The MTS Centre was filled with a roller coaster of emotion Friday as the Winnipeg Jets took on the St. Louis Blues. The Jets rallied from a 3-1 deficit with just seven minutes left to play and defeated the Blues in a shootout. Olli Jokinen scored in regulation and the shootout winner sending the crowd into a frenzy. The victory came with a price as rookie defenceman Jacob Trouba was injured in the second period and had to be stretchered off the ice and sent to the hospital.
David Backes opened the scoring for the Blues as he capitalized on a Jets turnover. Grant Clitsome lost an edge and gave the puck up to T.J. Oshie where he found Backes in front of the net. Backes one timed it for his sixth of the season.
With 4:40 left in the first period, Olli Jokinen scored to tie the game up hacking at a rebound that baffled Blues goalie Brian Elliott for his second of the season.
Winnipeg product Alex Steen put the Blues up with 1:46 left in the first period. The son of Jets great Thomas Steen grabbed the puck as Jacob Trouba misplayed it in his own end and wristed it past Ondrej Pavelec. Steen would add his second goal of the game in the third period and his seventh of the season.
The Jets comeback kicked off with Evander Kane slapping a shot that went off a Blues stick and past Brian Elliott for his fourth goal of the season to cut the lead to 3-2.
With just under two minutes left in the game, Dustin Byfuglien fed Tobias Enstrom with a beautiful cross ice pass in the attacking zone and Enstrom blasted it for the equalizer. Blake Wheeler also picked up an assist.
After overtime solved nothing, the two teams would settle things in a shootout. The Blues, fresh from a shootout win last night against the Blackhawks, held the early advantage 2-1. Bryan Little would tie it up and Pavelec would shut the door until Olli Jokinen scored the shootout winner.
Ondrej Pavelec stopped 29 shots in the win. Brian Elliott got the start in favour of Jaroslav Halak who played in yesterday’s shootout win over the Chicago Blackhawks recorded 26 saves in the loss.
The MTS Centre fell silent in the second period when Jets rookie Jacob Trouba was chasing a puck and fell face first into the end boards. The replay showed his head snapping back and had to be stretchered off the ice. One of the Jets leaders in ice time and an emerging fan favorite was brought to the hospital for further examination.
After the game, Evander Kane talked about the injury to Jacob Trouba.
“It was pretty scary,” Kane said. “Definitely was thinking about him throughout the course of the game and it was kind of tough to bounce back. Hopefully he’s ok.”
The Jets improve to 4-4-0 and will take on the Nashville Predators tomorrow night at the MTS Centre.
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