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There’s attitude and then there’s attitude.

Like, a hockey team can have a positive attitude about the way it’ll play a game. And then, in said game, a hockey team can play with an attitude.

The second version is nasty and gnarly, tenacious and impatient, frenetic and unapologetic.

That was the Blues in Game 3.

It’s got to be the Blues in Game 4.

St. Louis played Game 3 at home with an attitude and swagger, unleashing hit after hit, instigating and agitating along the way. The Blues were not afraid of the moment — that being, if the Blues lost the game, they would’ve fallen, 3-0 in the series, to the Winnipeg Jets. And St. Louis sure isn’t afraid or intimidated by the Jets’ President’s Trophy. The Blues played Game 3 like a team that feels it belongs — and can compete for a different piece of hardware.

OK, go do it again Sunday at high noon.

“We have a big, big belief in this group,” Blues veteran Oskar Sundqvist said.

After Saturday’s practice, I asked Blues coach Jim Montgomery if he’s seeing an attitude.

“Well,” he said, “I’ve liked our confidence and self-belief throughout the series, but I liked our attitude and how aggressive we were, offensively and defensively, to start the last game — and for the 60 minutes.”

In Game 3, the Blues finished with an absurd total of hits — 54 — including eight from the unneighborly Jake Neighbours and six from Nathan Walker, who’s the size of the Notre Dame linebacker “Rudy,” but hits like Lawrence Taylor. Walker, in fact, finished the season with the most hits in Blues history, and in Game 3, he finished hit after hit, pegging Winnipeg players into the boards, in efforts to help save the season.

Montgomery shared that he will be “trying to stay ahead” of any adjustments the Jets’ staff makes, but “the thing that’s really important for us is that we stay true to who we are, like our identity — that attitude of being aggressive, offensively and defensively. The changes that we thought we would make, I don’t even know if they materialized. It was just more of an attitude that was different about us.”

Winnipeg will surely make changes after a 7-2 loss. The Jets had plenty of hits, too, but were reactionary in many. And their top guys weren’t top guns. But the Blues must be the Blues, regardless. They developed an identity during the final couple months — a “stingy” identity, Neighbours once called it, which showcases their confidence and, yes, attitude.

“I think we like to play kind of a hardnosed brand of hockey,” said St. Louis defenseman Cam Fowler, who exploded in Game 3 with five points, the most-ever by a Blues defenseman in a postseason game. “I think when our guys are skating and forechecking, that’s really what makes us a hard team to play against. And, you know, I think we like to really pay attention to our details and play a structured game.

“So I think there’s a lot that goes into (our identity), but if I had to pick one thing, it’s the forechecking of our group and our speed, and that helps us play at a high pace — and helps us create momentum in hockey games, as well.”

The Blues have actually set a competitive tone in all three first periods, so far. But in Game 3, they carried it into the rest of the game. Sure, if Jordan Binnington had caught that one puck one millimeter back into the net, the Jets would’ve been given that goal (and the game would’ve been 3-1). But Binnington made the save. And the deflated Jets couldn’t get much going. Kyle Connor was one of the Winnipeg stars entering Game 3, but the only time we really heard his name called was when fans chanted “CON-NOR! CON-NOR!” … in reference to rattled goalie Connor Hellebuyck.

And yeah, that’s another part of it. The attitude within the atmosphere. The Blues play well in front of Blues fans. St. Louis hasn’t lost in St. Louis in two months.

“I mean, we’re definitely comfortable at home,” Fowler said. “Obviously, we have amazing fans. That environment for game three was incredible and gave us a lot of energy and momentum in the game. And our fans have been showing up for us all year long. So I think it’s a place where there’s a lot of energy and excitement in the arena, and as athletes, that helps us get excited and stay motivated. We just always want to make sure it’s a hard place for teams to come in and play, and you have to have that in the playoffs.”

The thing about attitude is it has to be collective. Infectious. A couple key guys can’t be the only ones buzzing. Line after line must be rolling. That’s hard to do against the mighty Jets. But the pressure is clearly on Winnipeg. The Blues are in their first postseason since the retool began; the Jets are primed to vie for the Cup with their standout and seasoned players. Oh, and the Jets lost in the first round the past two years. Oh, and Hellebuyck is the league’s most-reliable regular-season goalie and the most-unreliable playoff goalie on the road.

The Blues know who the Blues are. Heck, they won 12-striaght games toward the end of the regular season. So they clearly have a positive attitude heading into the biggest game (so far) of their postseason — but will they find the mindset and activate the energy to play with a Game 3 attitude in Game 4?

I think so.

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Entering the first-round series between Winnipeg and St. Louis, the advantage appeared clear on paper.

