Lowry scores late in 2OT to rally Jets to 4-3 win over Blues in Game 7 to advance to 2nd round

WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) — Adam Lowry scored on a tipped shot 16:10 into the second overtime and the Winnipeg Jets rallied to beat the St. Louis Blues 4-3 on Sunday night to advance to the second round of the NHL playoffs.

Cole Perfetti had two goals, Vladislav Namestnikov also scored, and Kyle Connor and Neal Pionk each had three assists for Winnipeg, which scored twice in the final two minutes of regulation to tie the score. Connor Hellebuyck finished with 26 saves.

Lowry deflected Pionk's shot from the right point late in the second overtime to end the third-longest Game 7 in NHL history at 96:10.

“It’s incredibly special,” Lowry said. “I probably dreamt it was a little nicer than just going off my leg, but it’s one of those things, on the outdoor rink, in the driveway, you dream about being the hero in a Game 7 and giving yourself a chance to continue chasing a Stanley Cup."

The Jets will next face the Dallas Stars starting Wednesday at home in the teams' first postseason meeting.

Jordan Kyrou, Mathieu Joseph and Radek Faksa scored for the Blues. Jordan Binnington had 43 saves.

Winnipeg won the franchise’s first Presidents’ Trophy after having a league-best 56-22-4 regular-season record and were the favorites against the eighth-seeded Blues. They needed a late comeback to avoid getting knocked out in the first round for a third straight year.

“To lose in those first rounds, those were heartbreaking,” said Jets first-year coach Scott Arniel, who was the club’s associate coach the previous two seasons. “Last year, obviously with the season we had (52 wins), to do it this year we didn’t want to go out. That was one of the messages I said to these guys, ‘Bring your best game forward and have no regrets.’ And that’s what it was all about.”

Winnipeg was down 3-1 in the third period when Namestnikov scored with 1:56 remaining after his shot went in off Blues defenseman Ryan Suter.

With Hellebuyck pulled for an extra skater, Winnipeg appeared to tied it up 50 seconds later, but a review ruled the puck didn’t cross the goal line.

Perfetti then scored his second redirected goal of the game with 3 seconds remaining to lift 15,225 frenzied white-clad fans out of their seats inside Canada Life Centre.

“Even down 3-1, there was no doubt,” Perfetti said. “We had belief in one another and belief that we were going to come back. I’m just so proud of this group and so proud to be a part of it.”

Winnipeg went on the power play 6:20 into the first overtime when St. Louis captain Brayden Schenn was called for delay of game. The Jets tried to pound the puck in the crease, but Binnington covered it. He also stopped Nikolaj Ehlers on a breakaway.

The Jets were without star center Mark Scheifele (upper body injury) for the second straight game and then lost top defenseman Josh Morrissey about eight minutes into the first period.

“To play this long of a game with five defensemen, it’s pretty incredible,” Ehlers said. “So hats off to those guys. They stuck with it.”

The home team won each game in this series.

Kyrou scored on the Blues' first shot of the game at 1:10 of the first period after he and Colton Parayko went on the rush. It marked the fastest goal to begin a Game 7 in Blues’ history.

Joseph made it 2-0 after picking up a loose puck dropped by Connor in the neutral zone. Using Morrissey as a screen, Joseph sent a wrist shot past Hellebuyck on the stick side at 7:16.

Morrissey went to the dressing soon after the goal. Earlier in the game, he got hit into the boards by Blues forward Oskar Sundqvist and appeared to be in pain as he sat on the bench. He didn’t return.

The Jets missed on a couple chances early in the second period, but got the game’s first power play and quickly made it count. Seven seconds after Sundqvist was called for slashing, Connor sent the puck toward Perfetti at the side of the net and Perfetti redirected it by Binnington with 8:19 remaining.

St. Louis regained a two-goal lead after Ehlers lost the puck and Faksa beat Hellebuyck high over his glove with 34.1 seconds left in the second.

The Winnipeg/Atlanta Thrashers franchise is now 2-8 all-time when facing elimination. The other win came in Game 7 of their second-round series against Nashville in 2018. The original version of the Jets lost a pair of Game 7s on the road in 1990 and ’92.

St. Louis is now 10-9 in Game 7s.

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

St. Louis Blues' Radek Faksa (12) celebrates after his goal against the Winnipeg Jets with Cam Fowler (17) during the second period of Game 7 in an NHL hockey first-round playoff series in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Sunday, May 4, 2025. (Fred Greenslade/The Canadian Press via AP)

St. Louis Blues' Mathieu Joseph (71) celebrates after his goal against the Winnipeg Jets with Zack Bolduc (76) during the first period of Game 7 in an NHL hockey first-round playoff series in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Sunday, May 4, 2025. (Fred Greenslade/The Canadian Press via AP)

St. Louis Blues' Jordan Kyrou (25) scores against Winnipeg Jets' goaltender Connor Hellebuyck (37) during the first period of Game 7 in an NHL hockey first-round playoff series in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Sunday, May 4, 2025. (Fred Greenslade/The Canadian Press via AP)

Winnipeg Jets players confer with coaches during a break in play against the St. Louis Blues during the first period of Game 7 in an NHL hockey first-round playoff series in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Sunday, May 4, 2025. (Fred Greenslade/The Canadian Press via AP)

Winnipeg Jets' Cole Perfetti (91) scores against St. Louis Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington (50) during the second period of Game 7 in an NHL hockey first-round playoff series in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Sunday, May 4, 2025. (Fred Greenslade/The Canadian Press via AP)

