Mark Scheifele looks like a man on a mission.

The first draft pick of the Winnipeg Jets played a starring role in Monday’s hard-hitting, pulse-pounding 2-1 victory over the St. Louis Blues that has his team halfway home in their first-round playoff series.

Scheifele opened the scoring with a terrific individual effort, made a clever play to set up the game-winner by linemate Kyle Connor early in the third period, then saved the day later in the final frame by pulling a loose puck away from his team’s crease before it could trickle across the line.

Fred Greenslade / THE CANADIAN PRESS Winnipeg Jets’ Mark Scheifele celebrates his first period goal on the St. Louis Blues in Winnipeg, Monday.

“That’s your best players playing at the top of their game,” said Jets head coach Scott Arniel.

“That’s what Scheif has done. You can see that he’s taken on that challenge. He’s going head-to-head against their best player, whether it’s defending or whether he’s (on) offence with the puck, he has a strong skillset that we have seen in all 82 games and now he’s taken it into this playoff series.”

The Presidents’ Trophy-winning Jets now lead the Blues 2-0 in the best-of-seven series, which shifts to Missouri for Games 3 and 4 on Thursday night and Sunday afternoon.

Winnipeg won the opening game of the playoffs in 2023 (against Vegas) and 2024 (against Colorado), then proceeded to lose the next four both times. They’ve quickly ensured hockey history will not repeat itself this time around, although nobody is taking a victory lap.

Just as they did in Saturday’s 5-3 triumph, Winnipeg smothered St. Louis in the third period and took full control of the game as it wore on. The Blues managed only five shots in the third period Monday after putting up two in the final frame of the opening game which saw Winnipeg rally with three consecutive goals.

2018 VIBES

Who can forget the way Scheifele took over the 2018 playoffs, particularly the second-round series against the Nashville Predators in which he scored seven of his 14 goals that spring as the Jets made it all the way to the Western Conference Final.

Fred Greenslade / THE CANADIAN PRESS Winnipeg Jets’ Mark Scheifele collides with St. Louis Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington as Cam Fowler defends during the second period.

Yes, we’re only two games into this current run but Scheifele looks like he’s turned back the clock.

After putting up three points (1G, 2A) in Game 1, Scheifele picked up where he left off in Game 2. He took a pass from teammate Dylan DeMelo at the Blues’ blue-line and quickly left defenceman Nick Leddy in his dust, powering to the net to put a shot on Jordan Binnington.

Blues rookie forward Jimmy Snuggerud, who was backchecking hard, then inadvertently knocked the loose puck into the net as he tried to get Scheifele out of the crease.

You have to be good to be lucky, right? The Jets were up and running at 16:32 of the first period.

Scheifele has always taken more pride in his playmaking abilities than scoring, and that was on full display when he spun out of a check from Blues defenceman Cam Fowler behind the St. Louis net, allowing Cole Perfetti to slide the puck to Connor who broke the 1-1 tie at 1:43 of the third period.

It was deja vu for Connor, who converted a Scheifele feed Saturday night to break a 3-3 tie with 96 seconds left in the game.

Fred Greenslade / THE CANADIAN PRESS Fans celebrate Kyle Connor’s finger-licking good game-winning goal during the third period of Monday’s game.

“I’ll take it,” Connor said of his timely tallies. “It was a tight-checking game, run around, not a ton of space and not a ton of odd-man rushes. They weren’t going to be beat that way, we weren’t going to be beat that way. Just came down to who wanted it more.”

MAKING A MARK

The only similarity Logan Stanley has with Scheifele is that he, too, is a first-round draft pick. The much-maligned Jets defenceman, who many fans and pundits have suggested shouldn’t even be in the lineup, made a compelling case in this one.

The 6-7 rearguard crushed Blues forward Jordan Kyrou with one of the cleanest, hardest hits you’ll see early in the game, causing the sold-out crowd to erupt and likely making every Jets teammate feel a little bigger and stronger.

“The crowd certainly came out of their shoes on that one,” said Arniel.

