Jets get Kraken out of the way

The contents of the 10:15 a.m. meeting on Monday are likely to remain classified, especially since the final outcome was favourable for the Winnipeg Jets.

No matter what was said or viewed during the video session, it’s impossible to argue with the results.

Although a few fortuitous bounces certainly helped, it’s important to give credit where credit is due and on an evening that was as close as you can get to must-win territory given where they sit in the standings, a struggling Jets’ power play came through at a critical time.

Some of that credit belongs to Jets assistant coach Davis Payne, who is responsible for a power play that led the NHL last season but had dipped to 28th overall among 32 teams after going five-for-48 since the Olympic break.

A tweak in personnel — with Jonathan Toews in for Cole Perfetti on the top unit — led to immediate dividends as the Jets power play finished the night with three goals for the first time this season, propelling them to a 6-2 victory over the Seattle Kraken on Monday night at Canada Life Centre.

“We talked about how it gave us an opportunity with him taking the faceoffs,” said Jets head coach Scott Arniel. “And then we went with more of a shot mentality, attacking the net a little bit more and a little bit quicker. I thought we did a great job of that.”

Fresh off the bump, Toews got to the net and found a loose puck after Gabriel Vilardi tipped a point shot from Josh Morrissey to open the scoring.

Toews then drew the primary assist with the man-advantage as Vilardi scored his 29th goal of the season to make it 2-1 at 9:55 of the second period.

It was Toews’ fifth power-play marker of the season as he hit double digits in goals for a 16th consecutive campaign.

Kyle Connor ensured the Jets power play stayed perfect by scoring on a shot that changed direction off a Kraken defender and made the game 3-1.

“We got a little lucky, but there are other games where we’ve had a lot of good looks and haven’t gotten a goal,” said Jets centre Mark Schefiele, who notched three assists. “So we just got rewarded for sticking with it.”

The Jets, who improved to 34-31-12, remain three points out of the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. They’re back in action Thursday against the surging St. Louis Blues.

Let’s take a closer look at what transpired on Monday:

THE MILESTONE

Scheifele is up to 97 points for the season, eclipsing 900 points for his NHL career (901).

Already the franchise leader, Scheifele has pulled within 28 points of Dale Hawerchuk, who is the only Jets player from the 1.0 era to reach 900 points.

“It means a lot. I’m obviously very honoured and humbled by it,” said Scheifele. “It’ll probably take a little bit to sink in. But it’s very cool in my mind.”

With his three-point night, Scheifele moved into a tie for fifth place in NHL scoring with Leon Draisaitl of the Edmonton Oilers and David Pastrnak of the Boston Bruins.

Arniel continues to be impressed by Scheifele’s ability to put together his best season after turning 33 last month.

“It goes back to what we were just talking about: all of that preparation that he does,” said Arniel. “His body is always ready to go. It’s a case of he’s determined, he’s driven and he wants to have team success. With the team success comes individual success.

“I think we’ve seen a lot of guys in the league that are older that are still really good players and that’s because they’re such good athletes now. That’s probably the biggest thing.”

THE ROCKET

Jets forward Brad Lambert took a drop pass from Adam Lowry, used his speed to drive out wide and after looking to pass, he loaded up and ripped home a wrister that beat Joey Daccord high to the blocker side.

It was Lambert’s third NHL goal of the season.

“I don’t know if I have ever scored with him live,” said Lambert, referring to Kraken head coach and his uncle, Lane Lambert. “Every goal feels great and obviously, being able to do it at that time, (being) a big goal for us, made it extra special.

“I slowed up a little bit and looked to see if I had anyone to pass it to, but at the end of the day, I feel I was in the best spot to let it rip.”

Lambert’s goal restored a two-goal cushion after Jared McCann trimmed the deficit to 3-2 early in the third period.

“They had just scored and he made a nice little move kind of backing off the D and just kind of a sneaky release,” said Scheifele. “He’s a creative guy. He’s got skill. He’s got speed. He’s got great hands. You love to see a guy try someone one-on-one. With every game, you’ve just got to keep getting more and more confident, keep getting more and more comfortable.”

THE RETURN(S)

Lambert was on the ice on a blended shift for his goal, but spent the bulk of the evening on a trio with Vladislav Namestnikov and Nino Niederreiter, both of whom were back in the lineup for the first time in a long time.

Niederreiter (knee) hadn’t suited up in an NHL game since before the Olympics in Italy, while Namestnikov suffered a lower-body injury in the first period of the second game coming out of the break.

Namestnikov took 17 shifts for just over 11 minutes of ice time and chipped in an empty net goal late in the third period, while Niederreiter helped draw a pair of penalties and finished with 11:20 of ice time.

“It was special. A lot of extremes there and a lot of help,” said Lambert of his linemates. “I think we play well together, those guys are really good and smart with the puck and good players who make great plays. They hang on to pucks in the offensive zone and that creates a little more room for me and they are awesome to play with.”

THE KEY PLAY

Connor’s first of two goals, which gave him a team-leading 38 for the season, proved to be the game-winner.

THE THREE STARS

1. Mark Scheifele, C, Jets: three helpers.
2. Kyle Connor, LW, Jets: scored two goals.
3. Jonathan Toews, C, Jets: One goal, one assist.

EXTRA! EXTRA!

Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck made his seventh consecutive start, reaching 54 for the season and finished with 22 saves as he registered his 21st win of the campaign. Hellebuyck lowered his goals-against average to 2.76, while his save percentage remains at .898.

With the return of Niederreiter and Namestnikov, forward Parker Ford was returned to the Manitoba Moose of the American Hockey League since the Jets are no longer under emergency conditions. Ford has one assist in 15 games with the Jets this season and is up to one goal and two points in 18 games for his NHL career.

Jets defenceman Jacob Bryson suited up in his 300th NHL game on Monday.

Following the morning skate, Arniel announced that forward Morgan Barron is sidelined week-to-week with a lower-body injury. The loss of Barron is going to be felt in a number of areas, from his sound five-on-five play to his work on the penalty kill. Barron has 11 goals and 23 points in 65 games this season.

The Jets lone healthy scratch was defenceman Ville Heinola, since forward Gustav Nyquist (undisclosed) was wearing a non-contact jersey, along with defenceman Colin Miller (knee). Fellow blue-line Elias Salomonsson remains in concussion protocol and has yet to resume skating.

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