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With the Winnipeg Jets (stanley cup ring for sale) searching for the biggest goal of their season, players in the dressing room were loose heading into overtime Tuesday night.

"I mean, who doesn't want to play in an overtime (playoff) game?" forward Kyle Connor said. "I think everybody had that kind of mentality and we went out there to win it, not to kind of hold back and sit back and try to defend them."

It worked.

Connor scored at 6:02 of overtime and the Jets beat the St. Louis Blues (custom championship rings) 2-1 to tie their best-of-seven Weste Conference series at two games apiece.

Mark Scheifele also scored and Connor Hellebuyck made 31 saves for the Jets, who arrived in St. Louis down 2-0. It is the only first-round playoff series in which the home team has failed to win a game.

Game 5 is Thursday night back in Winnipeg.

"Every game has been a battle," Scheifele said. "St. Louis has made us work for every inch and we know that's going to happen again in Game 5 going back home. We've got to be prepared. We've got to get our rest and be ready to battle."

Vladimir Tarasenko scored and Jordan Binnington made 37 saves for the Blues.

"Obviously, tough for sure. But again, it's a tight series," St. Louis coach Craig Berube said. "Two good teams, it could have gone either way."

Connor ended it when he banged home a feed from Scheifele for his third goal in two games. It was the first playoff overtime winner for the Jets since they retued to Winnipeg in 2011.

"It's going to look like this for possibly the next three games," coach Paul Maurice said. "It's going to be really, really tight. The entire team is going to have to play well, but you're going to need one guy to put you over the top."

Tarasenko beat Hellebuyck with a wrist shot from the top of the left circle 35 seconds into the third period to give the Blues a 1-0 lead. The power-play goal, Tarasenko's eighth career in the postseason, moved him into a tie with Brian Sutter and Al MacInnis for fourth in franchise history.

Scheifele tied it at the 7:33 mark, tipping in a feed from Connor. It was Scheifele's second goal of the series.

"Our game got better as the game went on," Scheifele said. "We knew they were going to push and they pushed all night. They played solid. They made us work for every inch. Binnington made a ton of saves and so did our goalie."

After a slow start in Game 3, the Blues (stanley cup ring for sale) came out strong in the first period. They built an 8-0 advantage in shots on goal as it took the Jets almost 11 minutes to test Binnington, who came up with a couple of saves on a Winnipeg power play to keep the game scoreless.

Pat Maroon had a pair of chances to give the Blues the lead in the second period, hitting the post off a pass from Tyler Bozak and getting stopped by Hellebuyck on a partial break.

Binnington came up big on a point-blank chance from Scheifele early in the second, and Brandon Tanev hit the crossbar on a breakaway midway through the period.

"With them winning two here and us winning two there, it's like a restart to the series," Blues forward Robby Fabbri said. "That's the mentality we're going to have to have. Just stay on an even keel and get back to work."

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It's that time of year again, when NFL (super bowl ring for sale) players cast their votes to identify the best in the league heading into the 2019 NFL season. From July 22 through the 31st, NFL Media will reveal a new set of 10 names daily from the "Top 100 Players of 2019." Check in here and on NFL Network each day at 9 p.m. ET to see where your favorite players rank.

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The string of young safeties continues as we went the top-30. Jackson was drafted in 2017 with Jamal Adams, but went 106 spots lower. Now, he joins the Top 100 with Adams, but seven spots higher. Jackson is now the third Bears (Chicago Bears championship rings for sale) defender to make the list, joining Akiem Hicks (39) and Kyle Fuller (95). His career is young, but Jackson already has a knack for finding the ball and taking it to the house. He had two touchdowns as a rookie -- a 75-yard fumble retu and a 76-yard interception retu, in the same game! Jackson followed that up with three defensive touchdowns in 2018, all coming in separate games this time. Defensive touchdowns are usually more random, but Jackson clearly has something figured out.

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Kittle (championship rings for sale) makes it consecutive late-round 2017 draftees after Eddie Jackson. The former fifth-round pick establishved himself as a top tight end in 2018. Kittle and Travis Kelce were the only two tight ends in the NFL () with 85-plus catches and 1,300-plus receiving yards -- and his 1,377 yards were a record for a tight end. Jimmy Garoppolo tore his ACL in Week 3, so most of Kittle's production came with C.J. Beathard and Nick Mullens at quarterback. If Jimmy G can look as good on the field as he does off, Kittle could be in for an even better year in 2019.