The Jets had the top power play in the league. The Blues penalty kill was 28th. The Jets were second in the NHL with a plus-22 special teams goal margin. The Blues were one of just three teams to make the playoffs with a negative special teams goal margin (minus-7).

Well, you know how reliable paper is in the playoffs.

Through the first three games of the series, which Winnipeg leads 2-1, the Blues have been the dominant team on special teams. They have scored six power-play goals and allowed two on Winnipeg power plays, a plus-4 goal margin that is second in the playoffs behind Los Angeles’ plus-5 mark.

The Blues power play has scored in every game this series, and has accounted for six of the team’s 11 total goals. Jordan Kyrou (twice), Robert Thomas, Jimmy Snuggerud, Pavel Buchnevich and Colton Parayko have scored power-play goals for St. Louis this series.

“I think we’ve been very direct,” Blues coach Jim Montgomery said. “I think we’ve attacked the net well and I think (associate coach) Steve Ott has a really good plan. He’s always figuring out new ways to attack from the same kind of look and I think we have really talented players that are playing at a high level on the power play right now.”

During Thursday night’s 7-2 romp in Game 3, the Blues scored three times on the power play.

One was on an extended 5 on 3 advantage from Kyrou. Another was when the game was out of reach, and Parayko bombed away from the left circle. But the Blues unveiled a new wrinkle early on, switching Pavel Buchnevich and Zack Bolduc on the top power play. Buchnevich occupied the bumper, moving Bolduc to the right flank.

The change allowed the Blues to execute a high tip to Buchnevich, fed from Thomas coming down the left flank. It also forced the Jets to think about different passing lanes the Blues might try to navigate. When Bolduc was in the bumper looking for one-time opportunities from Thomas, the passes might come from the hashmarks or below. If the Blues are looking for a tip from Buchnevich, the pass will come from much higher in the zone.

“You’re putting a lot of tape out there of guys in the same position,” Blues defenseman Cam Fowler said. “Teams are able to adjust to that. It’s those in-game adjustments or over the course of the series, you have to show them different looks where they might not have seen it before. It won’t show up on tape. We’re adjusting to what they’re doing as well.”

Buchnevich has a lengthy history at the bumper, and Bolduc played the flank in junior hockey, so both players are familiar with those spots on the ice. Now, it’s about them finding the right pockets.

“If Buchy’s going higher or lower, I’m trying to read off him,” Bolduc said. “He’s doing the same thing to me. We try to talk on the ice when someone is going high or low.”

Asked specifically about the switch of Buchnevich and Bolduc, Montgomery said “maybe it creates a little bit of a hesitancy.”

“Maybe they cover one guy more than the other,” Montgomery said. “And it creates a different opening, especially for who the passers are, which is (Fowler), (Thomas) and (Snuggerud) at the goalline.”

On the other side, the Blues penalty kill has been drastically improved since the 4 Nations break. Before the break, they owned the third-worst PK in the league. But in the 26 games down the stretch, they clocked in at No. 7.

Forward Radek Faksa credited a better neutral-zone forecheck and more consistent penalty-killing pairs for the improvement. For the most part, Thomas is with Buchnevich, Faksa with Alexey Toropchenko, and Oskar Sundqvist with either Mathieu Joseph or Nathan Walker.

In the series, Winnipeg’s Mark Scheifele scored in Game 1 on an attempted pass that deflected off Ryan Suter and into he goal. Neal Pionk ripped a one-timer late in Game 3. The Jets could have had another power play goal when Cole Perfetti slapped a feed from Kyle Connor, but Jordan Binnington made a glove save that was upheld following a video review.

“Of course they have the best power play in the league, but we have to just do the little things right like win faceoffs, clear the puck,” Faksa said. “We know who can take the shot, who can make the play. We need to be aware of the players on the ice. Scheifele and Connor, they are probably the most dangerous guys on the PP. You have to be aware of them.”

In the series, the Blues are above league-average in both faceoff percentage while shorthanded (53.3%) and time spent in the defensive zone shorthanded (54.6%, according to NHL Edge). What are the points of emphasis for the Blues?

“Winning faceoffs, clearing pucks 200 feet and trying to have pressure on the entry,” Montgomery said. “Once they get it set up, they’re moving it around, they’re going to get looks, they’re too good of players. We’re trying to control how much in-zone time against us.

St. Louis and Montreal are the only teams that trail their series despite holding an edge in special teams.

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The weather may be great in Anaheim, California, with the sun sparkling on the nearby Pacific Ocean, but if it’s hockey you care about, like Blues defenseman Cam Fowler does, the area leaves a bit to be desired.

