Perreault’s two points lead Jets to victory

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This article was published 26/03/2017 (3153 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Playing a desperate brand of hockey — though far too little, far too late — looked good on the Winnipeg Jets in their home barn Sunday night.

Down five regulars on the blue line and without the scoring threat of rookie sensation Patrik Laine, the Jets hit hard, checked vigorously and generated enough scoring chances against a Vancouver Canucks squad that has had an equally disappointing 2016-17 campaign.

Jets red-hot forward Mathieu Perreault scored once and set up Adam Lowry’s third-period winner as the hosts defeated the Canucks 2-1 at a stirred-up MTS Centre.

The death knell hasn’t officially sounded on Winnipeg’s withered playoff hopes, but the end is nigh. The Jets (34-35-7) have just six games remaining and are 11 points back of the St. Louis Blues for the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference.

The trick now is to stay engaged for the final half-dozen games of a season that has featured some exceptional individual performances, but also some giant warts from a team-game perspective.

Perreault’s power surge over the last month has been one of the highs.

The slight but shifty winger, who has seven goals and 21 points in his last 17 games after fully recovering from a broken thumb, extended his point-scoring streak to six games with a bullet over goalie Ryan Miller’s left shoulder in the second period to knot the game 1-1.

Perreault then hit Lowry with a great pass with 8:13 left in the final frame and the big centre buried his 14th with Winnipeg enjoying the man advantage.

“Confidence is as high as it can be,” said the 29-year-old native of Drummondville, Que. “For a long stretch I’m playing with (Mark Scheifele) and (Blake Wheeler), two of our best players. Tonight, the power play clicked, so it’s a combination of a bunch of things, but definitely confidence.”

Wheeler chipped in a pair of assists and now has 44 on the season, to go with 22 goals.

Winnipeg’s power-play unit, missing its quarterback, injured blue-liner Dustin Byfuglien, has scored in seven straight.

“It was a little different because Buff wasn’t there. It’s all forwards out there,” said Perreault. “We just kind of pass the puck around, whatever’s open we try to take it and that’s what we did today.”

Netminder Michael Hutchinson started his second-straight game, blocking 28 shots for just his seventh victory of the season but his third in a week. He’s surrendered just five goals in his last three starts.

Not bad for a forgotten guy for much of January and all of February.

“It’s always nice when you play in those games where it’s tight going into the third — it’s a character builder,” said Hutchinson, who couldn’t stop blue-liner Alex Edler’s point shot through traffic with just 22 seconds left in the first period. “With us having a young team, every game we can have close in the third period, we’re treating it as a playoff game.”

The Jets head to New Jersey late Monday for a makeup game against the Devils on Tuesday night, then return home to host the Anaheim Ducks at MTS Centre Thursday at 7 p.m.

The Jets 2.0 do not have a profound tradition of success — it’s not like qualifying for the post-season has become the conventional approach.

The NHL club has been out of playoff contention by mid- to late-March in five of six seasons since the franchise moved north from Atlanta in 2011. Only once has Winnipeg earned its way in to the 16-team chase for the Stanley Cup and that was two years ago when the Jets won 10 of their last 14 to grab the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference.

The fact the Jets’ playoff hopes had been dim for weeks makes the finality of elimination no less tolerable for a veteran such as centre Bryan Little.

He said the next two weeks will be tough on the psyche.

“Everyone’s different. Everyone’s at different points in their careers in here. For someone that’s gone through it before, it’s extremely frustrating,” said Little, earlier in the day. “You want to be a part of something bigger, and you want to be playing for something at this time of year. It’s another year of your career you can’t get back, and you’re not playing for something.”

Rookie blue-liner Josh Morrissey, who is exceeding all expectations and is shining for the Jets, said encouragement from the club’s leadership group has been important.

“The message is that it’s up to each guy on his own individual level to dig deep inside and bring that intensity and focus and that commitment to playing the right way, even in a tough spot like we’re in,” said Morrissey. “It’s up to everyone to find that will to win.

“Even though, you’re not a playoff-bound team, that’s where there shouldn’t be a problem getting motivated, because No. 1 you don’t play long enough to take it for granted… it will go by too fast and you’ll be kicking yourself later, and No. 2, there’s always eyes on you and everyone’s pushing to increase their role for next season.

“Individually, everyone’s got to step up and try to bring their best for the last (six games) here.”

Byfuglien missed his second-straight game with a lower-body injury, while Paul Postma (lower body), Ben Chiarot (upper body), Toby Enstrom (upper body) and Tyler Myers (lower body) are still on the shelf.

Morrissey, Jacob Trouba and Mark Stuart were joined by Julian Melchiori, Brian Strait and Nelson Nogier, all with the Manitoba Moose for the bulk of the AHL season, comprised the patchwork blue-line unit, which did a solid job limiting the Canucks chances and allowing Hutchinson to see pucks.

Miller was equally sound for the Canucks (30-36-9), stopping 30 shots by the hosts.

jason.bell@freepress.mb.ca