Here's All The Reminder That You Need That There's Absolutely Nothing Like Playoff Hockey, Especially When It Comes To Game 7
Jonathan Kozub. Getty Images.I'm able to admit that other sports have great playoffs as well. The pop of the crowd on a big home run in playoff baseball is great. The pregame intensity before a big playoff football game is awesome. But until the day that Earth stands still and time runs out, there will be nothing in the world quite like playoff hockey. If you disagree, you're just uncultured swine who doesn't know any better.
So far in these 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs, two series went the limit and pushed it to a game 7. First up we had Mikko Rantanen and the Dallas Stars pull off an epic 3rd period comeback against the Colorado Avalanche in game 7 of their series. Rantanen scored 3 goals and had an assist in the final 12 minutes of the game to complete the comeback.
It was an insane 3rd period. But turns out that was just the appetizer. The chefs were still in the kitchen cooking up the main entree. And that entree came out to the table like a sizzling plate of fajitas when the Winnipeg Jets and St. Louis Blues squared off in game 7 last night in Manitoba. The atmosphere in Winnipeg was ridiculous but the fans were silenced by the Blues scoring a minute into the game.
It was 2-0 before most folks even finished their first order of poutine of the night. Connor Hellebuyck's hellish playoff struggles continued to be a remarkably awkward issue for this Jets team. He's easily one of the best goalies in the world, is likely going to win the Vezina Trophy this year as the best goaltender in the league, and is one of the biggest reasons why the Jets just won their first Presidents Trophy in franchise history. Yet for as great as he is in the regular season, he turns into a pumpkin once the playoffs come around.
The Jets were just 20 minutes away from having to spend the entire offseason talking about whether or not it's time to turn on the best goalie that they've ever had. Don't get me wrong, the drop off is jarring. It's a legitimate issue for sure. But it's also hard to shit on the guy who got you there in the first place. The whole thing is just really bizarre and awkward.
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So with a little over 3 minutes left to play in game 7 at home, the Jets figured their best chance at survival is with Hellebuyck off the ice.
Usually you'd see a team wait until closer to 2 minutes to pull their goalie down by 2 goals, but it was desperation time in Winnipeg. They needed to make something happen, and they needed to make it happen quick. So with just under 2 minutes left to play, Vlad Namestnikov makes it a 1-goal game.
The Jets were still on life support, but at least they didn't have to pull the plug just yet. That moment was coming. The fans were saying their final goodbyes, and they were starting to plan the funeral service. Because here we were with 10 seconds left to play in regulation, and the Blues were still holding onto that precious 1-goal lead. That is, of course, until Cole Perfetti scored the biggest goal of his life and sent this bitch to overtime right before that final buzzer.
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Down by 2 with 2 minutes to play and the goalie pulled, and the Winnipeg Jets somehow managed to claw their way back into this one and send it to overtime. At that point, nobody in Winnipeg was going to bed anytime soon. That city was BUZZZZZZING. Also, time zones exist so it wasn't even late for them anyway. The point I'm trying to make here is that it wasn't a big deal that 20 minutes of playoff overtime hockey wasn't enough to end this game, so it was on to double overtime we go.
At some point, every player in the NHL was a little kid playing outside and dreaming of scoring the overtime game winner in a game 7. Maybe they were out shooting in the driveway. Maybe they were out playing on the frozen pond. No matter where they were, they all played out this situation in their heads at least a hundred times before. Adam Lowry was born 32-years ago in St. Louis while his father, Dave, was a member of the St. Louis Blues. I'm sure that Adam Lowry spent countless hours as a kid pretending that he was scoring massive goals for the Blues (it's better for the story this way. We can disregard the fact that his dad went to Florida the next season after he was born). But here he is 32-years later almost making that dream come true by scoring a playoff overtime winner against the Blues.
And that, boys and girls, is what pure unadulterated playoff hockey looks like. 60+ minutes of chaos and insanity. Doesn't get better than that. And we still have 3 more rounds to go.