Not since 2018 have the Ducks gone to the NHL playoffs, and this is a league where half the teams make the postseason. It takes a certain level of organizational disorder and not playing well to pull that off. So when Fowler was approached in December about a trade to the Blues, he had to give it some serious thought, even if the Blues at that point were no cinch to not be in the same situation as the Ducks.

But he believed.

“Oh, yeah, absolutely,” he said. “I wouldn’t have made the decision to come here if I didn’t think that that was in the cards, because I hadn’t played in six or seven years, and at the point I’m in in my career, yes, I wanted a different opportunity. But it was about coming to a team that I felt had the chance to compete in the playoffs and was up and coming. And so that was factored into my decision as well.”

It’s turned out Fowler was right — the Blues did make the playoffs — and also that Fowler played a significant role in it. He had nine goals and 27 assists in 51 games with the Blues after his Dec. 14 acquisition, was third among defensemen with 17 points from March 7 to the end of the season, with his 15 assists in that run tied for the most among defensemen and sixth overall. He paired well with Colton Parayko on the Blues’ top unit and, said goaltender Jordan Binnington, “brought a calming presence to our back end and in the locker room.”

And in return, he got something.

“I think as a player, it wears on you a little bit when you’re when you’re not having the success that you want as a team,” he said. “It’s always hard to really feel like you’re having any individual success or you’re growing. So that definitely did wear on me quite a bit. It was never something where I didn’t think that I couldn’t play anymore, that I had lost my confidence to play, but it really was just a situation where I felt maybe a change was necessary so that I could kind of reinvigorate things. And not just for me too, but for Anaheim as well, like it was just time to move on so.

“And then I got here, and I got comfortable with the team and the system, and got a great opportunity to play, and I was able to prove to myself I still have a lot of hockey left in me. And I think when you’re going through those spells on a team that’s not having success, it’s hard to have that mindset, just for anybody. So that’s really just a situation that I was in.”

On Thursday in Game 3, Fowler had one of the best offensive playoff games for an NHL defenseman, recording five points on four assists and an impressive goal, a point total exceeded in the playoffs exactly once, by Edmonton’s Paul Coffey, and matched by just seven other players, only one of them, Cole Makar, doing it in the past 30 years.

“He’s been remarkable,” Blues coach Jim Montgomery said. “I told him after the game, ‘Thank God you’re not in Anaheim anymore.’ I thought our D corps was really good tonight and I thought (Fowler and Parayko) led us tonight with their skating and their willingness to shoot. That goal by Cam Fowler, I mean, that’s what our D corps can do. We have a lot of guys that can skate back there.”

The goal, it turns out, was totally ad libbed. Fowler had the puck behind the Blues’ net and after a long wait, finally was able to break the puck out to Parayko on the left. Parakyo got the puck to Pavel Buchnevich at center ice, and then he got it to Robert Thomas, who brought it into the Jets zone. All the while, Fowler was skating up the center of the ice and when he hit the blue line, he turned up the speed, got past a defender, took a pass from Thomas and scored to make it 3-0 late in the first period and widen the gulf between the teams as the Blues won for the first time in the series.

“It wasn’t a set play or anything,” Fowler said. “I wanted to try and be more of a factor with my legs and push them back a little bit. I just saw that we had full control of the puck and it was nothing more than just seeing a lane to the net and trying to jump through it as fast as I could.”

The chances he took there bear a resemblance to the chance he took in coming to St. Louis. Fowler had a limited no-trade clause and could have nixed the deal, but he didn’t opt for the status quo.

“I am very grateful that this opportunity presented itself,” he said, “because I think not only do I feel comfortable here, but it’s given me a lot of confidence again in my abilities, in my playing career. So as scary as it was to leave a situation that I’d been in for 14 years, I think if we didn’t take that risk, I think maybe there would have been some regret, and yes, it’s hard to sit down and list teams that you’re willing to go to. You have to take every situation as it comes, and when this one presented itself, everyone I spoke to adored the city, the fans, all the players that still stay here after they’ve been players here, so I just felt like it was the right fit for me and to get to play with Monty and this group of players has been a real honor for me. And it’s really given me a lot of confidence and energy since I’ve been here.”

Same for the Blues.

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There wasn’t a conversation had, but more so a lingering thought for Robert Thomas and Pavel Buchnevich.

They needed to be better than they were in the first two games of the Blues’ first-round series against Winnipeg. The Jets’ stars carried them to two wins. The Blues’ best players had yet to do so.

That changed on Thursday night in a 7-2 Blues win that pulled St. Louis back into the series, trailing 2-1 going into Sunday’s Game 4 at Enterprise Center. Buchnevich had three goals and an assist. Thomas had four assists. Add in Cam Fowler’s five points and it was the first time since 1982 that three Blues each had at least four points in a playoff game.

