Jets make it three in a row

Turns out some home cooking sprinkled with a dose of desperation was just what the Winnipeg Jets needed.

A 5-4 victory over the New York Islanders on Tuesday night was the club’s third straight at Canada Life Centre, showing there’s still some fight left in a team many had written off for dead.

“We are making some hay in the last three and that is what is most important. Just keep grinding and finding a way to get points,” said Jets head coach Scott Arniel.

This one was a back-and-forth affair filled with momentum swings, with the Jets building a 3-0 lead, watching it evaporate in rapid fashion, jumping back out in front and then hanging on for dear life in the waning seconds.

“Obviously getting up 3-0, but then giving it right back, it sucked,” said Jets centre Mark Scheifele. “But the response after that was awesome by everyone. A win’s a win.”

Indeed, they don’t ask how, just how many. And Winnipeg needs to keep stacking them up if they are to get back in the playoff race, especially after an 11-game winless streak sunk them to the bottom of the NHL standings.

“We have played some good games here, earlier on we didn’t get the results we were after, but the last three have certainly been a lot better,” said Arniel.

The Jets are now 18-22-5 overall and within seven points of a playoff spot with 37 regular-season games remaining. The odds of a full recovery remain long, but they at least have a pulse. The Islanders, who arrived in town on a hot streak, fall to 25-16-5.

Red light special

Go figure that a team that couldn’t seem to buy a goal prior to this five-game homestand has suddenly started to fill the net with frequency.

Winnipeg scored 20 goals over the span, an average of four per outing. Plenty of ice cold players are heating up, and it couldn’t come at a better time.

“It means a lot,” said Arniel.

“Now, every line is dangerous and it makes it tough for the opposition, as they just can’t zero in on (Mark) Scheifele’s line. You can see guys making plays now, feeling more confident with the puck and when you do that you play more of a puck possession game.”

On this night, five different players lit the lamp, while 12 of the 18 skaters recorded at least a point.

Kyle Connor got the offensive party started 4:20 into the game, burying a rebound for his 22nd of the season, which puts him in a tie for the team lead with linemate Scheifele.

Canadian Olympian Josh Morrissey made it 2-0 early in the second period when his seeing-eye wrister through traffic beat Islanders goaltender Ilya Sorokin.

Next up was Jonathan Toews, who continued his second-half resurgence by scoring for a third straight game. This one came on the power play 42 seconds after Morrissey’s tally and had the Jets in cruise control. Toews now has seven points (3G, 4A) over his last 10 games, all since the Christmas break.

However, the visitors struck three times in a span of 2:41 to tie it up, showing the Jets were still dealing with some fragility despite consecutive wins over the Los Angeles Kings and New Jersey Devils.

Back came Winnipeg, this time for good.

Defenceman Dylan DeMelo scored in eerily similar fashion to his blue-line partner, Morrissey, as his shot from just inside the point beat a screened Sorokin. It came with some controversy. The Islanders felt like Sorokin had been interfered with and challenged the play, but video review quickly upheld the call on the ice as a good goal.

“I don’t get goals that often so, when I get them, they feel pretty good,” said DeMelo, who is now up to three on the year. “I do like obviously setting guys up. A nice assist looks good. It’s a team game so it’s nice to pitch in that way.”

Jets captain Adam Lowry then finished things off with 20 seconds left in the middle frame, tipping a Neal Pionk point shot. His fourth of the season proved to be the game-winner.

“At the end of the day we got back to what we had to do,” said Arniel. “Obviously, that was a big goal at the end for us as we had traffic again, a shot from the top, and those are the things you want to continue to do, and we did it.

Lowry and Connor had assists to go with their goals, while Scheifele hit the 500-assist mark for his career with a pair of helpers.

“His overall game, I feel like he’s playing the best hockey of his career,” DeMelo said of Scheifele, who was snubbed by Team Canada but remains on the stand-by list in case of injury.

“Both ends of the ice, he’s doing a great job. He does so much for our group offensively and defensively as well, he does such a good job anticipating plays and ending plays. He’s got a great stick, a great feel for the game, and obviously the chemistry he has with KC and how many goals they score together. He’ll say he’s a passer first, but he’s got a great shot. To see him work on his craft, not a surprise he’s got this many assists and he’s going to keep going strong.”

What the Helly?

Connor Hellebuyck just hasn’t looked like his same dominant self in recent games.

The numbers reflect it, too, with 19 goals against (3.80 GAA) and a .880 save percentage in his last five outings.

In fact, since his return from injury in mid-December, the reigning Hart and Vezina Trophy winner has given up at least three goals in nine of his 13 starts.

He’s been beaten 39 times in that span (three per game) and posted a .882 save percentage.

Those are very un-Hellebuyck-like numbers. Sure, the play in front of him has a lot to do with it, but he would likely be the first to admit he can be a lot better, too.

Hellebuyck will tell you he should stop every puck that comes his way, but we’d suggest he’d probably want three of the four Islanders goals back. Overall, he stopped 23 of 27 shots he faced.

Kids these days

Matthew Schaefer is something else. The first-overall pick in the 2025 draft has taken the NHL by storm, and Tuesday was the first chance for local hockey fans to see him up-close.

The 18-year-old had a rough start to his game. In the first period, he was in some pain after accidentally being hit by Morrissey, who never saw him. Schaefer was slow to get up and eventually left the ice to go to the dressing room, returning several minutes later.

In the second period, he was felled by a slapshot and spent more than a minute stuck in his own zone, hobbling around on one leg. Fortunately no real damage was done and he recovered.

Schaefer then brought the Islanders within a goal when he beat Hellebuyck with 46 seconds left in the third period and Sorokin pulled for an extra attacker. He now has 30 points (13G, 17A) in 46 regular-season games, which are jaw-dropping numbers for a player of his age and experience. He’s also averaging nearly 24 minutes per game.

“Everyone has started to hear about him as the year has progressed and I’ve tried to watch a bunch of their games throughout the season. He’s a special player,” Morrissey said before the game. “What he’s doing as an 18-year-old defenceman is remarkable. He’s so dynamic all over the ice. He’s going to be a great player for a long time. To think he’s only 18, it’s pretty scary.”

Schaefer is likely going to run away with the Calder Trophy for top rookie, and he might even garner some Norris Trophy votes at this rate.

The key play

Lowry’s goal late in the second period restored some breathing room for the Jets and proved to be the game-winner.

THREE STARS:

1. WPG C Adam Lowry: 1 goal, 1 assist

2. NYI LW Emil Heineman: 1 goal, 1 assist

3. WPG LW Kyle Connor: 1 goal, 1 assist

EXTRA, EXTRA: Winnipeg went 1-for-3 on the power play, while New York went 0-for-1.

Heineman’s goal came on a penalty shot, after he was impeded by Luke Schenn while on a breakaway.

The Jets made one lineup change, with Schenn coming in for Colin Miller, who suffered a lower-body injury against the Devils. Forward Gustav Nyquist and defenceman Isaak Phillips were healthy scratches. Defenceman Haydn Fleury and forward Morgan Barron remain sidelined with injuries.

The Jets now head to St. Paul to face the Minnesota Wild on Thursday night.

“Now we’ve got to take that act on the road. We’ve got a huge game against Minnesota coming up,” said DeMelo.

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