Jets get back to filling in the gaps

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This article was published 23/02/2019 (2388 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Big goals from two of Winnipeg’s potent offensive performers helped spark the Jets to a crucial victory Friday night, yet much of the talk the morning after focused on the execution of far less flashy plays.

The type of plays that tantalize the experts, but seldom, if ever, snap spectators out of their seats.

Mention the importance of gap control and the average hockey fan might profess to having a general understanding, or they might cover their mouth and call for referral to an orthodontist.

But the distance between defenders and oncoming attackers is meaningful stuff.

Indeed, gap control was Saturday’s sexy phrase of the day for the Jets, who practised at the Ice Den in Phoenix about 14 hours after leaving Las Vegas with two well-earned NHL points stowed away.

Patrik Laine’s terrific two-goal effort, mercifully halting a 15-game scoring skid, was the glaring highlight of the night, while a goal just 56 seconds into the game by a recovered and revitalized Nikolaj Ehlers got the ball rolling.

But greater attention by the visitors to their defensive details, particularly in the second half of the game against the Golden Knights, was a major component.

“I thought all game our gap was pretty good, and that’s predicated on our forwards coming back and how hard they come back, allowing the defence to stand up,” blue-liner Jacob Trouba said. “We played a lot harder. We were fast. We just played the way we know we can play.”

Winnipeg posted a 6-3 win over Vegas in a battle between two desperate Western Conference clubs. The Jets (37-20-4), who occupy top spot in the Central Division, snapped a three-game losing streak, rebounding nicely after a dismal 7-1 defeat to the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday in Denver.

The Jets complete a three-game southern road trip tonight (8 p.m. CT) when they face the Arizona Coyotes at Gila River Arena in Glendale.

Doubling up on Vegas might have represented the Jets’ best overall performance since the squad pasted the Nashville Predators 5-1 on Jan. 17 in Music City. Some might point to a 9-3 white-washing of Anaheim at Bell MTS Centre on Feb. 2 as superior. But, heck, those were the Ducks on the other side.

Friday night at T-Mobile Arena, Winnipeg was much improved in limiting that time and space for quick, talented forwards such as Jonathan Marchessault, William Karlsson and Reilly Smith, stopping them from generating speed and forcing turnovers.

That only happens with a concerted effort to alleviate pressure in the neutral zone, allowing their blue-liners the chance to stand tall instead of retreating.

Marchessault scored early in the third period on a shot from well out that seemed to handcuff Winnipeg goalie Connor Hellebuyck — and he’d likely love another crack at it. The Golden Knights were held to just one high-danger chance after that, but Hellebuyck made a brilliant stop on Oscar Lindberg with the visitors up 5-3.

“The piece to our game that we struggled with the most the last two or three weeks was a strength for us. Our forwards pressured the puck very hard from one end to the other, and it allowed the gap — that you’ve heard me say — allowed it to happen,” Winnipeg head coach Paul Maurice said.

“There was a board up of the shots that we’ve given up to (Hellebuyck) over the last stretch of hockey, and it’s just too big. So, we were better at that.

“The quality (of the Vegas shots) was down, and then you put Connor in a position that he can make a save like he made. He’s got the energy to do that.”

jason.bell@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @WFPJasonBell