“We had to step up,” Thomas said. “Their top players were contributing, and big reasons for us going down 2-0 and Buchy stepped up right away, came out flying, and made some great plays and got us off to a great start. So he deserves a lot of credit.”

Buchnevich scored twice in the opening 3:11 to boost the Blues to a 2-0 lead, then polished off his hat trick in the third period into an open net after a mishandle behind the goal by Connor Hellebuyck. He entered the night with one playoff goal in 22 previous games, and left it with the 18th hat trick in Blues franchise history.

“I try to do my best for the team,” Buchnevich said. “For the goal scoring, I just shoot the puck. When you play with Tommer you have lots of scoring chances. He creates lots of scoring chances for everybody so now I hit the net and it goes in. So, let’s keep going and we’ll see what’s going to happen.”

When Buchnevich scored just 48 seconds into the game, it came in an unorthodox manner. Cam Fowler’s shot toward the net deflected off Jimmy Snuggerud at the net-front, then found Buchnevich hanging on the other side of the crease. He kicked the puck up, and then swatted it in with his stick.

Since Buchnevich hit the puck with his stick, it could not be called back for crossing the line with a distinct kicking motion. And Buchnevich’s stick’s contact with the puck was below the crossbar, nullifying any high-sticking protests.

“For a terrible soccer player, that was pretty high end,” Thomas said. “He says he’s pretty good (at soccer), but I think he sucks. I guess he’s pretty good after that goal.”

Thomas drew a tripping call to put the Blues on an early power play, allowing the Blues to unveil a small wrinkle on the man-advantage. They switched Buchnevich and Zack Bolduc, moving Buchnevich into the bumper position and Bolduc into the right circle. It didn’t take long for Thomas to find Buchnevich for a deflection in the slot, reminiscent of John Tavares’ goal for Toronto in Game 1 vs. Ottawa.

“You watch other games, we saw Tavares run that play,” Thomas said. “He didn’t score on the tip, but on the rebound. So you kind of look around and see what other teams are doing and try and copy it and it worked for us tonight.”

Fowler’s goal with 4:09 left in the first period gave the Blues a 3-0 lead, and St. Louis finished the period with 15 shots on goal. In Game 1, the Blues had 17 total shot across the entire game.

“I don’t really know how to describe it,” Buchnevich said. “Just a crazy, emotional start. We throw the puck at the net, we got the rebound and when you score the first goal the game opens up and we got the second one right away. It’s a little bit easier to play with the lead, so we’ve got to score first and it’ll be easier to play.”

As the Blues went on a late-season run to secure a postseason berth, they did so behind Thomas and Buchnevich. No player in the NHL had more than Thomas’ 40 points after the 4 Nations break. Buchnevich put a disappointing start behind him to post 23 points in 22 games, including goals in five of the last six regular-season games.

“The reason we’re in the playoffs is because those guys responded and took their game to another level,” Blues coach Jim Montgomery said. “We felt that we had to take our game in the playoffs to another level after losing the first two games and we did that. Now we’ve got to keep going. You’ve got to keep getting better in the series and we’ve just got to keep getting better. We know how good Winnipeg is.”

During the 8:34 at 5 on 5 when both Thomas and Buchnevich were on the ice, the Blues dominated Winnipeg. They led 7-2 in shots on goal, 5-2 in scoring chances, 3-0 in high-danger chances and 3-0 in goals, according to Natural Stat Trick. That doesn’t even include the three power-play goals scored by St. Louis with both Thomas and Buchnevich on the ice.

Meanwhile, Winnipeg’s Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor were held pointless with three total shots on goal. Connor was minus-4 and Scheifele was minus-3.

“We want to help the team,” Thomas said. “Their top players have scored a lot lately, and were able to score late in games. We needed to find a way to respond.”

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CON-NOR! CON-NOR! CON-NOR! The serenade represented the Blues having put the frustrations of their Winnipeg trip behind them as well as having put the NHL’s best defensive hockey team on its heels for at least one night.

By the time Blues fans chanted in a mocking tone at Winnipeg Jets all-world goaltender on Thursday night, the damage had already been done. That simply added to the already raucous soundtrack as the Blues overwhelmed the Jets 7-2 in Enterprise Center in Game 3.

The Blues asserted their dominance early on their home ice, pulled themselves back in the best-of-seven series, pierced a defense that had largely taken the air out of their attack since the second period of Game 1 and put the playoff demons that have haunted Hellebuyck back in play.

They did it all by getting to the net front and setting a tone from the first minute of play.

“I think we came out with purpose, were able to find success early and that kind of snowballed the rest of the game,” Blues center Robert Thomas said.

Pavel Buchnevich scored the fastest two goals to start a playoff game since 1996, and the first came just 48 seconds into the night. It put him well on his way to the first playoff hat trick of his career and a four-point performance.

