Neal Pionk was biggest star of Jets' Game 7 win

There were a lot of stars for the Winnipeg Jets in their come-from-behind Game 7 win over the St. Louis Blues. They could not have won without any of them.

Cole Perfetti scored two goals, including the game-tying goal with 1.6 seconds to play. He is deserving of huge props. 

Goalie Connor Hellebuyck bounced back after a terrible first period in what has been a terrible series to help slam the door shut and keep his team in the game. He deserves credit for not letting the game or the series get away from him. 

Adam Lowry ended up scoring the game-winning goal. He deserves credit for getting his stick on the puck that went in the net to win the game and for having a fearless push to the front of the net. 

All key players played big roles.

But the player that really stood out and perhaps made one of the most consistently big impacts had to be defenseman Neal Pionk.

He finished the game with three assists and was the person who initially shot the puck that Lowry deflected in for the game-winning goal. Even more than the point totals was just the workload that he had to take on in the game. 

With the Jets losing top defenseman Josh Morrissey to injury in the first period, they had to play more than four periods of hockey with only five defensemen. That meant everybody had to play more minutes and take on a bigger share of the ice-time. Nobody did that more — and more effectively — than Pionk as he logged a whopping 46 minutes of ice-time. 

During those minutes, he had three assists, blocked four shots, delivered six hits, had three takeaways and generally helped push the pace of the game.

Winnipeg acquired him six years ago in the trade that sent Jacob Trouba to the New York Rangers, and it has been a huge win of a trade. Pionk has consistently been one of the most underrated defenseman in the league, and was rewarded this season with a six-year, $42M contract extension. 

Based on the way he played on Sunday and the way he helped push Winnipeg into the second round, it was money well spent. He stepped up when it needed him the most.