The Winnipeg Jets staved off being the latest victim of the President's Trophy curse on Sunday after it won Game 7 of its first-round playoff series 4-3 in double-overtime, eliminating the St. Louis Blues.
Team captain Adam Lowry flung the puck past Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington, ending the series in which it appeared St. Louis would pull off one of the greatest upsets in Stanley Cup history.
The Blues held a 2-0 lead in the first period and then a 3-1 advantage in the third before Winnipeg scored twice in the final two minutes of regulation to send things to sudden death overtime. Cole Perfetti's game-tying tally was the latest recorded in NHL Game 7 history.
According to the TNT broadcast, this was the 200th Game 7 in NHL history, the 50th to ever go to overtime and just the 14th to require double-OT. It ultimately wound up being the third-longest Game 7 ever played.
Jets historic Game 7 comeback still leaves major questions in second-round series with Stars
Despite the historic heroics by the NHL's top team, there are still some big concerns that will have to be addressed before the Jets begin their second-round series with the Dallas Stars, who also won their own Game 7 on Saturday.
In this first round series alone, Winnipeg's Vezina Trophy-finalist goaltender and likely MVP contender Connor Hellebuyck allowed 27 total goals. Dallas notched 21 in their series against the Colorado Avalanche.
Hellebuyck's form must improve drastically, as well as that of Winnipeg's blue liners, if the President's Trophy winners want to avoid an early exit.
However, if the regular season is any indication, the Jets will have the advantage on home ice. In four games against Dallas, Winnipeg won three of them and outscored the Stars 13-5, according to WFAA's Jordan Javad.
Typically, the team that has had to utilize all seven games in a series to advance doesn't fare well in the next round. But both Dallas and Winnipeg will be on relatively even ice when the two begin play on Wednesday. Dallas will have had the extra day of rest given how the first round games were scheduled.