The style of the opening goal mattered as much as the suddenness.

Rookie forward Jimmy Snuggerud went to front of the net as (one goal, four assists) controlled the puck along the half board. Snuggerud drew the attention of the Jets defense and withstood contact.

The combination of Snuggerud’s net front presence and the puck being on Fowler’s stick allowed Buchnevich to dive to the back doorstep unbothered and bang home the game’s first goal once the puck deflected off Snuggerud.

Less than a minute into the game, they’d generated and scored on the type of chance they had to beg, borrow, steal and rely on a power play to get in Winnipeg.

The Blues also planted a flag right in front Hellebuyck, claimed that territory and sent the message that they planned to spend time face-to-face with him at short range throughout the night.

And yes, it mattered that the Blues scored four of their six goals against Hellebuyck (pulled from the game late in the third period) at even strength.

“Really important,” Thomas said. “You can’t just win power play goals. We had to really step up our five-on-five game, and we’re able to find team success tonight. And we got to continue that.”

The second goal came 3:11 into the game on a power play as Buchnevich redirected the puck to the top shelf after Thomas fired it in front of the net. It effectively sealed the Jets’ fate for the night.

“We lost the game in the first period,” Jets head coach Scott Arniel said. “They scored two goals in the first three minutes. We got on our heels. The crowd got behind them.”

The Jets allowed the fewest goals in the NHL during the regular season. They allowed the third-fewest high-danger shots, which explains the utter disdain in Arniel’s voice as he lamented, “We gave the middle of the ice a lot tonight, which we don’t usually do.”

During the regular season, Hellebuyck boasted the highest save percentage (.925) and the best goal against average (2.00) of any goalie who appeared in at last 12 games this season as well as the best goals saved above expected.

Ah, but there’s an important caveat to his proficiency.

Hellebuyck, a three-time all-star likely on the verge of his third Vezina Trophy as the NHL’s top goaltender, has turned into a pumpkin in the playoffs in recent years.

In 2023, he allowed 3.44 goals against in five playoff games (four losses) with an .886 save percentage. In 2024, he allowed 5.23 goals against in five games (four losses) with an .864 save percentage. During that 10-game stretch, he allowed four goals or more in a game eight times and five goals or more five times.

The Blues showed they’re capable of applying enough pressure to make Hellebuyck fold when they scored three goals in the first two periods of the series, but they failed to sustain it.

They lead going into the third period of Game 1, but they mustered just two shots in the third period and lost. They fired 10 shots in the opening period of Game 2, but Hellebuyck faced just 12 the rest of that game and secured a win in a one-goal game.

The Blues had let him off the hook, until Thursday night.

“I think it was just trying to get away from one-and-done hockey,” Fowler said. “Hellebuyck was seeing a lot of shots there in Winnipeg, he can control the rebound and the way that they play, they have five guys in front of the net, they’re able to clear the rebounds and come out the other end there.

“We just wanted to make life a little bit harder with traffic and more pucks directed at the net, and our guys did a great job of establishing the forecheck and letting us play a little more time in the offensive zone. That helped us out quite a bit.”

It all started with that first goal and their ability to make things a lot less comfortable for Hellebuyck, but it can’t stop there if the Blues want to do more than just avoid a sweep.

“It was really important that we got rewarded for what we thought was playing a north game, simple hockey,” Blues coach Jim Montgomery said. “It’s a win, it got us back in the series, but we’ve got to move on to the next game.

“That’s the important thing, what are we going to do now. What’s next?”

Photos: Buchnevich nets hat trick in Blues 7-2 win over Jets in Game 3

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On ice level, but far from the ice — tucked in a drab Enterprise Center corner near a stairwell — sat four filled trash bags. It was the third period of Thursday’s Game 3. I could hear the muffled crowd roar as I opened one of the black bags … and there they were: dozens and dozens of hats. Each style of Blues hat you could imagine — and each hat still wet from being on the ice.

This was cool. It was also kind of gross, yes. But it was cool, because these were the hats fans threw on the ice after Pavel Buchnevich’s third goal during the Game 3 win over Winnipeg.

“I had to just pick them up as fast as possible,” said 20-year-old Hank Word, the building operations intern at Enterprise Center, who gathered the hats retrieved on ice by the Blue Crew and bagged them. “I mean, I'm kind of running all off adrenaline.”

Thursday was an epic night — Blues 7, Jets 2 — as St. Louis cut Winnipeg’s series lead to 2-1. And what are the odds? Just like the last time the Jets played a playoff game here — April 20, 2019 — a Blues player netted a hat trick. That night it was Jaden Schwartz. The Blues won that Game 6 and thus that series (and, one might recall, three more series after that). This night it was Buchnevich, who had struggled offensively in the first two games (one total shot), but exploded in the biggest of games.

