Blues score 3 goals in 2:13 of the second period to beat Jets 5-2 and force a Game 7

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Cam Fowler, Brayden Schenn and Nathan Walker scored in a 2:13 span of the second period and the St. Louis Blues beat the Winnipeg Jets 5-2 on Friday night to force a Game 7 in the first-round series.

Philip Broberg had a goal and an assist, Alexey Toropchenko also scored and Jordan Binnington made 21 saves for St. Louis who will return to Winnipeg for the deciding game Sunday night.

Cole Perfetti and Nino Niderreiter scored for Winnipeg, and Connor Hellebuyck made 18 saves before being pulled after the second period for Eric Comrie who made four saves. Hellebuyck is 0-7 while allowed at least four goals in each of his last seven road playoff starts.

“Tonight was not about Connor,” Jets coach Scott Arniel said. “Tonight we imploded in front of him, and so now it’s a one game showdown.”

Perfetti scored his first goal of the playoffs on a power play 5:43 into the second period to tie the score 1-1.

Walker put St. Louis back ahead with his third of the series with 8:26 remaining in the period, and Schenn got his second of the postseason 53 seconds later to make it 3-1.

Fowler scored his second goal of the playoffs with 6:20 remaining in the second period to give St. Louis a three-goal lead. Fowler has a point in all six games of the series, and his 10 points are the most in a series for a defenseman in franchise history.

Toropchenko capped St. Louis' four-goal period with 3:03 left in the second.

“We just had to control the momentum there,” Walker said. “I think after they got that power play goal we were a little flat and then we came out, took the momentum back and just kind of ran with it.”

The home team has won each of the first six games of this series.

Broberg scored his first goal of the playoffs on the Blues’ first shot on goal of the game 6:05 into the first period to put St. Louis ahead 1-0.

“I thought it was a great play by Faulk to drive wide and that’s that speed we’re talking about and then we had people drive through and were able to go low to high and pound that puck,” Blues coach Jim Montgomery said. "It was really important because I did not like the start of our first 8-10 minutes, then we started to come after that goal."

Arniel called a timeout immediately after the goal but elected not to challenge the play for goaltender interference as Pavel Buchnevich had been pushed into the crease by Dylan Samberg.

Morgan Barron appeared to score the tying goal 29 seconds into the second period. However, the goal was overturned after St. Louis challenged the play when the officials ruled that Mason Appleton had entered the Blues’ zone before Barron carried the puck in.

Jets forward Nikolaj Ehlers returned to the lineup after missing Winnipeg’s last two regular season games and first five games of the playoffs with a right foot injury.

AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

St. Louis Blues fans react as Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck (37) looks on during the second period in Game 6 of an NHL hockey first-round playoff series against the Winnipeg Jets, Friday, May 2, 2025, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Le)

St. Louis Blues left wing Nathan Walker (26) reacts with defenseman Philip Broberg (6) after scoring against the Winnipeg Jets during the second period in Game 6 of an NHL hockey first-round playoff series Friday, May 2, 2025, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Le)

St. Louis Blues center Brayden Schenn (10) celebrates with teammates after scoring against the Winnipeg Jets during the second period in Game 6 of an NHL hockey first-round playoff series Friday, May 2, 2025, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Le)

St. Louis Blues right wing Jimmy Snuggerud (21) shoots against the Winnipeg Jets during the second period in Game 6 of an NHL hockey first-round playoff series Friday, May 2, 2025, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Le)

Winnipeg Jets right wing Nino Niederreiter (62) battles St. Louis Blues left wing Nathan Walker, left, and defenseman Justin Faulk, right, during the first period in Game 6 of an NHL hockey first-round playoff series Friday, May 2, 2025, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Le)

St. Louis Blues center Brayden Schenn, left, battles Winnipeg Jets left wing Alex Iafallo, right, during the first period in Game 6 of an NHL hockey first-round playoff series Friday, May 2, 2025, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Le)

St. Louis Blues left wing Nathan Walker (26) and Winnipeg Jets center Cole Perfetti (91) look on as Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck gives up a goal during the second period in Game 6 of an NHL hockey first-round playoff series Friday, May 2, 2025, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Le)

St. Louis Blues defenseman Justin Faulk, right, pressures Winnipeg Jets center Cole Perfetti (91) during the first period in Game 6 of an NHL hockey first-round playoff series Friday, May 2, 2025, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Le)

St. Louis Blues defenseman Philip Broberg (6) is congratulated by teammates after scoring a goal against the Winnipeg Jets during the first period in Game 6 of an NHL hockey first-round playoff series Friday, May 2, 2025, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Le)

St. Louis Blues defenseman Colton Parayko (55) attempts to block a shot by Winnipeg Jets defenseman Dylan Samberg, left, during the first period in Game 6 of an NHL hockey first-round playoff series Friday, May 2, 2025, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Le)

The Milan Cortina Winter Olympics will debut a new sport next month: Ski mountaineering, which combines uphill sprinting (on boots and on skis) and downhill skiing. Although the sport on the global stage is relatively new, it does have roots dating to the late 19th century. Backcountry winter sports have grown in popularity and there is anecdotal evidence that they saw a surge in participation during the pandemic.

Something to know about skimo: It's fast, with sprint races lasting about 3 minutes.

Ski mountaineering will have men's and women's sprint events along with a mixed relay.

The race works like this: The racers sprint uphill with skins on the bottom of their skis. A skin is a strip of material that allows for traction going uphill. They then run a section in boots before putting their skis back on to traverse another uphill section. Once at the top, they take the skins off and race downhill. In the men's and women's sprint-event format, there will be a qualifying round where 18 racers qualify over three heats. The top three athletes in each heat advance to the semifinals along with three others based on time. In the semifinal rounds, two advance along with two more “lucky losers," which sets up the race for medals. The mixed relay consists of one female and one male racer from each country. Each will complete two ascents and descents. The female athlete begins, then tags her male teammate for the switch. The team that completes all four laps first wins gold.

The current ski mountaineering sprint champions are Swiss racer Marianne Fatton and Spain's Oriol Cardona Coll. Another favorite is France's Emily Harrop, who won the test event at the venue last winter ahead of Fatton. Coll won the men's event ahead of Swiss racers Jon Kistler and Arno Lietha. In the mixed relay event, Coll partnered with Ana Alonso Rodriguez for the win. Harrop and Thibault Anselmet were second. Rodriguez said in October she was hit by a car while cycling, tearing knee ligaments, hoping to heal in time. The U.S. earned an Olympic spot in the mixed relay thanks to a World Cup victory from Anna Gibson and Cam Smith.

The races will be staged in Bormio at the Stelvio Ski Center, with the men's and women's sprint events taking place on Feb. 19. The mixed relay competition takes place two days later.

The medal winners will be the first in their sport at the Olympics.

There are penalties in the race for things such as disrespectful behavior, unsportsmanlike conduct, technical errors and equipment that’s missing. The penalties range from a disqualification to adding time. The first ski mountaineering world championships were held in France in 2002. The sport is presided over by the International Ski Mountaineering Federation (ISMF), representing roughly 55 national federations across five continents. Ski mountaineering was part of the 2020 Winter Youth Olympics in Lausanne. The sport is proposed for the 2030 Winter Games in the French Alps.

AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

FILE - An athlete competes during the women's sprint race at the Ski Mountaineering World Cup event in Bormio, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni, File)