Jets storm Capitals

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This article was published 11/03/2024 (574 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

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Coming off a rare no-show against the Vancouver Canucks, the Winnipeg Jets were locked in defensively and mostly controlled the play in a decisive 3-0 victory over the Washington Capitals on Monday at Canada Life Centre.

“Extremely confident (that they would respond). We talked about the game, we watched some clips and saw areas that we could clean up,” said Jets captain Adam Lowry. “Better execution, maybe better legs. Throughout the season, there are always one or two of those games (like Saturday’s 5-0 loss). I wouldn’t read too much into it. Coming back to the rink this morning … we were able to put that one behind us. Just the sharpness, the crispness, we were delivering pucks to the net. We had some really good chances before we were able to get the first one.

“We were forechecking hard, we had great back pressure and (when) our gaps are really good, we’re a really tough team to play against and I think we showed that.”

With the victory, the Jets improved to 41-18-5 on the season and they’ve blanked their opponent in two of the past three games – a good sign for a team looking to lock things down after some uncharacteristic breakdowns in the D-zone during the past several weeks.

“Give the guys credit. They weren’t very happy with our game in Vancouver. They knew they had to bounce back, and they did,” said Jets head coach Rick Bowness. “It was a solid team effort tonight. That’s what it takes.”

The Jets continue a three-game homestand on Wednesday night against the Nashville Predators, who are in the midst of a 10-0-2 run that has them up to seventh in the Western Conference standings.

Here’s a closer look at what happened:

1 The first impressions – Tyler Toffofli looked comfortable on a line with Sean Monahan and Alex Iafallo, creating several chances and finishing with three shots on goal and seven shot attempts in 15:15 of ice time. Toffoli showed a nose for the net and also pulled a nifty toe drag during the second period, though it came at the end of a shift and didn’t lead to a scoring chance. Defenceman Colin Miller replaced Nate Schmidt in the lineup, drawing in on the third pairing with Dylan Samberg while leaving a solid impression as a steady puck-mover. Miller had one shot attempt and three hits in 13:48 of work.

“They were great,” said Jets left-winger Kyle Connor, who scored his team-leading 27th of the season to make it 3-0 at 10 minutes of the third period. “Obviously, two veteran players. Toffoli, you can see his game. He had a couple of chances, he seems to find that soft area. He’s hard on pucks and he’s very responsible out there. With (Miller), he got pucks through, he plays hard and he’s tough to play against. These guys are going to help out for us and we need everybody.”

Toffoli looked like he might have scored the Jets second goal, but it was Iafallo who had the redirection after the point shot from Josh Morrissey.

“It’s only going to get better as they adjust and get even more comfortable in the systems,” said Lowry. “(Toffoli) had some really great looks. Their line generated some really good chances and they scored a big goal for us. You can see why he’s such a good goal scorer. His release is unbelievable. He’s such a smart player and goes to such good areas.

“(Miller) did a great job of getting pucks through. In the D-zone, he was moving the puck well (and) efficiently.”

2 The milestone – Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck notched the 30th win of the season after posting a 23-save shutout in what was his 47th start of the campaign.

It’s the fifth time in his NHL career that Hellebuyck has hit the 30-win milestone and this was his fourth shutout of the season.

“Well, they had the puck for 75 per cent of the game. That makes it difficult to create any offence, and when we did, not nearly a good enough job getting to the interior, zero traffic on Hellebuyck,” Capitals head coach Spencer Carberry told reporters. “So anything that we did to generate scoring-chance-wise, he saw it clear. Obviously everybody knows if he sees a shot, he’s going to stop it, so it’s not a recipe for success against this team.”

During his previous five starts, Hellebuyck had allowed three or more goals in each of them (and 18 in total), so this was the type of performance that was needed from the front-runner for the Vezina Trophy.

3 The opening goal – The Jets checking line helped set up Neal Pionk for the opening goal of the contest.

With Brenden Dillon and Nino Niederreiter battling along the left-wing boards, Lowry got the puck to Mason Appleton and he found Pionk alone at the right point.

Pionk won a race with Max Pacioretty to the front of the net and he powered his shot through Capitals goalie Charlie Lindgren.

“That was great vision (for Appleton) to find Neal on the weak side,” said Lowry. “He took it to the net like a little power forward. It was nice to see it go in for him. He’s been battling hard for us.”

Pionk was incredibly effective in this game, producing three shots on goal, eight shot attempts, five hits and four blocked shots.

4 The Ovi watch – The arena was sprinkled with red Capitals jerseys, many of which had the No. 8 of Alex Ovechkin on the back of them. The annual visit by Ovechkin is still appointment viewing for many, as the 38 year old captain of the Capitals continues to chase down Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky for the all-time NHL lead in goals (894). It was a relatively quiet evening for the left-winger, as he was limited to two shots on net and six shot attempts to go along with two hits. Ovechkin’s numbers are down considerably this season, but he’s been hot lately, generating six points during a five-game point streak. Ovechkin’s ability to find the back of the net has been something to behold over the course of his career. He’s up to 840 goals in 1,407 NHL games – which leaves him behind Gretzky’s 894 career markers. Ovechkin has done a significant amount of damage to the Jets/Atlanta Thrashers franchise, racking up 53 goals and 98 points in 72 career games against them.

5 Extra, extra – The other lineup change for the Jets in this one had Cole Perfetti returning on the fourth line for David Gustafsson. Perfetti was noticeable throughout the contest, generating three shots on goal and five shot attempts (including two shots off the iron) in 12:09 of play. The other interesting thing with the fourth line was that Morgan Barron was taking draws instead of centre Vladislav Namestnikov (who is dealing with a bad thumb, according to Bowness), winning seven of 12 (58%). Monahan was the best player in the circle for either team, winning 11 of 15 (73%). Scheifele was right behind him, going 13-for-19 (68%) as the Jets won 64% in the contest.

ken.wiebe@freepress.mb.ca

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