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Jackman's surprising goal helps Blues edge Jets in thriller

Mar 11, 2015 - 3:32 AM St. Louis, MO (SportsNetwork.com) - Barret Jackman's surprising goal from the neutral zone with 1:03 to play lifted the St. Louis Blues to a thrilling 5-4 victory over the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday.

Robert Bortuzzo gathered the puck off a neutral zone faceoff win and sent it across the ice to Jackman, who played the puck off the boards and fired it from above the blue line and past an unsuspecting Ondrej Pavelec for the game- winner.

"It went in," Winnipeg head coach Paul Maurice said of the goal. "There's nothing more magical than that."

Not only did Jackman score from an unorthodox spot on the ice, but it was also his first goal since Dec. 11.

Vladimir Tarasenko, Jori Lehtera and Jaden Schwartz each tallied a goal and an assist, Steve Ott also lit the lamp and Brian Elliott stopped made 12 saves for the Blues, who have won their last two games.

"Justice. You play that good for two periods and you deserve that fate," St. Louis head coach Ken Hitchcock said. "The hockey gods took care of us."

Blake Wheeler and Andrew Ladd posted a goal and an assist, while Lee Stempniak and Michael Frolik scored for the Jets. Michael Hutchinson allowed four goals on seven shots and was replaced by Pavelec, who stopped 19 shots.

Trailing 4-1, the Jets countered with two quick goals in the third period. Ladd wristed home a shot in front 1:34 into the frame and Stempniak fired a shot off the crossbar and into the net to make it a one-goal game 11 seconds later.

Minutes later, the Blues received a 5-on-3 power play for 1:30, but Pavelec came up big, keeping the Jets within striking distance.

Wheeler tied the game after he blasted a shot from the high slot for a short- handed goal with 5:28 left in regulation.

Drew Stafford had a chance to put Winnipeg in front, but his shot rang off the post with over three minutes to play.

Frolik opened the scoring for Winnipeg as he fired a low shot through the legs of Elliott 8:50 into the game.

On the power play, Schwartz tied the game with a shot that got under Hutchinson's arm and into the net with 5:40 left in the first period.

Tarasenko put the Blues ahead 2-1 just 31 seconds into second as he settled Lehtera's feed at the circle and beat Hutchinson with a wrister.

St. Louis struck twice in a span of 61 seconds to take a three-goal lead.

Ott skated up the slot, accepted David Backes' cross-ice dish and sent a wrister into the net at 10:08, while Lehtera finished off a tic-tac-toe passing play by tapping the puck into an open net for 4-1 advantage.

Game Notes

The Blues won their seventh straight game against the Jets ... Tarasenko now has 33 goals and 33 assists for 66 points this season, which is the second most points by a Blues player in the past 10 seasons. Brad Boyes tallied 72 during the 2008-09 season ... Frolik extended his point streak to seven games ... Jets defenseman Adam Pardy played in his 300th NHL game ... Each team went for 1-for-5 on the power play.