Perreault pleads guilty…ish after tense time in St. Louis penalty box

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This article was published 17/04/2019 (1825 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Mathieu Perreault is keenly aware of just how close he came to being the Game 4 goat.

The Winnipeg Jets forward was stuck in the penalty box after taking a careless tripping minor on Blues defenceman Vince Dunn with less than four minutes left in a 1-1 game in St. Louis Tuesday night.

He was already guilty of taking a cross-checking penalty late in the middle frame that led to Vladimir Tarasenko’s power-play goal 35 seconds into the third, breaking a scoreless tie.

Mark Scheifele scored seven minutes later to knot it up again.

The second time in the sin bin, Perreault couldn’t bear to watch.

“Yeah, it’s tough. Thankfully, last game the second one I took we were able to kill it. I was staring at the floor the whole time,” he said this morning.

“I didn’t even look one second. I was asking the guys in the penalty box to let me know the time.”

Indeed, Winnipeg’s penalty-killing unit bailed him out, the clubs went to overtime and the Scheifele line orchestrated the winning tally, with Kyle Connor swiping the puck behind Blues sensational rookie goalie Jordan Binnington at 6:02.

The best-of-seven opening-round NHL playoff series, tied at two games apiece continues at Bell MTS Place tonight 7:30.

Perreault, playing on the fourth line with centre Kevin Hayes and Jack Roslovic, said while he felt like he got a little too much attention from the officials in St. Louis — he was the only Jet who spent time in the penalty box Tuesday — he knows he needs to be more responsible.

“If you look at the history I’ve never taken that many penalties in my life. It’s a strange feeling for me to be dealing with that right now. I guess I’ve just got to be a little bit more careful with my stick.”–Mathieu Perreault 

He was tagged for a slash in Sunday’s Game 3 but the Jets’ PK erased it.

“A lot of stuff had been let go, and then it seems when it comes down to me there’s no margin for error. You’d have to ask the refs, I guess,” he said.

“And it’s not like I’m a guy who takes penalties. If you look at the history I’ve never taken that many penalties in my life. It’s a strange feeling for me to be dealing with that right now. I guess I’ve just got to be a little bit more careful with my stick.

“After the second one last game I was getting a little nervous out there. I always play a hard game, and sometimes my stick gets a little crazy. It seems like the refs are looking for it, so I should be a little more careful. I’ve played here for five years and they know how I play. I’m not a dirty player. It’s just bad luck right now.”

The Blues have struck for three power-play goals — two by Tarasenko — in 14 opportunities in the series.

Jets head coach Paul Maurice said he had a brief conversation with Perreault and the rest of his team about the heavy toll penalties can take at this time of the year, but said both clubs have played disciplined hockey overall.

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Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck faces Binnington for the fifth-straight contest. Winnipeg’s lineup will be the same as Tuesday’s. Blues defenceman Robert Bortuzzo is a game-time decision. If he can’t go, Carl Gunnarsson will slot in on a pairing with Joel Edmundson.

Game 6 is scheduled for Saturday at 6 p.m. back in St. Louis.

jason.bell@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @WFPJasonBell

Jason Bell
Sports editor

Jason Bell wanted to be a lawyer when he was a kid. The movie The Paper Chase got him hooked on the idea of law school and, possibly, falling in love with someone exactly like Lindsay Wagner (before she went all bionic).

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