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By the time Blues fans chanted in a mocking tone at Winnipeg Jets all-world goaltender on Thursday night, the damage had already been done. That simply added to the already raucous soundtrack as the Blues overwhelmed the Jets 7-2 in Enterprise Center in Game 3.

The Blues asserted their dominance early on their home ice, pulled themselves back in the best-of-seven series, pierced a defense that had largely taken the air out of their attack since the second period of Game 1 and put the playoff demons that have haunted Hellebuyck back in play.

They did it all by getting to the net front and setting a tone from the first minute of play.

“I think we came out with purpose, were able to find success early and that kind of snowballed the rest of the game,� Blues center Robert Thomas said.

Pavel Buchnevich scored the fastest two goals to start a playoff game since 1996, and the first came just 48 seconds into the night. It put him well on his way to the first playoff hat trick of his career and a four-point performance.

The style of the opening goal mattered as much as the suddenness.

Rookie forward Jimmy Snuggerud went to front of the net as (one goal, four assists) controlled the puck along the half board. Snuggerud drew the attention of the Jets defense and withstood contact.

The combination of Snuggerud’s net front presence and the puck being on Fowler’s stick allowed Buchnevich to dive to the back doorstep unbothered and bang home the game’s first goal once the puck deflected off Snuggerud.

Less than a minute into the game, they’d generated and scored on the type of chance they had to beg, borrow, steal and rely on a power play to get in Winnipeg.

The Blues also planted a flag right in front Hellebuyck, claimed that territory and sent the message that they planned to spend time face-to-face with him at short range throughout the night.

And yes, it mattered that the Blues scored four of their six goals against Hellebuyck (pulled from the game late in the third period) at even strength.

“Really important,� Thomas said. “You can’t just win power play goals. We had to really step up our five-on-five game, and we’re able to find team success tonight. And we got to continue that.�

The second goal came 3:11 into the game on a power play as Buchnevich redirected the puck to the top shelf after Thomas fired it in front of the net. It effectively sealed the Jets’ fate for the night.

“We lost the game in the first period,� Jets head coach Scott Arniel said. “They scored two goals in the first three minutes. We got on our heels. The crowd got behind them.�

The Jets allowed the fewest goals in the NHL during the regular season. They allowed the third-fewest high-danger shots, which explains the utter disdain in Arniel’s voice as he lamented, “We gave the middle of the ice a lot tonight, which we don’t usually do.�

During the regular season, Hellebuyck boasted the highest save percentage (.925) and the best goal against average (2.00) of any goalie who appeared in at last 12 games this season as well as the best goals saved above expected.

Ah, but there’s an important caveat to his proficiency.

Hellebuyck, a three-time all-star likely on the verge of his third Vezina Trophy as the NHL’s top goaltender, has turned into a pumpkin in the playoffs in recent years.

In 2023, he allowed 3.44 goals against in five playoff games (four losses) with an .886 save percentage. In 2024, he allowed 5.23 goals against in five games (four losses) with an .864 save percentage. During that 10-game stretch, he allowed four goals or more in a game eight times and five goals or more five times.

The Blues showed they’re capable of applying enough pressure to make Hellebuyck fold when they scored three goals in the first two periods of the series, but they failed to sustain it.

They lead going into the third period of Game 1, but they mustered just two shots in the third period and lost. They fired 10 shots in the opening period of Game 2, but Hellebuyck faced just 12 the rest of that game and secured a win in a one-goal game.

The Blues had let him off the hook, until Thursday night.

“I think it was just trying to get away from one-and-done hockey,� Fowler said. “Hellebuyck was seeing a lot of shots there in Winnipeg, he can control the rebound and the way that they play, they have five guys in front of the net, they’re able to clear the rebounds and come out the other end there.

“We just wanted to make life a little bit harder with traffic and more pucks directed at the net, and our guys did a great job of establishing the forecheck and letting us play a little more time in the offensive zone. That helped us out quite a bit.�

It all started with that first goal and their ability to make things a lot less comfortable for Hellebuyck, but it can’t stop there if the Blues want to do more than just avoid a sweep.

“It was really important that we got rewarded for what we thought was playing a north game, simple hockey,� Blues coach Jim Montgomery said. “It’s a win, it got us back in the series, but we’ve got to move on to the next game.

“That’s the important thing, what are we going to do now. What’s next?