High-flying Jets bury Avalanche

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This article was published 04/03/2017 (3172 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

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The Winnipeg Jets look like they finally have a game worthy of a serious push for a post-season berth.

With Connor Hellebuyck stopping 22 shots (only seconds shy of his second consecutive shutout) and a big night from Winnipeg’s skilled set, the Jets rolled to a 6-1 win over the Colorado Avalanche Saturday night in front a rowdy crowd of 15,294 at the MTS Centre.

The victory pushed Winnipeg to 30-30-6 overall and within two points of the Los Angeles Kings, who hold the final wild-card playoff spot in the Western Conference. The Kings were hosting the Vancouver Canucks in a late game and will have one game in hand on hard-charging Winnipeg after Saturday’s action.

Blake Wheeler and Nikolaj Ehlers scored their 20th and 21st goals of the season, respectively. Both added a pair of assists while rookie right-winger Patrik Laine potted his 32nd of the season and added an assist as the hosts made quick work of the Avs, who are last in the Western Conference with a 17-43-3 record.

The Jets are 5-1-2 in their last eight games.

“I feel like we’ve been playing some really good hockey lately,” said Ehlers. “Those five games before the break were really good. We’ve been trying to take that with us after the break and we’ve won the last two games so we are doing something right.”

Mark Scheifele, with his 27th goal of the season, Ben Chiarot, with his first, and Jacob Trouba, with his sixth, also scored for the Jets.

Gabriel Landeskog spoiled Hellebuyck’s shutout bid, tipping a point shot into the net with 15.4 seconds remaining in the third period. Hellebuyck was that close to his second consecutive shutout after blanking the St. Louis Blues 3-0 Friday night.

“You have no idea, that is the worst feeling ever,” said Hellebuyck with a smile. “But we got the win, so I’m happy. I know I made a mistake sliding out a little bit. I think I got a little goalie interference before that, too. Maybe they call that back but whatever, we got the win.”

Colorado goaltender Calvin Pickard allowed five goals in 20 shots before giving way to Jeremy Smith, who stopped 10 of 11 shots the rest of the way.

“There’s always good energy in our building, but there was a real good buzz tonight, though,” said Winnipeg head coach Paul Maurice. “Maybe it’s Saturday night. You could feel it right down our bench so we started right and real quick. Right on top of our game and jumped on them a little bit so it was a good night.”

The Avs looked hopeless for the first two periods and made a bit of a push in the third, but it was much too late.

“For me it’s pretty simple,” said Colorado head coach Jared Bednar. “We got outworked from the drop of the puck. That’s a desperate hockey team over there. They know the importance of these two points and we weren’t ready to compete at a level that you have to be ready to compete at in order to win a hockey game. Then you’re back on your heels — penalties, and it just gets worse and worse from there.”

Playing for a draft lottery team like the Avs is not much fun.

“We just came out not ready to play,” said veteran Colorado defenceman Francois Beauchemin. “At one point, you gotta start showing some pride. This is the NHL, and right now we’re just playing shinny hockey. It’s just embarrassing.”

Winnipeg’s once improbable looking bid for the post-season gets even more challenging in the week ahead with games against last season’s Stanley Cup finalists. The Jets host the San Jose Sharks Monday night and Pittsburgh Penguins Wednesday night.

“We started against Dallas at home and we were pretty low at that point,” said Wheeler, who has three goals and three assists in his last two games. “Our team has shown this year that we’re pretty apt at dealing with adversity. We bounce back when we’re in tough situations. It’s a good sign that we’ve been able to maintain playing the right way and play hard and building an identity for ourselves in the late part of our season.”

 

LUCK WAS ON HIS SIDE

Hellebuyck was good and lucky Saturday.

Avs forward Blake Comeau roared in on a breakaway in the second period before inexplicably trying to pass the puck to Nathan McKinnon only to have it intercepted by Winnipeg’s Laine, who was racing back to defend. Laine proceeded to sweep the puck out of harm’s way.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen that,” said Hellebuyck. “I don’t know what to say to that. Maybe I intimidated him? I don’t know, let’s go with that.”

 

NOTEWORTHY

Newly acquired Swiss forward Sven Andrighetto was a healthy scratch for the Avs Saturday. Andrighetto, obtained from the Montreal Canadiens at Wednesday’s deadline, is waiting for a work visa… The Jets were 1-for-5 on the power play and Colorado was scoreless in four chances with the extra man… Former Jets forward Drew Stafford had a phenomenal debut for the Boston Bruins Saturday night. Acquired in a trade deadline deal Wednesday, Stafford assisted on the game winner and recorded seven shots on goal in 14:07 of ice time as the Bruins beat the New Jersey Devils 3-2. He was also named the game’s first star.

 

mike.sawatzky@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @sawa14