On Thursday, “Buchi” took five shots and finished with three goals and an assist.

He scored his first goal just 48 seconds into Game 3 … and his second goal just 3:11 into Game 3. And 5:24 into the third, his third goal started a storm — it was raining hats.

“A special moment, one that you can take in — the crowd was loving 'Buchi' here,” Blues goalie Jordan Binnington said. “And you know, there's a lot of hats out there. Just such a great atmosphere. And you see the true fans we have in times like these. And you know, they understand the game. They understand where we're putting in the efforts. And when you have success like that, it's great to appreciate that.”

The Blues return to Enterprise Center on Sunday at high noon for Game 4.

It appears the Buchnevich has been rejuvenated — a vital turn-of-events for St. Louis in this series.

“'Buchi' is a heart-and-soul guy, you know?” said defenseman Cam Fowler, who had the rare distinction of being the No. 1 star on a night a teammate got a playoff hat trick (since Fowler set a franchise record for defensemen points in a postseason game with five). “He is a huge part of our team, huge part of the locker room, and huge part of why we were able to get a win tonight. So, a special night for him. It's not something that comes around very often, to get the chance to score three goals in a playoff game.

“And I know he'll tell you that the team getting the win means more to him, and that's the mindset that we have to have. But it was special night for him, and he should enjoy it.”

He definitely did in the moment. As soon as Buchnevich netted hist third goal, he pretended to take a hat off his own head and throw it.

As for the actual hats, what do they do with them?

The Blues plan to donate them on Friday to St. Patrick Center, which per its website is “a leading nonprofit organization in St. Louis dedicated to combating homelessness since 1983.”

And for a day, anyway, it can be St. Hattrick Center.

Buchnevich has a hat trick as Blues beat Jets 7-2 in Game 3

Pavel Buchnevich had a hat trick, starting with two goals in the first 3:11 as the Blues beat Winnipeg 7-2 in Game 3

Photos: Buchnevich nets hat trick in Blues 7-2 win over Jets in Game 3

A semblance of solace arrived for Winnipeg at 9:06 p.m. – a fleeting flash free from the echoes inside Enterprise Center, from the three-year pent-up explosion, from the Blues blitz that was unfolding on the ice.

The evening’s first television timeout was the only salvation for the Jets, the only temporary reprieve to quell a Blues rebellion that ended with a 7-2 St. Louis win in Game 3 on Thursday night.

From an 8:50 p.m. puck drop until 9:06 p.m., a constant cacophony filled Enterprise Center. Pavel Buchnevich ignited the crowd by scoring 48 seconds into the game. When Robert Thomas drew a tripping call on Luke Schenn at 1:58, it built more than a murmur. Buchnevich scored again at 3:11 to allow the Blues and their fans to send an early message to the Jets.

Welcome to St. Louis. It’s our turn.

“It’s what we needed,” Blues forward Robert Thomas said. “It’s a long series, we climbed back into it and good game tonight. We got to focus on Sunday and making sure we’re prepared and coming out the same way.”

Buchnevich finished off his hat trick by scoring about 5 1/2 minutes into the third period, capping the franchise’s 18th postseason hat trick. Cam Fowler racked up a goal and four assists, the ninth time in NHL history that a defenseman put up five points in a playoff game. Thomas had four assists, and Jordan Binnington made 16 saves.

The win gave the Blues their first of the first-round series, which the Jets now lead 2-1 after taking the opening two games in Winnipeg. Game 4 is set for Sunday at noon in St. Louis, and the Blues’ win ensured Game 5 would take place in Winnipeg on Wednesday.

Game 3 allowed the Blues a chance to claw back in the series.

In Winnipeg, they lost twice thanks to a pair of third-period game-winning goals by Kyle Connor. Historically, teams that trail a series 3-0 have won just four times in 211 instances, so Thursday was not just St. Louis’ first home playoff game since 2022. It was a lifeline, a way to restore hope in a season that needed a rally just to qualify for the postseason.

“In Winnipeg it’s like both games were pretty close, one-goal game,” Buchnevich said. “So both games pretty close, tight checking game. We just got to focus on ourselves, one game at a time and believe in our system, believe in our forecheck and keep going. Just like I say, one game at a time. We’re at home two games, we should win at home both, too. We’ll see what happens.”

The uproarious start to the game set the tone for an evening that evolved into a celebration at 14th and Clark, and then devolved into a carnival of scrums after the Blues opened up a five-goal lead in the third period.

