Hellebuyck the difference as Jets edge Flames

CALGARY — It was fitting, really, that on a night Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck stood so tall, one of his 32 saves would ultimately lead to the game-winning goal for his club.

With time winding down in the third period and the score tied 1-1 on Monday night inside the Saddledome, defenceman Josh Morrissey quickly scooped up a rebound that came after a stellar Hellebuyck stop. In the blink of an eye, he sprung Kyle Connor, who streaked up the ice on an ensuing 2-on-1 rush with Mark Scheifele.

It was like muscle memory at that point for the dynamic duo, as Connor fed Scheifele for a beautiful one-timer that eluded Calgary Flames goaltender Dustin Wolf.

“Unbelievable pass by K.C.,” said Scheifele, who knew exactly what was coming. “I trust in that guy with the puck every single time. You know he’s an amazing player, and I’m lucky to play with him.”

Not to be overlooked is Morrissey, who passed Dustin Byfuglien to become the all-time franchise leader in assists by a defenceman (295). And, of course, Hellebuyck, who reminded everyone why he’s the reigning Hart and Vezina Trophy winner.

Their collective effort with just under five minutes left in regulation was the difference in a 2-1 victory by the Jets, who have now taken five consecutive games to improve to 5-1-0. The free-falling Flames dropped a sixth in a row and are now 1-6-0.

Scheifele — who passed Blake Wheeler on Saturday to become the all-time franchise leader in points — has hit the scoresheet in all six games this season, with a team-leading seven goals and 10 points.

Although this appeared to be a mismatch on paper, it didn’t play out that way on the ice. Calgary gave Winnipeg all it could handle and might have skated away with two points if not for Hellebuyck’s heroics.

Let’s break this one down further.

HISTORIC GOAL: You could see it coming, with Jonathan Toews looking better and better — and getting more and more chances around the net — with each passing game.

It finally happened early in the third period Monday, as the 37-year-old scored a goal for his hometown team for the very first time.

It was a beauty, too, a perfectly executed tip of a Neal Pionk shot that tied the game 1-1.

“These last few games I feel like I am really starting to settle in,” said Toews, who is now up to four points through his first six games.

“I think early on our line had a bunch of chances, a lot of puck possession but the flow of the game kind of went the way it did, but I kept telling myself to be ready for that one chance. We got our chance in the third and it was nice to get a stick on it. It’s nice to get that first one and start to build some confidence in the offensive zone.”

You have to go all the way back to April 13, 2023 for the last time Toews lit the lamp. While plenty of his 373 career NHL goals have been significant, no doubt this one will have a special place in his heart.

Toews’ teammates were likely just as excited as he was, if not more. (He was known as Captain Serious, after all).

“We were so pumped. We were ecstatic for him,” said Scheifele. “He’s been playing awesome for us. He’s done so many good things since he’s been here. And to see him get rewarded with a big goal for us is huge.”

FLICKERING FLAMES: Jets coach Scott Arniel knew it wouldn’t be an easy night at the office.

“When you get a wounded dog, there’s one of two things: either they’re going to bite you, or they’re going to put their tail between their legs. I don’t think they’re going to do the tail part,” he told the Free Press following the morning skate.

“We’ve got to be ready. They’re going to be extremely upset and pissed off. We can’t just come out thinking we’re going to have it easy. We’ve got to make sure we bite back.”

Calgary’s previous effort was a lopsided 6-1 loss in Vegas on Saturday — a game in which Hockey Night In Canada broadcaster Kevin Bieksa absolutely torched the Flames for what he felt was a lack of effort. He isolated one clip of forward Yegor Sharangovich pulled off a potential hit and simply doing a fly-by, suggesting that’s a sign of a broken culture.

“If you’re going to get an effort like that from a guy, get rid of him, you know what I mean? You’re disgracing the NHL with an effort like that,” Bieksa told the national audience.

Those comments were a hot topic in Calgary’s room Monday morning — especially after Sharangovich, who is in the first year of a five-year, US$28.75-million contract, was a healthy scratch against the Jets. Talk about sending a message.

“Last game, we were like a 50-50 team, is the best way I can put it. There were 50 per cent of our guys that I thought worked really hard and were committed and then I don’t think we had enough from the other 50,” said Flames coach Ryan Huska prior to puck drop.

