“The hardest thing in the NHL is to win the first round. It really is,” said Winnipeg Jets coach Scott Arniel. After watching the back and immensely competitive series between the Jets and the St. Louis Blues, a lot of people will agree with Coach Arniel. The Jets vs. Blues series was the only other series besides Dallas vs. Colorado to go the 7-game distance, and it brought out every emotion from fans and players alike.
Take Megan Rodgers, for example. Jets’ star Gabriel Vilardi’s girlfriend was on the rollercoaster ride of emotions as the Jets and Blues entered Game 7 tied at 3 games apiece. What followed or the next three periods and two overtimes was a Jets comeback of epic proportions. It was a game that saw Rodgers and everyone she knows resort to some extreme superstition. And if you believe in hockey superstitions, it’ll be hard to top this one.
“We had some country music on downstairs. So we kept that country music on the entire game. I kept my same drink the entire time. Everyone sat in the same seats. The people that stayed down the lounge stayed in the lounge the entire game. Just superstitious stuff,” the Winnipeg Jets’ star’s girlfriend said during the Never Offside with Julie & Cat podcast. But wait, there’s more!
Megan Rodgers confessed to choosing the leather jacket among the three she had available. Why? Well, because the Jets won the last time she wore it. Then came the painful part. “I’ve been wearing the same heels. My toes are like bleeding, but it’s fine,” Rodgers told Julie Petry and Cat Toffoli. Rodger was so dedicated that she didn’t even change the earrings.
It’s impossible to quantify the effects of hockey superstition. After all, we have examples like Hall of Fame goaltender Patrick Roy having conversations with his goalposts. The one thing the Jets certainly had was no shortage of determination. “We looked at each other and said, ‘We’re not done playing hockey yet,’” Nikolaj Ehlers recalled telling his teammates as the Jets trailed the Blues 3-1 after two periods. The third period would spark a comeback for the ages.
The St. Louis Blues collapsed against the Winnipeg Jets
While the Jets responded in the third period with a goal, taking the score to 3-2, the Blues could see the finish line. Yet, with just 2.2 seconds left between them and a series victory, the Jets stuck again. Cole Perfetti became the man who rescued the Jets as a rocket of a strike found the back of the net, tying the game. And after the first overtime, Adam Lowry scored the decisive goal.
“Not the prettiest goal, but I’ll take it… It’s what you dream of, scoring an overtime goal in the playoffs, Game 7. It’s incredible,” the hero of the game said after their double overtime victory. And in those final minutes, the Winnipeg Jets exploited the biggest weakness of the team: the tendency to concede during 6-on-5 play.
Cole Perfetti and Vladislav Namestniko, before him, scored during 6-on-5 play. “That one stings… Two-goal lead and two 6-on-5 goals against. It’s brutal,” St. Louis Blues forward Brayden Schenn said after the Blues collapsed in the closing minutes of Game 7. Coach Jim Montgomery also expressed his regret during the post-match interview.
“It’s an area of our team that has not been good all year, and it’s an area I have to get better at so that our team is better next year at pulled goalie situations,” said the former Boston Bruins coach. While Montgomery led the Blues to a franchise record of a 12-game undefeated streak in the regular season, this is one thing that came back to haunt the Blues in their most crucial game.
The post “My Toes Are Bleeding”: Winnipeg Jets Star’s Girlfriend Reveals Crucial Role in Epic NHL Playoffs Comeback appeared first on EssentiallySports.
