Slump busted

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This article was published 05/12/2024 (302 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Adam Lowry went to the hard area, stuck with it and made sure the Winnipeg Jets went home with an extra point and left a four-game losing skid in the rearview mirror.

Josh Morrissey made a brilliant rush up ice and although Lowry didn’t convert the first chance, the puck came back to him and capped off a 3-2 victory over the Buffalo Sabres at 3:59 of overtime on Thursday night at KeyBank Center.

“I honestly don’t remember a whole lot,” said Lowry. “J-Mo is so good at jumping up. When he’s got speed I just try to join him. I end up with the puck. The first one was a bit of a scramble, but all of a sudden, it comes back to me. (Morrissey) made a heck of a play to get it over to me. It’s nice to see that go in the back of the net.”

Jets head coach Scott Arniel felt it was a just reward for Lowry, who scored the second OT winner of his career and is up to seven goals in 27 games.

“He had to do some heavy lifting. He was seeing a lot of the Thompson line. He was doing a lot of penalty killing. That was great for him to get that one,” said Arniel. “Took a couple of whacks, and it was right in his wheelhouse.”

The Jets, who improved to 19-8, close out this two-game road swing Saturday afternoon against the Chicago Blackhawks, who fired head coach Luke Richardson on Thursday.

“I think we can be really happy with that win,” said Lowry. “I thought our response after a real lacklustre St. Louis game was pretty good. It’s been tough sledding the last week or so trying to pick up wins, so it’s nice to find a way.”

Let’s take a closer look at this one.

POWER PLAY AWAKENS – The Jets had been struggling mightily with the man-advantage of late, slogging through a two-for-19 stretch — including zero-for-three in the first period — before they got a golden opportunity to snap out of the funk early in the second period.

At 1:33 of the second, the Sabres were given a pair of minors — an interference call on Jacob Bryson and a tripping call to Tage Thompson — giving the Jets a full two-minute five-on-three.

After some strong puck movement, the Jets finally struck with 28 seconds left in the two-man advantage, Mark Scheifele found Kyle Connor in the slot and his quick shot squeezed through Sabres goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen.

That tied the game 2-2.

“You do gotta cash on those,” said Jets forward Gabe Vilardi. “They don’t come around often.”

The Jets got off to an incredible start to the season, spending the bulk of the opening quarter of the season in the No. 1 spot for power-play efficiency before the recent issues knocked them out of that spot.

THE AGONY – Souris product Tyson Kozak made his NHL debut for the Sabres on Thursday and he felt the full range of emotions in this one, from taking his hot lap to being in the starting lineup and then scoring what he thought was his first NHL goal.

Kozak found a loose puck in the slot and wired it past Connor Hellebuyck for what appeared to give the Sabres a 3-2 lead with 2:24 left in the second period.

However, the Jets used a coach’s challenge to argue that there was goalie interference on the play and after video review, it was ruled to be the case, so the goal got wiped off the board.

The issue on the play was that Sabres forward Beck Malenstyn’s left skate made contact with the skate of Hellebuyck inside the crease and that’s why Kozak is left waiting for his first goal.

Kozak’s parents, Trevor and Michelle, were in attendance for the monumental moment, along with his younger sister Paige.

Kozak, who was chosen by the Sabres in the seventh round of the 2021 NHL Draft, played AAA hockey for the Southwest Cougars before joining the Portland Winterhawks of the Western Hockey League.

It was the second coach’s challenge of the game, as the Sabres believed that Vilardi had interfered with Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen on the Jets’ first goal.

Vilardi was engaged with Sabres defenceman Bowen Byram and was outside the blue paint when he grazed the glove of Luukkonen.

After review, the goal counted and the Sabres were shorthanded after the delay of game call for the failed coach’s challenge.

“You never really know with those on the bench, you’re just kind of hoping,” said Vilardi. “I’m out of the crease. So if there’s nothing I can do, if he’s out, and obviously I did touch his glove there, but where am I supposed to go? Right? I’m doing my job. And he kind of comes out a little bit, and it’s a tight call.”

Vilardi is up to 10 goals for the season joining Connor (14) and Scheifele (13) in double digits.

THE ADVENTURE – It was the second consecutive game as a pairing for Ville Heinola and Logan Stanley and let’s just say there was a lot happening when the two of them were on the ice together.

As the Sabres took a 2-1 lead late in the first period on a rush chance, Heinola was unable to prevent a cross-ice pass by former Winnipeg Ice forward Zach Benson and Stanley was unable to tie up the stick of Dylan Cozens, despite being right beside him.

Stanley picked up 17 minutes in penalties, five minutes for dropping the gloves with Dennis Gilbert, a 10-minute misconduct and coincidental roughing minors with Jason Zucker.

The Jets are looking for Stanley to be more physically involved and he certainly accomplished that, though he still needs to elevate his game in order to solidify a spot on the third pairing.

As for Heinola, things were a bit more chaotic for him in this one. He needs to calm things down in the defensive zone, since his vision and offensive instincts have never been in question.

AFTERBURNER

The key play

Lowry bangs home a loose puck in front of the net after a great rush up the ice by Morrissey during three-on-three overtime.

The three stars:

1. Josh Morrissey, Jets, two assists, three shots on goal, 29:54 of ice time.

2. Adam Lowry, Jets, scores overtime winner, kept Sabres’ top line in check.

3. Mark Scheifele, Jets, two assists, two shots on goal, 24:49 of ice time.

Extra, extra – Hellebuyck finished with 28 saves as he made his 21st start of the season. You can expect Hellebuyck and backup Eric Comrie to split the starts this weekend, with Comrie’s seventh start of the campaign expected to come on Sunday against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

The Jets healthy scratches were forward David Gustafsson and defencemen Colin Miller and Dylan Coghlan. The Sabres were without captain Rasmus Dahlin, who is out with back spasms.

ken.wiebe@freepres.mb.ca

X and Blueskay: @WiebesWorld