Latest News

Winnipeg Free Press - ONLINE EDITION

Jets rally in final two periods, beat Pens 4-2

By: Ed Tait

Posted: 01/25/2013 5:58 PM | Comments: 0 | Last Modified: 01/26/2013 2:05 AM | Updates

Winnipeg Jets fans celebrate 4-2 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins Friday night at the MTS Centre in Winnipeg. (JOE BRYKSA / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS) Photo Store

Related Items

Articles
Columns
- Good to see some defensive mettle

If the Winnipeg Jets were to slap any sort of slogan on their early season it might be this gem courtesy the British from World War II, now reborn everywhere:

Keep Calm and Carry On.

The Jets rebounded from an early 2-0 hole Friday in front of another capacity crowd in downtown Winnipeg en route to knocking off the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-2.

But, despite the dramatic comeback and some stellar defensive play after a sloppy start, the party line from the Jets clubhouse — said with a straight face by the collective — remains the same.

"We would like to keep things in balance," said head coach Claude Noel. "We took some big steps in feeling good about ourselves in the way we play. But we won’t be separating ourselves patting ourselves on the back.

"But this was a huge step for us."

After the buzzer

Let’s be blunt: the Jets were awful in their opener, but have been getting progressively better since, with two wins and a shootout loss in the three games following.

"We showed a lot of character sticking with our game plan, getting down two goals after the first period," said Evander Kane. "That was a good group effort as a whole and everybody made a contribution tonight to the win."

First Period

The Jets, for all their promises to be wary of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, watched as No. 87 potted the only two goals of the opening 20 minutes.

And the mood in the room after a sloppy first was tense.

"There was a pissed-off feeling that we hadn’t played the way we wanted to and there needed to be adjustments and we reacted the right way," said captain Andrew Ladd.

"I thought the leadership really did a wonderful job in handling the game," added Noel. "This is a fairly daunting task when you’re down 2-0 after 20. Our goal was to win the second period and go from there."

Cue the foreshadowing...

Second Period

The Jets were absolutely spectacular in the middle frame. Kane brought the Jets close 70 seconds in, Dustin Byfuglien scored on the power play and Ladd finished a perfect feed from Bryan Little as the building came to life.

Third Period

The story of the final 20 minutes wasn’t that the Jets didn’t just withstand a late Pens’ push, it was that they absolutely stifled one of the NHL’s juggernaut offences. The Pens had just nine shots in the final period, many of them coming late with the net empty.

"The third period was one of the best periods we’ve played so far," said Ondrej Pavelec. "In the first 10 minutes of the third they had zero shots. We didn’t panic. We just stuck with the plan. It’s only four games, but that’s a big difference from last year, that this team is able to close a game and win it."

ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @WFPEdTait

For mobile users who can't see Adobe Flash, click here for the photo slideshow

NHL game action: Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Winnipeg Jets, Friday January 25. Sidney Crosby's first NHL game in Winnipeg.

History

Updated on Saturday, January 26, 2013 at 2:05 AM CST: full writethru

Fact Check

Have you found an error, or know of something we’ve missed in one of our stories? Please use the form below and let us know.

* Required

In which story did you find the error? *
Please post the headline of the story or the title of the video with the error.
What was the error? *
Please post exactly what was wrong with the story.
What should we have written?
Please indicate your source for the correct information.
Who else should we interview to improve this story?
Please include any contact information you may have.
Can we contact you in the future for advice on stories about this topic?
Yes

No
First Name: *
Last Name: *
E–mail Address: *
This will only be used to contact you if we have a question about your submission, it will not be used to identify you or be published.
Phone: *
This will only be used to contact you if we have a question about your submission, it will not be used to identify you or be published.
Colour:
Are you blue? If you can see this, leave it blank and get some CSS support.
Enter the words that you see: * This is to prevent our forms from being filled out automatically.
You have failed to correctly identify the words in the box above. Please try again.

More Latest News

Undock

You can comment on most stories on winnipegfreepress.com. You can also agree or disagree with other comments. All you need to do is register and/or login and you can join the conversation and give your feedback.

Have Your Say

New to commenting? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions.

The Winnipeg Free Press does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comment, you agree to our Terms and Conditions. These terms were revised effective April 16, 2010.