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WINNIPEG, MANITOBA — Game 1 of the Blues-Jets playoff series was a learning experience for a lot of young players on the Blues, who had little exposure to the intensity of postseason hockey or an atmosphere like that in Canada Life Centre on Saturday night, and captain Brayden Schenn admitted afterward, for some of the older players too.

But for the Blues, the game could have been much more than just a lesson in playoff hockey.

The Blues took a 3-2 lead into the third period of Game 1 but couldn’t hold it and lost to Presidents’ Trophy winning Winnipeg 5-3. The Jets got the game-winning goal with 1:36 to play, after an icing call brought the puck back into the Blues’ zone and Kyle Connor, who took 11 shots in the game, finally put one in. Winnipeg then added an empty-net goal before the game finished with a medley of fights that led to nine 10-minute misconduct penalties. Game 2 is Monday.

“All in all, I thought it was a really good hockey game,� coach Jim Montgomery said. “But we are going to grow and we are going to get better from this. That’s what we have to do. If we want to make it a series, we’re going to have to get better. We’re going to have to control our emotions better. We’re going to have to manage the puck better. We’re going to have to win more battles.

“It’s a little bit of execution and it’s a little bit of getting used to the Stanley Cup playoffs. We’ve got a fairly young team out there, a lot of guys playing in their first game in the Stanley Cup playoffs. So that’s why I know we will get better from it.�

“(We’ll) learn from our mistakes, and we’re going to be better,� said Schenn.

The Blues scored three goals on likely Vezina Trophy winner Connor Hellebuyck on 10 shots in the first 22 minutes, then managed seven shots in the ensuing 38 minutes. In the third period, they had two shots on goal, one of which came with 13 seconds to play. Much of the Blues’ time was spent in their own end as they struggled to get the puck up ice.

“I think they obviously forechecked us well,� Schenn said, “and I think we’re going to be a little bit better executing our breakouts and winning lines and getting to our forecheck game. So we’re going to give them credit, they did a good job in the third period.�

And the Blues didn’t.

“I didn’t think we managed the game very well in the third period,� Montgomery said. “Penalties. Puck management. A little bit of our emotions.�

And yet the Blues nearly won. Robert Thomas put the Blues up 1-0 and after Winnipeg scored twice on shots that deflected into the net, the first off the Blues’ Ryan Suter, the second off two Winnipeg sticks. Oskar Sundqvist tied the game late in the first period, and early in the second period, Jordan Kyrou put the Blues ahead on a power-play goal, and that’s the way it stayed until the third period, though Kyrou had a breakaway late in the second that was stopped by Hellebuyck and clearly left Kyrou frustrated at the missed opportunity.

That set the scene for the third period, which was dominated by Winnipeg and eventually led to the tying and winning goals.

Another lesson to definitely learn is about taking penalties. Jake Neighbours, playing in his first playoff game, was called for slashing as he skated back to the bench, which led to a power play and Winnipeg’s first goal, and Zack Bolduc was called for cross checking after a stoppage.

Bolduc’s penalty came at a critical moment. The Blues were on a power play, which was one of few offensive things they did well, in the third period. They had spent the first 1:22 of the power play creating chances and applying pressure, and then Bolduc’s penalty abruptly ended that.

“We can’t take that penalty in the playoffs,� Montgomery said. “I do know that. I thought we killed the penalty pretty good. I can’t say it built momentum for them, but it took us from a situation where I thought we were a little bit in control and then we weren’t.�

“Yeah, that’s just emotion,� said Schenn of the penalties in general. “You know, first game, and we know better than that, they know better than that. And at the end of the day you’ve just got to be a little bit in control of your emotions a little bit more, and at the end of the day we’ll clean that up and we’ll play them five on five.�

A lesson for the young players?

“A lesson for everyone,� said Schenn. “We’ll be fine for next game, and obviously game one, a lot of emotion with the build-up.�

“It’s another level from regular season in the playoffs,� said Sundqvist, who in addition to scoring set a screen that made Kyrou’s goal possible. “I’m sure they were full nerves throughout this first game. I think it’s very good for them to get this first game over with and done. I think they’re going to be building off of this and get more comfortable the longer we go.

The Blues scored on two of three power plays, scoring on all but the interrupted one, while stopping Winnipeg, which had the best power play in the regular season, on three of its four power plays.

“Yeah I think we played a good game,� goaltender Jordan Binnington said, “maybe not even our best game and we were right in there. We’ve got a lot of belief in this room and it’s time to reset and focus.�

Jets 5, Blues 3

St. Louis 2 1 0 — 3

Winnipeg 2 0 3 — 5

First Period—1, St. Louis, Thomas 1 (Fowler, Buchnevich), 9:31 (pp). 2, Winnipeg, Scheifele 1 (Morrissey, Connor), 13:38 (pp). 3, Winnipeg, Anderson-Dolan 1 (Schenn, Barron), 15:02. 4, St. Louis, Sundqvist 1 (Faulk, Bolduc), 18:10. ±Ê±ð²Ô²¹±ô³Ù¾±±ð²õ—Schenn, WPG (Interference), 8:52; Neighbours, STL (Slashing), 13:22; Pionk, WPG (Roughing), 19:42.

Second Period—5, St. Louis, Kyrou 1 (Neighbours, Faulk), 1:13 (pp). ±Ê±ð²Ô²¹±ô³Ù¾±±ð²õ—Parayko, STL (Tripping), 2:04; Leddy, STL (Tripping), 19:44.

Third Period—6, Winnipeg, Iafallo 1 (Connor, Scheifele), 9:18. 7, Winnipeg, Connor 1 (Morrissey, Scheifele), 18:24. 8, Winnipeg, Lowry 1 (Appleton), 19:07 (en). ±Ê±ð²Ô²¹±ô³Ù¾±±ð²õ—Samberg, WPG (Hooking), 2:43; Bolduc, STL (Cross Checking), 4:05; Iafallo, WPG (Misconduct), 19:41; Schenn, STL (Misconduct), 19:41; Neighbours, STL (Misconduct), 19:41; Buchnevich, STL (Misconduct), 19:41; Scheifele, WPG (Misconduct), 19:41; Joseph, STL (Misconduct), 19:57; Walker, STL (Misconduct), 19:57; Stanley, WPG (Misconduct), 19:57; Schenn, WPG (Misconduct), 19:57.

Shots on Goal—St. Louis 9-6-2—17. Winnipeg 7-10-9—26.

Power-play op±è´Ç°ù³Ù³Ü²Ô¾±³Ù¾±±ð²õ—St. Louis 2 of 3; Winnipeg 1 of 4.

³Ò´Ç²¹±ô¾±±ð²õ—St. Louis, Binnington 0-1-0 (25 shots-21 saves). Winnipeg, Hellebuyck 1-0-0 (17-14).

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