“And he would fall into that category. You can’t make a 50 per cent change, but certain areas that weren’t acceptable, we can change a few. So it happened to be him.”

Give Calgary an “A” for effort in this one. But they’ll have to settle for a moral victory and nothing else.

PENALTY PARADE: The whistles were out early and often in this one, with a parade to the penalty box that really interrupted the flow and left very little five-on-five play.

Credit to the Jets, who went 5-for-5 on the kill — including a big one in the final minute of play which was a 6-on-4 with Wolf out of the net for an extra attacker. They are now an incredible 27-for-28 this year. The Jets recorded 20 of their 28 shots during five power plays of their own, finally getting one by Wolf with the timely tip by Toews.

“It was one of those games that it just felt like there was no real push to it, no real excitement to it, it was just penalty after penalty,” said Arniel.

“We were a lot better in the third period. We didn’t get many scoring chances but obviously, J.T. scoring the one and then Scheif, that was a big one. Your best penalty killer has to be your goalie and Helly was.”

BLUE JAYS FEVER: The loudest cheers of the night inside Saddledome had nothing to do with the hockey game being played. The winner-take-all Game 7 showdown between the Toronto Blue Jays and Seattle Mariners was shown on the scoreboard between periods, with cut-ins during the action as well to highlight key moments.

A huge roar went up when George Springer hit a three-run homer in the seventh inning to turn a 3-1 deficit into a 4-3 lead. And the building was really rocking when Jeff Hoffman’s final strikeout of Mariners slugger Julio Rodriguez was displayed, along with the raucous on-field celebration that followed.

Calgary and Toronto may be more than 3,400 km apart — not to mention fierce rivals when it comes to the NHL and CFL — but there was some real sporting unity on display with regards to the World Series-bound baseball team.

“It was special. That was different. I’ve never been in an atmosphere like that where both hockey teams, every fan, Jet fan, Flame fan, were on their feet applauding that one so congrats to them,” said Arniel, who is from Kingston.

“We were taking peeks between periods and at the start of the game. Obviously, that’s awesome for Canada.”

LAMBO COMES OUT OF THE GARAGE: This was a big game for 21-year-old Brad Lambert, who made his Jets season debut skating on the third line with Alex Iafallo and Vlad Namestnikov.

The 30th-overall pick from 2022 made the team out of training camp but has been a healthy scratch. He was also sent down for a quick stint with the Manitoba Moose last weekend with the Jets needing an extra defenceman on the roster as insurance, then recalled once Haydn Fleury had healed up.

Arniel has essentially now rotated the trio of “kids” in Lambert, Nikita Chibrikov (three games) and Parker Ford (two games) to start the year, creating some internal competition to see who might ultimately stick.

Fact is, once injured forwards Cole Perfetti and Adam Lowry are healthy, it’s likely two of those three young skaters will be send down to the minors.

So how did Lambert fare? Not great, actually. He played just 7:43 and was on the ice when the Flames scored their only goal off a Rasmus Andersson screen shot. He had one shot on goal and nothing else of note.

KEY PLAY: Mark Scheifele’s beautiful goal in transition was the difference.

THREE STARS:

1. WPG G Connor Hellebuyck: 32 saves
2. CGY G Dustin Wolf: 26 saves
3. WPG C Mark Scheifele: Game-winning goal

HEALING UP: There was some good news back in Winnipeg Monday. Perfetti, Lowry and defenceman Dylan Samberg hit the ice together at Hockey For All Centre for a conditioning skate.

Perfetti, who suffered a high-ankle sprain, was the new addition. Lowry (off-season hip surgery) has been working out since early September, while Samberg (broken wrist during the pre-season) joined him last week,

Arniel said Lowry is on track for a return in the next 10-14 days, while Perfetti is “slightly ahead of schedule” and should be back by mid-November. Samberg remains a bit of a mystery as they need to let his bone fully heal, but later in November seems most logical.

That’s a nice future boost for a team that is already off to a strong start without them.

“I’m not real happy we haven’t had them (yet), but at the same time we’ve got some new players that have been able to play and gain experience and learn our systems, learn how to play Jet hockey,” said Arniel.

“So it’s worked out that way. I’m probably going to have a headache here somewhere down the road, because I’m going to have a lot of bodies at one time, which is a good thing.”

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

X and Bluesky: @mikemcintyrewpg