Feeling good in Florida

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This article was published 04/01/2017 (3170 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

SUNRISE, Fla. — The Winnipeg Jets are learning sometimes less is more.

At least that’s the approach Bryan Little took following a 4-1 win over the Florida Panthers at the BB&T Center Wednesday night.

“We played simple. We weren’t cheating for our chances,” said the Jets centre, who finished with two assists. “We weren’t even talking about getting offensive chances. We played our game and waited for them to have breakdowns.”

With the win, the Jets (19-19-3) climbed to .500 and are perfect through two games of a three-game road trip. The Jets will get the chance to complete the sweep Saturday when they take on the Buffalo Sabres at the KeyBank Center.

It also marked the second win over the Panthers this season. It took six rounds of a shootout to beat them the first time — a 4-3 win Dec. 15. On Wednesday, it was a pair of offensive spurts that led the Jets to victory.

Shawn Matthias and Patrik Laine broke open a scoreless game early in the second period, scoring in a span of two minutes, 24 seconds to give the visitors the lead.

When it looked like the Panthers would try to make it a game with a goal from forward Greg McKegg late in the middle period to make it 2-1, Winnipeg proved resilient in the final period.

“We moved the puck really well. We didn’t overplay it, didn’t hang on to it, really good transition speed and good shift length,” said Jets head coach Paul Maurice. “We had good energy on the ice.”

Nikolaj Ehlers made it a 3-1 game 2:46 into the third with his 13th goal (and eighth in the last eight games). Mark Scheifele put the game out of reach with his 17th goal at 12:05 that gave the Jets a three-goal cushion.

From there, Winnipeg went into lockdown mode for the final eight minutes with help from another stellar performance from goalie Connor Hellebuyck. He was particularly good on the penalty kill, stopping every puck through four man advantages for Florida.

The Panthers fell to 16-15-8 and have won just once in their last six games (1-2-3).

“It was as satisfying as you can imagine,” Hellebuyck said of the win. “Especially being in the warm weather and having a day off (today). I think we’re going to enjoy the weather.”

On Tuesday, Hellebuyck allowed four goals in 6-4 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning, making his final stats look unfavourable on paper. But he also made 32 saves, many of which came on quality chances.

It was a performance that impressed Maurice, enough to go back to the 23-year-old netminder against the Panthers less than 24 hours later. Hellebuyck repaid the favour making 31 saves, including 24 in the final two periods.

“That was big for him. He kept us in it and made some big saves,” said Scheifele. “That’s what we need from our goaltender.”

After a first period that saw both teams trade shots — and some high hits — to no avail, Winnipeg once again used the second period to spark momentum. The Jets scored three times in the middle period against the Lightning.

The line of Matthias, Adam Lowry and Joel Armia, a unit that has been strong for the Jets this year, was finally rewarded with their efforts. Matthias scored his fifth of the season — and third in the last four games — with a nice tip off a Paul Postma shot from the blue line.

“They’re not going out there as a checking line to hold water,” said Maurice. “Having them be confident and not just thinking about burning ice time, but going out there defending and scoring goals is good for our team.”

It would be a great effort from Little that would lead to Laine’s 21st goal of the season.

What started as a broken play for the Jets ended with Little stripping the puck from defenceman Michael Matheson in front of the Panthers net. With the chance for a quality shot of his own, Little decided to dish it to Laine, who then blasted a one-timer past Roberto Luongo.

“I was until I knew who I was on the ice with,” said Little, when asked if he considered trying to go for the goal himself. “I was in a pretty good shooting position, too, but I figured if I got it to him it was pretty much guaranteed.

Laine, 18, leads all NHL rookies in goals, passing fellow first-year star Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs, who has 20.

Laine also has 15 assists for 36 points in 41 games to lead all rookies in scoring.

“It’s always nice to score. I’ve been able to help my team to win with those goals, like today,” said Laine, who also added an assist Wednesday to give him five points in the last two games. “I know that my game is at a pretty good level right now. Even if I don’t score, I think I’m playing well. I have to work hard every day just to get better as a player.”

Having officially hit the midway mark of the season, Maurice was asked to best sum up the first half for his team.

“Survival,” he said. “And we won’t know if we’re successful, if we survived enough in that first stretch of hockey with all those guys injured to be able to survive it.

“We have to put a push in the second half to get back into the mix, but I believe we’re close enough to do that.”

jeff.hamilton@freepress.mb.ca          

Twitter: @jeffkhamilton