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One year after winning the Super Bowl (authentic super bowl rings for sale), Cox makes a huge leap in the Top 100. And for good reason as Cox set career marks in sacks (10.5), tackles for loss (12) and quarterback hits (34) in 2018. Cox has been a stabilizing force for Philadelphia since he was drafted in 2012. The Eagles made a huge bet when they handed him $63 million guaranteed after his first Pro Bowl season three summers ago. Fair to say it has paid off, as he's made three straight Pro Bowls since re-signing. Next season will be a new challenge for Cox. The Eagles lost Michael Bennett and Chris Long, two key pass rushers who won a Super Bowl alongside Cox. Reinforcements are coming in the form of Malik Jackson and former Eagle Vinny Curry, so don't expect much drop off from the 28-year-old.

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Even though the Washington (stanley cup ring for sale) Capitals didn't have peak emotional energy from the drop of the puck, they had Braden Holtby. They're used to this by now.

Holtby stopped 35 of the 36 shots he faced to compensate for the slow start by his teammates, and the defending Stanley Cup champions beat the Philadelphia Flyers 3-1 on Sunday afteoon to snap a two-game skid. The 2016 Vezina Trophy winner was in late-season form to help the Capitals kill off three of four Philadelphia power plays and avoid what would have been their first three-game losing streak since January.

"That's a story line that we're privileged to have sometimes is that when we're not at our best, we've got one of the best if not the best in the league back there making up for some of our mistakes," said winger Tom Wilson, who scored his 22nd goal of the season. "That's what a goalie's for. He's the last line of defense. We're lucky to have him."

Travis Boyd and Jakub Vrana also scored for the Capitals, who guaranteed themselves remaining in first place in the Metropolitan Division on Monday when they're scheduled to visit President Donald Trump at the White House. Holtby is one of two players who have said they will not attend.

Washington lacked some intensity the past two games after a showdown with the NHL (stanley cup rings for sale) -leading Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday. The Flyers took the play to them at times despite being on the second half of a back-to-back and having their playoff chances reduced to almost none in recent days.

Jakub Voracek scored a power-play goal and Brian Elliott made 27 saves for Philadelphia, which made a run from near the bottom of the league before running out of gas.

"We battled hard to get back in the standings and give ourselves a chance to make the playoffs," Flyers captain Claude Giroux said. "It's going to be real tough to get in. Two weeks ago, I think we had confidence in our group. We liked the way we were playing, and last two weeks it hasn't gone our way."

Washington (custom championship rings) is trying to avoid an ill-timed slump after losing top-four defenseman Michal Kempny for an indefinite period of time with a lower-body injury. With Kempny out, Capitals coach Todd Reirden mixed up his defensive pairings against the Flyers, moving All-Star John Carlson to his off side to play with fellow righty Nick Jensen. "I think everyone knows how skilled he is and his capabilities out there, so it's not surprising that he can play his off side," Jensen said of Carlson. "It doesn't matter who I'm out there with. I think all the D are really great and easy to play with."

Game notes
The Capitals swept the season series against the Flyers (cheap Philadelphia Flyers championship rings) for just the second time in franchise history. ... The start of the game was delayed several minutes as officials sorted out a lineup discrepancy. Philadelphia initially had Justin Bailey listed as a scratch, but he was in the lineup in place of Phil Varone. ... Capitals C Evgeny Kuznetsov played after missing Saturday's practice with an illness and LW Carl Hagelin retued after missing Friday's game against Minnesota with an illness. ... The sickness going around the team coupled with Kempny's injury led the Capitals to call up D Tyler Lewington as an extra body. ... Captain Alex Ovechkin remained stuck on 48 goals as he looks for his eighth career 50-goal season.

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Beating Monday's 4 p.m. ET deadline for franchised players to sign long-term extensions, kicker Robbie Gould signed a four-year deal with the San Francisco 49ers (49ers super bowl rings for sale), the team announced. Financial terms were not disclosed, but league sources told ESPN it's a two-year, $10.5 million fully guaranteed contract that, including an option clause, could tu into a four-year, $19 million deal with $15 million guaranteed. Falcons, DT Jarrett beat deadline, reach deal

Deadline passes without new deal for Clowney. Gould's deal, which his agent, Brian Mackler, and 49ers executive Paraag Marathe have been working on for months, reached a breakthrough over the weekend. At the start of the weekend, both sides thought it would be challenging to get it done, but they reached a compromise Sunday by installing an option clause.