By the time the first TV timeout rolled around, the Blues had already been credited with 26 hits. They had 39 in the first period, and finished with 63 in the game. Add in Winnipeg’s 68 hits, and the combined 131 hits were the third-most in a regulation playoff game since the NHL started tracking hits in 2005-06.

“What I liked was the fierce, competitive nature in our attitude for 60 minutes,” Blues coach Jim Montgomery said. “The start was incredible. We were aggressive, we did the things we wanted to do to make sure that we were going to get more scoring chances, and we did get more scoring chances.”

Enterprise Center had been waiting for a night like Thursday. The previous two seasons yielded a pair of missed postseasons and long summers. The Blues appeared headed for another mid-April exit when they were eight points out of a playoff spot at the 4 Nations break. But they transformed into the league’s best team for the final two months of the season, and finished the season by winning their final 12 home games.

The Blues armed another sellout crowd with blue rally towels at every seat. Chris Pronger whipped the arena into a frenzy pregame. Every crunch against the boards was supplemented by the building’s soundtrack of its own. As the goals piled up on Connor Hellebuyck, a sing-songy taunt developed too: “Connnnnor ... Connnnnor ... Connnnnor”

Before the game, Montgomery had a chat with his coaching staff.

“I said, ‘You know, when you’re on the road, you hear the crowd at the beginning, then the puck drops and you don’t hear the crowd. But when you’re at home, it seems like it just gives you more juice,” Montgomery said. “It just does. Our crowd was great to start the game. Right away, the ‘Let’s go Blues’ in the first five minutes … I know we scored two goals, but gives our players juice. You could tell. We were really skating tonight.”

Buchnevich was the team’s catalyst. He scored his first of the night by kicking a puck up for him to bat into the net. His second came on a deflection in the slot on the power play, and he later set up Fowler’s goal in transition. His hat-trick clincher was courtesy of Thomas forcing Connor Hellebuyck into a turnover behind the net, setting Buchnevich up for a slam dunk into an open net.

“I thought Buchy has been good in the first two games, especially defensively,” Montgomery said. “But offensively, I thought there was more in his game, and I thought he brought that tonight. Not only him, but that line and our power play.”

The Blues have more work to do in order to knock off the President’s Trophy winners. They still must win three of the next four games to advance past Winnipeg. They must win at least one of those games at Canada Life Centre. And they must know that it’s unlikely to score six goals in a game on Hellebuyck, who will likely win his second straight Vezina Trophy.

But they have given themselves an opportunity to tie the series on Sunday in Game 4.

“All it is is Game 3 in our mind,” Fowler said. “We came out, had a great first period. That helped us get back in the series and helped us win the hockey game tonight, but when that puck drops on Sunday, none of that matters. It’s about the preparation between now and then and getting ready for a huge game on Sunday.”

Photos: Buchnevich nets hat trick in Blues 7-2 win over Jets in Game 3

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The Winnipeg Jets knew the Blues would fly out of the gate Thursday night, since they trailed 2-0 in the best-of-seven series and their home crowd give them energy.

“They’re going to come hard, that's their M.O.,” Josh Morrissey told reporters. “They're aggressive on the forecheck, and they play an aggressive game, so that's where we have to do a better job of executing with the puck to move it past that aggressiveness that we didn't handle well in that first period.” 

No, they did not.

Winnipeg fell behind 2-0 in the first 3:11 of the game on two Pavel Buchnevich goals.

The Jets trailed 3-0 after one period. The Blues landed 30 hits on them with Brayden Schenn leading the charge against Mark Scheifele’s line.

The Jets had to make do without key defenseman Dylan DeMelo, who averaged 20:20 in the first two games before becoming ill. Winnipeg still missed injured top 6 wingers Gabriel Vilardi, who traveled to the STL, and Nikolai Ehlers, who stayed home.

But still . . .  after the Blues jumped them, the Jets looked nothing like their usual selves.

“We lost the game in the first period," Jets coach Scott Arniel said. “They scored two goals in the first three minutes, got on our heels, crowd got behind them. We were terrible in the first period. It was over in the first.

“Heck a play by Buchnevich, kicking it, knocking it out of the air to get it started (48) seconds into the game, obviously lighting up the building even more. We’re down 2-0 4 minutes in, we’re chasing the game from that point.”

The Jets stabilized in the second period and briefly threatened to pull back into the game.

“We kind of gave ourselves a chance, got going,” Arniel said. “There were parts of the second period there where we had lots of (offensive) zone time. We had an opportunity to be in there.

“We ended up with one or two scoring chances, we didn’t get bodies there. We had some point-blank looks, missed the net. Just a lot of tendencies that really isn’t our hockey game.”

Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington snatched a goal from Cole Perfetti midway through the period, or did he? Tipsheet is guessing that was a goal after looking at one replay review that showed Binnignton’s glove extending behind the post.

