After slow start, free agent signing paying off big time

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This article was published 13/01/2015 (4008 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Blame Mathieu Perreault and his absolutely filthy hands.

Days from now, when Winnipeg Jets fans are hacking, sneezing and moaning about their assortment of cold and flu-like symptoms, the outbreak will be traced back to the second period of Tuesday’s 8-2 evisceration of the Florida Panthers and the moment Perreault blew the lids off the MTS Centre.

Perreault deftly tipped a Toby Enstrom point shot past Al Montoya for his second career hat trick — he added a fourth goal later — with 4:37 left in the middle frame. Moments later, when the goal was confirmed, hundreds of fans honoured an age-old tradition by tossing their hats onto the ice in celebration.

Just for the record, by the time those lidless fans ventured outside at game’s end, the temperature was -14 C, with a windchill of -22. That prompted the Jets — in a humorous example of marketing at its finest — to announce a 25 per cent off deal on all headgear in their store.

“That was awesome. I had chills, almost,” said Perreault, who scored his 12th, 13th, 14th and 15th of the year. “I was sitting there on the bench and almost couldn’t believe it. A couple of chances there in the third, too, to maybe get five. It was a crazy night.”

Perreault became the first player in Jets/Thrashers history to score four goals in a game since Ilya Kovachuk on Nov. 11, 2005. Interestingly, there was a very real opportunity for him to finish with five or six goals.

Early in the third, he had a breakaway and tried to go five-hole on a deke on Al Montoya but was denied, and with just over three minutes left he fired a nifty feed from Enstrom just wide.

FYI, if Perreault had potted a fifth goal, Gail MacDonald of Brandon would have won $1 million as part of a Safeway Score and Win promotion.

“I had no idea,” said Perreault. “The guys have bee telling me… that’s crazy. I wish I knew. In the third, it was a 7-2, 8-2 game and I was just kind of coasting around. I didn’t know… I almost feel bad. Sorry, for whoever that was.”

During Perreault’s post-game scrum Andrew Ladd — playing the decoy — asked, “Frenchy… how many goals did you score tonight?” as Dustin Byfuglien snuck around the other side of the media scrum and tried (and failed) to jam a towel full of shaving cream in his face.

It was that kind of night for the Jets, who hammered a Panthers squad that had entered the game on a three-game win streak. Not only did Perreault match history, he helped Paul Maurice pick up his 500th win as an NHL coach.

It’s been, of late, that kind of year for Perreault, who turned 27 last week. Back in the summer when he signed here, it was seen as a shrug-of-the-shoulders free-agent addition by those outside of Winnipeg.

Oh sure, he was a solid third-line centre who was steady in the faceoff circle, but his arrival hardly had anyone in the NHL’s Central Division concerned about a shift in the balance of power.

Yet, here is Perreault now with 15 goals — his career high is 18 — after proving to be versatile enough to play both wing and centre while seeing time on the Jets’ first power-play unit.

There might have been flashier free-agent signings, but he’s been a dandy fit for Kevin Cheveldayoff & Co.

Perreault had the shootout winner in Ottawa in his 15th game as a Jet but didn’t score his first until his 20th contest.

“It took a while,” said Perreault, grinning. “I didn’t get a goal for 20 games, even thought I was playing decent, good-enough hockey. I was going from centre to wing, different linemates… new team, new system. But now I really feel comfortable playing with (Scheifele) and Frolik on the wing.

“It’s the most minutes I’ve ever played. Paul has had a lot of confidence in me and put me out there in all kinds of situations. It’s been a lot of fun. I’ve been enjoying myself a lot lately. That’s what they told me, I was going to have a big role, bigger than I had in the past. I was very excited for the challenge.

“Slow start, but now things are going very well, and I couldn’t be happier.”

Thousands of Jets fans — and those who exited with naked melons — couldn’t agree more.

ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @WFPEdTait