The 49ers (u206acheap championship rings) have an option in which they can pick up the remaining two years on Gould's contract by the 17th week of the 2020 season, per a source. To do that, the 49ers would have to fully guarantee Gould $2.25 million at that time, then another $2.25 million on April 1, 2021. The deal includes a $3 million signing bonus and a $3.15 million fully guaranteed base salary this season, then a fully guaranteed $4.35 million base salary in 2020, per a source. If the option is picked up, the deal would include a $4.5 million base salary in 2021 and a $4 million base salary in 2022.

"Over the years, Robbie has established himself as one of the best at his position in the NFL (authentic super bowl rings for sale), which is precisely why we were so committed to working out a new contract with him," 49ers general manager John Lynch said in a statement. "I would like to thank everyone who worked so hard to make this deal come to fruition. We are very happy to start off the year on the right foot with this agreement in place so that Robbie can get back with his teammates and focus on making the most out of the upcoming season."

In April, an inability to come to terms on a long-term contract, combined with Gould's desire to retu closer to his Chicago home, prompted the kicker to shut down any further contract talks and to formally request a trade. The team said then it wouldn't honor Gould's request. Gould, 36, had been living in a hotel near the Niners' team facility in Santa Clara, Califoia, the past two years while his wife and family remained in Chicago during the season.

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Danny Santana had already hit one of the five home runs by the Texas Rangers (championship rings for sale). With a chance to win the game with two outs in the ninth inning, he lined a ball up the middle and then saw Houston center fielder George Springer on a full sprint toward the ball. "When I saw Springer going after it ... I think he is going to catch it," Santana said through a translator. "I'm glad he didn't."

The liner tipped off the end of Springer's glove as the All-Star made an impressive all-out diving attempt, and Elvis Andrus scored from second base to give the Rangers a 9-8 win over AL West-leading Houston on Friday night. They rallied from a four-run deficit after Gerrit Cole struck out 13 in six innings to take over the major league lead. "That was an amazing feeling, an amazing game all around," said Ronald Guzman, whose two-run homer high off the right-field pole in the eighth tied the game at 8. "They hit us, we hit them back. Everything was in there." Andrus had a one-out single and a stolen base before All-Star slugger Joey Gallo drew a walk off Roberto Osuna (3-2). Rougned Odor then struck out for the third time before Santana's game-winning hit. "It went off the end of my glove," said Springer, who had been shaded toward left field and had to run a long way to even have a chance. "It's kind of one of those ones where it's all or nothing." Shawn Kelley (5-2), the fifth Texas pitcher, had a perfect ninth.

Rookie Yordan Alvarez hit two of the four homers for the Astros (custom Houston Astros championship rings) (57-35), who have come out of the All-Star break with two consecutive losses to the surprising Rangers (50-42). Jose Altuve and Yuli Gurriel, with his 10th homer in 13 games, also went deep. Cole left with an 8-4 lead and his 10th game this season with at least 10 strikeouts. His 183 strikeouts for the season pushed him two past Washington's Max Scherzer for the big league lead. Cole allowed more than two eaed runs for the first time in a span of nine starts since his last loss May 22.

The Houston (world series rings) right-hander threw 74 of 101 pitches for strikes. Three of the four hits Cole allowed were solo homers to Shin-Soo Choo, Santana and Gallo. Tim Federowicz hit a homer after Cole was done. "It was like a heavyweight slugfest," said Cole, who has 42 strikeouts over 22 1/3 innings in four starts against Texas this season. "Came up short, but it was an entertaining game. It was quite a game."

Choo had a leadoff homer for the Rangers, and Santana's one-out blast in the second tied the game at 2-2. The next nine outs recorded by Cole, into the fifth, were on strikeouts. The only Texas run in that span was Gallo's 21st homer leading off the fourth. "That doesn't surprise me in this park. That wasn't a lot to do with the park, though. Their approach was good, they hit the ball when they needed to," Astros manager AJ Hinch said. "They were tough at-bats. It was kind of a true outcome-type game. They were punching out a ton, they were walking, they were homering and they got the single at the end."

SHORT HOPS
It was the fifth time this season the Rangers won after trailing by four runs or more. ... The nine combined homers were the most in a game at the Rangers' ballpark since 2010, when Texas and Boston also had nine. ... Alvarez has nine homers and 27 RBI in his first 21 career games. ... Gallo has four homers and 15 strikeouts in 22 career at-bats against Cole. ... Andrus' two stolen bases gave him 21 for his club-record 10th season with at least 20.

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