“The first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs came to a close with a pair of thrilling weekend Game 7s. The Jets beat the St. Louis Blues, 4-3, in improbable fashion in double overtime Sunday night after host Winnipeg scored a goal with three seconds left in regulation to avoid elimination. On Saturday, the Dallas Stars ousted the Colorado Avalanche on a 4-2 comeback victory as Mikko Rantanen got revenge against his former team with a third-period hat trick.
The Jets trailed by two goals twice in the game, 2-0 in the first period and 3-1 with two minutes left to go in the game. before Vladislav Namestnikov scored with 1:56 remaining and then Cole Perfetti with three seconds left to force overtime. Then, after more than 36 minutes of sudden death play, Adam Lowry tipped in a Neal Pionk shot to end the the third-longest Game 7 in NHL history.
In the weekends other Game 7 classic, with the Stars down 2-0 in the third period, Rantanen scored two goals to tie the game, and then he assisted on Wyatt Johnstons game-winning goal with under four minutes left. To pour a little more salt in the wound, Rantanen sealed the win with an empty-net goal to complete his hat trick.
The second-round will begin Monday night with the reigning champion Florida Panthers going on the road to open a series with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
