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The Winnipeg Jets were circling down the drain in the third period of their Game 7 showdown against the St. Louis Blues at Canada Life Centre Sunday night. Down a goal and with just seconds left on the clock, Winnipeg forward Cole Perfetti deflected a shot by Kyle Connor from the right side into the net. With just 1.6 seconds in regulation, Perfetti had the score tied at 3-3, sending fans inside Winnipeg's home arena into pandemonium — and the game into overtime.
He also made history with that shot, per Greg Wyshynski of ESPN: “Perfetti's goal at 59:57 was the latest game-tying goal in a Game 7, topping the record set by Vancouver Canucks winger Matt Cooke (59:54) in the 2004 conference quarterfinals against the Calgary Flames.”
In addition, Wyshynski noted that Perfetti's goal was the second-latest of its kind in the history of the NHL playoffs.
“I fanned on the first [shot], so I thought I'm not going to let that happen again. If we could get the goalie moving just a little bit, we might be able to create something,” said Jets forward Nik Ehlers, who got the puck to Connor before Perfetti's incredible goal.
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Thanks in large part ot Perfetti, the Jets got some sort of a second life in the contest, which Winnipeg ultimately did not waste. After neither team scored in the first overtime, Jets veteran center Adam Lowry ended the night and the series with a deflection goal off of a shot by Neal Pionk.
The first round was a wild adventure with an even wilder ending for the Jets, who won the Presidents' Trophy after collecting a total of 116 points in the 2024-25 NHL regular season. The Blues took the first two games while Winnipeg won in the next two games to tie the series up at 2-2. After taking Game 5, the Jets failed to finish off St. Louis in Game 6, hence the need for a Game 7.
In the next round, Connor and the Jets will face off versus the Dallas Stars, who are also coming off an epic seven-game series opposite the Colorado Avalanche. Connor leads Winnipeg so far in the playoffs with 12 points on four goals and eight assists while Mark Scheifele, who sat out Game 6 and Game 7 due to injury, and Mason Appleton each has six points.