“That’s what playoff hockey is all about. These guys know it and I love the way we kept sticking with it. That’s part of what happens in series, you try to wear the opposition down. Who is going to give up first? We’ve just got to keep doing what we’re doing.”

Kyrou, who scored in Game 1 and was arguably the most dangerous player for St. Louis, was shaken up and never quite looked the same the rest of the night.

Fred Greenslade / THE CANADIAN PRESS Jets defenceman Luke Schenn (right) welcomes his brother, St. Louis captain Brayden Schenn, to Canada life centre during the first period of Monday’s game.

“He’s been just improving each and every day,” Luke Schenn said of Stanley, his defence partner.

“He’s done a great job not chasing hits, but taking the hits when they’re there and being heavy and using his size to his advantage down low and in front of the net. On top of that, I think he’s moving the puck pretty efficiently as well. You obviously can’t teach size like that. When you put it all together it can be really effective.”

The Jets continued the physical play, ultimately out-hitting the Blues 33-29. Stanley finished with three of them, while Schenn led the way with seven.

“It’s fun. This is what you play for,” said Schenn.

“When games are this physical and this tight and the compete level is so high on both teams, these are the ones you love and want to be a part of. After the game you go home and you feel sore — but it’s a good sore, and a good tired.”

MIND GAMES

Perhaps Scheifele had a little extra bounce in his step due to some pre-game shenanigans with Blues backup goaltender Joel Hofer.

Fred Greenslade / THE CANADIAN PRESS Blues forward Jake Neighbours falls over goalie Jordan Binnington as he tangles with Jets’ captain Adam Lowry during third-period action.

First, some quick background: For his entire career, Scheifele has always been the last player to leave the ice after warmups. It’s kind of his thing. Hofer, who happens to be from Winnipeg, clearly knows that and decided to create a bit of a standoff.

With the clock at zero and the Zambonis waiting to come on the ice, Hofer wouldn’t leave. In fact, he kept firing pucks from his own end towards Winnipeg’s net, where Scheifele was still waiting him out.

The crowd picked up on what was happening and began to boo Hofer, who dragged this out for another couple minutes before finally conceding to Scheifele and exiting stage right — this time, to a roar of cheers.

SPECIAL TEAMS

The Blues potted a pair of power-play goals in Game 1, then added their third of the series with just under two seconds left in the first period and Dylan DeMelo in the penalty box for tripping.

Snuggerud, who just finished up his collegiate career, ripped a wicked wrist shot past Hellebuyck.

Give the Jets credit. They really buckled down from that point on, killing three consecutive minors before the night was done as St. Louis ultimately finished 1-for-4 (now 3-for-7 in the series).

Fred Greenslade / THE CANADIAN PRESS Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck makes a save on St. Louis Blues’ Brayden Schenn as Neal Pionk defends during the first period.

“They did the job. They got the job done,” said Arniel. “I thought we did a fantastic job of being in sync.”

Defenceman Dylan Samberg had one of the best games of his young career, repeatedly showing his worth including some exceptional work on the PK. Goaltender Connor Hellebuyck was there to answer the bell, stopping 21 of 22 pucks he faced.

Winnipeg got just two chances on the power play, both in the first period, and couldn’t convert. They are now 1-for-6 in the series.

KEY PLAY

Connor’s second consecutive game-winning goal, thanks to a great play from Scheifele and then Perfetti.

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THREE STARS

1. Jets C Mark Scheifele: 1G, 1A

2. Jets D Dylan Samberg: Team-high 24:30 of ice time

Fred Greenslade / THE CANADIAN PRESS St. Louis Blues’ Radek Faksa tracks down Winnipeg Jets’ Morgan Barron during the second period.

3. Blues RW Jimmy Snuggerud: 1 goal

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

X and Bluesky: @mikemcintyrewpg

Mike McIntyre Reporter

Mike McIntyre is a sports reporter whose primary role is covering the Winnipeg Jets. After graduating from the Creative Communications program at Red River College in 1995, he spent two years gaining experience at the Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in 1997, where he served on the crime and justice beat until 2016. Read more about Mike.

Every piece of reporting Mike produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.