“I saw his glove in the net,” Perfetti told reporters. “Obviously, he made a great save, but I was on the goal line and I saw his glove in the net and the puck on the mesh of the glove. And you see it pretty evidently in the video, I think.”

After a lengthy review, though. the officials weren’t 100 percent sure the puck got over the goal line, so there was no goal.

Winnipeg finally broke through to score in the third period, Thomas forechecked Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck behind the net, Buchnevich tucked the loose puck into the goal to complete the hat trick, making it 4-1, hats rained on the ice during a prolonged shower, and was that.

The Jets kept acting out, taking cheap-shot penalties, and the Blues kept making them pay while wrapping up a 7-2 victory that reward Blues fans for staying up late.

Arniel expects Hellebuyck and the rest of the Jets to flush the lopsided loss and move on.

“It's one game,” he said “We lost one game. Whether it's 7-2 or 1-0, we lost one game in this series.”

Here is what folks have been writing about the playoffs:

Barry Petchesky, The Defector: “I'd rather gaze directly upon the opening of the Ark of the Covenant than spend too much time looking at Stuart Skinner's horrid numbers in the early (but getting late fast) postseason going. The Oilers goalie has allowed 11 goals on just 58 shots over, functionally, five and a half periods, surrendering six to the Kings in a wild Game 1 and five Wednesday night before being yanked for Calvin Pickard. Pickard promptly allowed a goal on the first shot he faced, which, if it was a salve to Skinner's wounded pride, was gifted not netminder-to-netminder, but by an Edmonton defense that is playing like it holds a grudge against its own backstop. Pickard will almost surely get the start in a must-have Game 3 back in Edmonton, after the Kings took care of business, 6-2. I am not convinced it will matter.”

Mark Spector, ������Ƶnet: “While the rest of the hockey world begins the process of moving on from the Edmonton Oilers, the team cloaks itself in belief — real or perceived. It’s the way our sport works, within the walls of a National Hockey League team full of players who have lived a lifetime of seasons that end in a loss far, far more often than a win. Holding on to belief does not ensure success. That is accepted fact. But losing that belief guarantees you will lose — also a fact. So no matter how bad it looks, a team that looks whipped will believe until there is nothing left to believe in. Edmonton is no different. This is simply how the industry works . . . Look, you and I may not be so bullish on the Oilers’ immediate future, after watching and chronicling the many issues that led to two losses and 12 goals against in Games 1 and 2 of this series. The scent of redemption, of revenge, after three straight losses to Edmonton wafts off the backs of these Kings like garlic from Stawnichy’s Sausage House on 118th ave. There isn’t a franchise or fan base in the NHL that could enjoy this beat-down more than the Kings and their people, after the last three springs.”

Jesse Granger, The Athletic: “A decade ago, at the NHL scouting combine in Buffalo, an 18-year-old Mackenzie Blackwood wowed scouts and onlookers with his athleticism. Even as one of the biggest, heaviest athletes in that draft class, Blackwood dazzled with his 118.9-inch standing long jump and his 27.28-inch vertical leap — both incredible figures, especially for a goaltender. Blackwood is still wowing us with his athleticism and explosion. Only now, he’s doing it in the playoffs. The 28-year-old has been stellar for the Colorado Avalanche in his postseason debut, and has made some of the most impressive saves in these playoffs, despite falling behind Dallas 2-1 in the first-round series Wednesday night after a second straight overtime loss.”

Adam Proteau, The Hockey News: “The Devils were outplayed in Game 1, losing to the Hurricanes 4-1. Carolina built a 3-0 lead in Game 1 and was never threatened by New Jersey. In Game 2, the final score of 3-1 for Carolina might cause some to believe the game was more competitive for the Devils. The big picture tells a different tale, as the Hurricanes kept the Devils off the scoresheet for the final 56 minutes in Game 2, and New Jersey’s offense was a complete non-factor after an early goal. The Hurricanes are too fast and deep for the Devils. Although Carolina’s regular-season road record of 16-21-4 suggests New Jersey could win a game at home, the Devils’ home record of 19-17-5 suggests they won’t thrive in their rink. Barring a miracle, the Devils are going home soon.”

Megaphone

“I don't know exactly what was going through my mind and body at that time, but it was pretty special, and that's a memory for life. Simple as that. Avs faithful, they make it special, you know? It's a special place to play, it's a special place to live and raise a family. And obviously the last three years have been difficult at times. And to come back and feel that love, I mean, incredible. So it means a lot.”

Colorado Avalanche star Gabriel Landeskog, on returning to action for the first time since June 26, 2022, after recovering from his knee injury.

Photos: Buchnevich nets hat trick in Blues 7-2 win over Jets in Game 3