Jets bedevil New Jersey

The Winnipeg Jets took another critical step in their pursuit of securing a playoff spot, earning a valuable two points in a commanding 6-1 win over the New Jersey Devils in front of 14,107 at Canada Life Centre Sunday.

The Jets got on the Devils early and often, scoring a pair of goals in all three periods to improve to 43-31-3. Nikolaj Ehlers scored twice, while Nino Niederreiter, Morgan Barron, Kyle Connor and Pierre-Luc Dubois each added a goal.

The Devils, who got their lone marker from Nico Hischier with just seconds remaining, dropped to 47-21-8 with the loss.

It’s the Jets second consecutive win, which might not seem like a big deal. But given the fact Winnipeg had won just seven of its previous 21 games, they will certainly take the good feelings.

“They know what we’re up against,” said Jets coach Rick Bowness. “We have to keep winning. So, you enjoy tonight.”

Now, let’s dig a little deeper into what happened on this night.

1) With the Devils at the end of a back-to-back following a 6-3 win over the Chicago Blackhawks Saturday, the Jets knew the importance of pushing the play early. Much like they did Friday against the Detroit Red Wings – another team who arrived in Winnipeg having played the night before – the Jets took an early lead, scoring twice in the opening period to take a 2-0 edge into intermission.

Ehlers got things started on a play where he was inexcusably left all alone in front. Blake Wheeler won a puck battle in the corner before feeding a pass to Ehlers, who beat Vitek Vanecek blocker side for his 11th of the season.

The Jets would be back at it later in the period, with Niederreiter cashing in on a sequence that began with a solid back check from Adam Lowry and ended with Niederreiter potting his 24th of the year.

Just seconds after a Jets power play expired, Lowry chased down Devils forward Jesper Boqvist, lifting his stick by New Jersey’s blue line before he could feed a pass to a streaking Erik Haula, who had just left the penalty box. The play turned back up towards the Devils’ end, with Vladislav Namestnikov firing a shot that was tipped by Wheeler, the rebound spilling to Niederreiter.

While the recent first-period success has come against a pair of tired opponents, the Jets are definitely trending in the right direction after surrendering the first goal on several occasions over the last couple months. They’ll face yet another club on a back-to-back in the Calgary Flames on Wednesday, so they know the blueprint for success.

“Our team’s really tough to play against when we get the lead. So much of our struggles were we’d get behind early in a game and we’re chasing the game,” Wheeler said. “It’s definitely an emphasis for us to have good starts, especially when a team is coming in off a back to back. You want to establish your game and take over the first period and hopefully make them chase the game.”

Prior to these last two games, Winnipeg had allowed the first goal in eight of its previous nine. The Jets are now 29-9-2 when scoring first.

2) It’s a small sample size, just two games, but Bowness must like how things are unfolding with his new-look forward group.

The top line, which has Mark Scheifele playing the wing, alongside centre Dubois and Connor, continued to generate quality scoring opportunities. Connor notched his 30th of the year and second in as many games – after going 14 games with just one goal – with Dubois, who added a goal in third period, setting him up in the slot for the second-period marker.

The second trio of Ehlers, Namestnikov and Wheeler is also gelling nicely, combining for five points in the win. Ehlers rounded out the scoring with a power-play goal with under six minutes remaining.

Meanwhile, the line of Lowry, Niederreiter and Mason Appleton have brought some much-needed secondary scoring and physicality. The fourth line – consisting of Kevin Stenlund, Karson Khulman and Barron – have also been steady, with Barron making good on a penalty shot in the second period, giving the Jets a healthy 3-0 lead.

Bowness spoke prior to the game about wanting to find the right lineup come playoffs. He might just have his winning mix up front.

“It’s worked so far,” said Bowness, “we’ll see how far we can go with it.”

3) Connor Hellebuyck needed just 14 more seconds of support to seal what would have been his fourth shutout of the year.

Alas, Hischier spoiled the party by poking a puck through the five-hole while on the man-advantage. Hellebuyck, who finished with 31 saves, was superb throughout the night, particularly in the second period, where he made several key saves as the Devils made a notable push.

With the Jets likely to be battling for a playoff spot throughout their remaining five regular-season games, the expectation is Hellebuyck will see the crease the rest of the way. He just started his NHL-leading 70th game, but insists the Jets are doing everything they can to maintain his health.

“We have been managing my workload perfectly,” Hellebuyck said. “We’ve got a whole team for that. If I need to go, I’ll go.”

The Devils used both their goalies, with Vanecek allowing four goals on 21 shots before being replaced by Mackenzie Blackwood in the third period. Blackwood allowed two goals on six shots.

4) The Jets needed this victory to keep pace in what should be a spirited battle for the final playoff spot.

The victory keeps Winnipeg in the second wildcard in the Western Conference, just one point behind the Seattle Kraken, who have two games in hand. With just five regular-season games remaining, the Jets are keeping an eye on Calgary and the Nashville Predators, both of which are nipping at Winnipeg’s heels.

The Flames didn’t lose any ground on Sunday, with a 5-4 victory over the Anaheim Ducks keeping them two points behind the Jets. The Predators, who have two games in hand, are five points back.

“We know the importance of Wednesday’s game, so we want to feel good about it,” Bowness said. “There is still a lot of hard work ahead of us.”

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Twitter: @jeffkhamilton

Jeff Hamilton
Multimedia producer

After a slew of injuries playing hockey that included breaks to the wrist, arm, and collar bone; a tear of the medial collateral ligament in both knees; as well as a collapsed lung, Jeff figured it was a good idea to take his interest in sports off the ice and in to the classroom.

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