St. Louis Blues' Alexey Toropchenko (13) celebrates a goal by Radek Faksa (not shown) against Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, left, during the second period of Game 7 in an NHL hockey first-round playoff series in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Sunday, May 4, 2025. (Fred Greenslade/The Canadian Press via AP)

St. Louis Blues' Radek Faksa (12) scores against Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck (37) during the second period of Game 7 in an NHL hockey first-round playoff series in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Sunday, May 4, 2025. (Fred Greenslade/The Canadian Press via AP)

Winnipeg Jets' Morgan Barron (36) and Haydn Fleury (24) defend against St. Louis Blues' Cam Fowler (17) and Robert Thomas (18) in front of Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, second from left, during the second period of Game 7 in an NHL hockey first-round playoff series in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Sunday, May 4, 2025. (Fred Greenslade/The Canadian Press via AP)

Winnipeg Jets' Cole Perfetti (91) scores against St. Louis Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington (50) during the third period of Game 7 in an NHL hockey first-round playoff series in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Sunday, May 4, 2025. (Fred Greenslade/The Canadian Press via AP)

Winnipeg Jets fans celebrate after the team's third goal against the St. Louis Blues, during the third period of Game 7 in an NHL hockey first-round playoff series in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Sunday, May 4, 2025. (Fred Greenslade/The Canadian Press via AP)

Winnipeg Jets' Cole Perfetti (91) celebrates after his goal to tie the St. Louis Blues with Kyle Connor (81) and Neal Pionk (4) during the third period of Game 7 in an NHL hockey first-round playoff series in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Sunday, May 4, 2025. (Fred Greenslade/The Canadian Press via AP)

Winnipeg Jets' Cole Perfetti (91) celebrates after his goal with teammates to tie the St. Louis Blues during during the third period of Game 7 in an NHL hockey first-round playoff series in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Sunday, May 4, 2025. (Fred Greenslade/The Canadian Press via AP)

St. Louis Blues' goaltender Jordan Binnington (50), Colton Parayko (55) and Cam Fowler (17) react as the Winnipeg Jets celebrate their game-winning goal in the second overtime period of Game 7 in an NHL hockey first-round playoff series in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Sunday, May 4, 2025. (Fred Greenslade/The Canadian Press via AP)

Winnipeg Jets' Adam Lowry (17) scores the game-winning goal against the St. Louis Blues' goaltender Jordan Binnington (50) in the second overtime period of Game 7 in an NHL hockey first-round playoff series in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Sunday, May 4, 2025. (Fred Greenslade/The Canadian Press via AP)

Winnipeg Jets' Adam Lowry (17) celebrates his game-winning goal against the St. Louis Blues with Haydn Fleury (24) in the second overtime period of Game 7 in an NHL hockey first-round playoff series in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Sunday, May 4, 2025. (Fred Greenslade/The Canadian Press via AP)

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Enzo Maresca left his post as Chelsea head coach on Thursday after a reported deterioration in his relationship with the Premier League club’s hierarchy.

The Italian coach was midway through his second season in charge. In his first season, he won the Conference League and Club World Cup.

Last month, Maresca said he had experienced his “worst” 48 hours at Chelsea and expressed his unhappiness at a lack of support at the club, but didn’t go into specific reasons.

Chelsea is in fifth place in the Premier League, but has won just one of its last seven league matches, and has advanced to the English League Cup semifinals, where it will play Arsenal over two legs.

“With key objectives still to play for across four competitions including qualification for Champions League football," Chelsea said in a statement, "Enzo and the club believe a change gives the team the best chance of getting the season back on track.”

Chelsea is coming off a 2-2 home draw against Bournemouth in the league on Tuesday, and next plays second-place Manchester City away on Sunday.

The club said Chelsea's achievements under Maresca “will remain an important part of the club’s recent history, and we thank him for his contributions to the club.”

There was no immediate word on his potential successor, with Chelsea seeking a fifth full-time manager since the takeover of the club by American investors, fronted by Todd Boehly, in May 2022.

In the past 3 1/2 years, Chelsea has spent hundreds of million of pounds (dollars) in what looked from the outside a chaotic bid to sign players to refresh its squad. It now has one of the youngest and most talented squads in the Premier League, with star players including Cole Palmer, Enzo Fernandez and Estevao, but managers have struggled to get the players to gel as a team after so many changes.

Out of all the managers to have led Chelsea in that period — and they include Thomas Tuchel and Mauricio Pochettino, the current coaches of England and the United States, respectively — Maresca appeared to have handled the chaos the best.

Yet he reportedly didn't feel appreciated given the tough working conditions and, according to the BBC, recently switched agents. A few weeks ago, media reports in England linked Maresca with a possible move to Man City — where he briefly worked under Pep Guardiola — should Guardiola eventually leave, though Maresca played the reports down.

Chelsea's results have taken a downturn in recent weeks, since a 3-0 win over Barcelona in the Champions League in November.

The team's only league win in the past month was a 2-0 over Everton. There have been draws with Arsenal, Newcastle and Bournemouth (twice) and losses to Leeds and Aston Villa.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

FILE - Chelsea's head coach Enzo Maresca reacts during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Atalanta and Chelsea, in Bergamo, Italy, on Dec. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni, File)

FILE - Chelsea's head coach Enzo Maresca sits on a bench ahead of the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Qarabag and Chelsea in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Nov. 5, 2025. (AP Photo, File)

Chelsea's head coach Enzo Maresca, left, gives instructions to Estevao during the English Premier League soccer match between Chelsea and Bournemouth in London, England, Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)