schwartz broke a tie with 15 seconds remaining in the third period to give the St. Louis Blues a 3-2 win against the Winnipeg Jets in Game 5 of the Western Conference First Round at Bell MTS Place on Thursday.

Schwartz batted the puck out of the air off a centering pass by Tyler Bozak after sustained pressure by the Blues.
"We're just staying with it," Schwartz said. "We believe in each other, we believe in the system, and we work as a team. When the team has success, we know that we all get rewarded. We're all playing the same, we're working hard, we're tight defensively, and the power play had a big goal to give us momentum. This whole series is so tight. You just never know right now with the bounces that are happening."
WATCH: [Blues vs. Jets Game 5 highlights | Complete series coverage]
The Blues lead the best-of-7 series 3-2 with Game 6 is at St. Louis on Saturday. The road team has won all five games.
"Lucky pinballs," Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck said of Schwartz's goal. "The puck just bounced and ended up right on their tape. Tough to eat that one, but I thought we were the better team. If we keep fighting here, it's not over."

Adam Lowry and Kevin Hayes scored for the Jets, and Hellebuyck made 26 saves.
"No different than being down 0-2," Jets captain Blake Wheeler said. "Happens all the time, man. Gotta win a hockey game. Won almost a hundred of them the last two years, so we're confident we can do that."
The Blues trailed 2-0 entering the third period. Ryan O'Reilly made it 2-1 at 1:29 when he scored on the power play from just outside the crease after David Perron got his stick on the rebound of a Brayden Schenn shot.
Schenn tied it 2-2 at 13:52. The goal was reviewed, but it was determined that the actions of Jets defenseman Dustin Byfuglien caused Blues forward Oskar Sundqvist to dislodge the net as Schenn was in the act of shooting.
"That's an emotional one, especially the way it starts," Blues captain Alex Pietrangelo said. "You're down early, but you can probably count the interviews I've had with (reporters) that we say we're a resilient group, we've got character in here, and tonight's a prime example of that."
Lowry set a Jets/Atlanta Thrashers record for the fastest goal to start a Stanley Cup Playoff game when he scored 12 seconds into the first period for a 1-0 lead. Jacob Trouba scored 31 seconds into Game 5 of the Western Conference First Round against the Minnesota Wild on April 20, 2018.
Hayes pushed the lead to 2-0 at 13:35 after cutting to the net and scoring on the rebound off his initial shot.
"If we lose, we're done," Hayes said. "That's enough motivation. Game 6 will be our best game."

They said it

"That's important, right? My job is to give the team a chance to win. Obviously, [Winnipeg] got out to an early lead, and I kind of had to shut the door from there on out. It wasn't easy, and the boys really helped me out and battled. The penalty kill was outstanding, and it was a great team effort for pretty much 60 minutes." -- Blues goalie Jordan Binnington, who made 29 saves
"You're going to eat it for the rest of the night, and then we'll go through the places in our game that we need to tighten up and get better at. We'll deal with the goals so they understand it. And then you have an edge, certainly, going into the game in terms of, I don't mean one team, but you're going to be a little grumpy over that one." -- Jets coach Paul Maurice

Need to know

Schwartz's goal was the second-latest game-winning goal in regulation in Blues playoff history, behind Gino Cavallini (59:51) in Game 3 of the 1990 Norris Division Final, a 5-4 win against the Chicago Blackhawks. … St. Louis overcame trailing by multiple goals in the third period to win a playoff game for the seventh time in its history and the fourth time in regulation. … Jets forward Nikolaj Ehlers left late in the third period after blocking a shot. There was no update.

What's next

Game 6 of Western Conference First Round at Enterprise Center on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, SN, TVAS2, FS-MW)