Not even sure why this is important, but Pavel Buchnevich scored three goals for his first hat trick in the playoffs and had an assist as the St. Louis Blues defeated the Winnipeg Jets 7-2 in Game 3 of their first-round series on Thursday night. Cam Fowler had a goal and four assists, Jordan Kyrou, Alexey Toropchenko, and Colton Parayko also scored, and Robert Thomas had three assists to help the Blues cut the Jets’ series lead to 2-1. Jordan Binnington made 17 saves, which is pretty good, I guess.
David Gustafsson and Neal Pionk scored for the Jets, who managed to win the first two games in Winnipeg. Connor Hellebuyck let in six goals on 25 shots before being pulled midway through the third period, and Eric Comrie only stopped two of the three shots he faced. Not really sure what they were expecting there.
Game 4 is happening in St. Louis on Sunday, with Game 5 taking place in Winnipeg on Wednesday. Buchnevich, who had only one goal in 22 previous playoff games, scored two goals in the game’s opening minutes, which is a pretty solid start I suppose. Jordan Binnington denied Cole Perfetti of a power-play goal in the second period, which was kind of a bummer for the Jets.
Buchnevich’s third goal in the third period came right after Gustafsson scored for the Jets. Kyrou and Toropchenko also scored for the Blues, making it 6-1 and causing Hellebuyck to be taken out of the game. Pionk managed to score a goal for the Jets, but Parayko sealed the deal for the Blues with a goal of their own. Just another day in the world of hockey, I guess.
