Scheifele snipes winner as Jets take down Ducks in OT

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 30/03/2017 (3089 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It was almost two years ago but the frustration is now fresh on Bryan Little’s mind as his Winnipeg Jets get ready to face the Anaheim Ducks Thursday night at the MTS Centre.

 Reminded of the four-game series sweep Anaheim delivered Winnipeg in the first round of the 2015 Stanley Cup playoffs, Little, the Jets’ veteran centreman, couldn’t help but to delve into the past, recalling the emotions from the last and only time the Jets have appeared in the postseason since relocating from Atlanta in 2011.

 “Once we get on the ice and play against some of these guys, those memories come back,” Little said. “It’s still fresh in your mind. That adds to the feeling of wanting to beat them even more.”

 As expected, it was a much different sentiment in the visitor’s locker room. No one on the Ducks held a grudge from what transpired that week in April two years ago – even if, at times, it was memorable as tempers often flared as both teams deployed a similar, physical style of play (the series averaged a combined 87 hits per game).

 “When you beat a team you just kind of move on and go about your business,” said Ducks forward Ryan Kesler.

 Business continues to be good for the Ducks, even if they had a five-game winning streak snapped by the Jets, who rallied back from a 3-1 deficit to win 4-3 in overtime. Despite the loss, Anaheim (42-23-12) maintains their position at the top of the Pacific Division and with five games left in the regular season appears primed for another long playoff run.

 As for the Jets (36-35-7), the victory, their third in a row, extended a brief escape from what’s been a season of misery. It’s only a matter of time before Winnipeg is forced to close up shop for yet another season, eliminated from the playoffs earlier this week following a St. Louis Blues’ win over the Arizona Coyotes.

 The Jets will take solace in the fact the win prevented the Ducks from earning a season-series sweep, with Winnipeg losing the two previous games this year between the two clubs, and four of the last five games over the past two years.

 On Thursday, it was Corey Perry who scored twice and Jakob Silverberg adding another as the Ducks took a 3-1 lead into the third period before a late surge from the Jets. Blake Wheeler cut the lead to one midway through the frame, leaving it to Dustin Byfuglien to provide the equalizer with just 12 seconds remaining in regulation.

 Byfuglien would be at it again in the extra period, working a give-and-go with Mark Scheifele who wired home his 30th of the season for the OT winner.

 Joel Armia rounded out the scoring for the Jets, collecting his 10th of the year while a man down to even the game at 1-1 in the first period. It was Armia’s second short-handed marker in as many games and fourth of the season.

 Michael Hutchinson made 25 saves for the Jets to earn the win and improve to 8-12-3 on the year, while Jonathan Bernier was much busier for the Ducks, finishing with 37 saves for just his second loss – both of which have been in extra time – in his last 11 games (9-0-2).

 Another year for the Jets without playoff hockey has come as a major disappointment to many of the fans, driven mainly by a set of perhaps unrealistic expectations after the team drafted Finnish superstar Patrik Laine with the second overall pick in the 2016 NHL Draft.

 There is some justification in their displeasure, of course, especially when considering the Jets are among the top-10 in scoring, sitting at ninth best with an average of 2.94 goals per game. But it’s been a subpar performance on defence, below-average goaltending and dismal special teams play that has overshadowed their success in the offensive zone and attributed to their lack of it in the standings.

 When Mathieu Perreault signed a three-year deal with the Jets in 2014, the first of which came with a trip to the playoffs against his former teammates in Anaheim, he didn’t envision it would take this long before the Jets would be back there again.

 When he looks at the Ducks, a team that has undergone their own overhaul over the years – nine players, including their starting goalie, and a head coach are no longer with the team that swept the Jets in 2015 – he can’t help but to think Winnipeg is on the eve of better days.

“We took a step towards a younger direction, which is great because we have some great younger players but I think coming in next year the expectation is to make the playoffs,” Perreault said. “There’s no way with all the talent in this room we should not be making the playoffs. Next year, we have to come in with the mindset that this team is making the playoffs and we’re doing whatever it takes to get there.”

 The position the Jets are currently in is in many ways as disappointing as it predictable, as least to the man that runs the team’s bench. In fact, it was shortly after Jets head coach Paul Maurice committed to a four-year contract, a year before the Jets made the miracle run to the playoffs, that he knew growing pains were on the horizon.

 It was a plan that Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff was clear about from the beginning and a stance he stayed dedicated to despite the all the excitement from earning a playoff berth.

 “Should have taped the conversation because it was exactly what’s happened here,” Maurice said. “They said they want you to come in, put in some structure – we’ve got to figure out who we’re keeping and who we’re not – and we’re going to have to get young, we’re going to have to get younger players in here.”

 The move to ship guys out and build around youth first started to take shape following the playoff series against Anaheim. Though many believed the Jets were finally over the hump, Maurice saw a team that peaked and in need of a culture shift – a movement that would take time but, if done right, should come with years of success.

“There’s some really nice stats in that – we had the lead for a long time, we hung on in there – but we couldn’t score and we couldn’t be better than them in that series,” the Jets coach said. “And a lot of these guys were playing as hard and as well as they were going to. There wasn’t much more upside with a lot of our older players.”

So the Jets limited their number of core players, even if many still remain. Blake Wheeler was named captain following the trade of Andrew Ladd and Dustin Byfuglien inked a five-year extension. At the same time, a new core started to take form with the likes of Nikolaj Ehlers, Josh Morrissey and Laine, among others, joining a stable that already included Mark Scheifele, Jacob Trouba, and Adam Lowry.

“Chevy was very clear about where this thing was going – we’re kind of battling for ninth, we’re not proud of that right now – but we had hoped we’d be a competitive team while this development phase was going to go,” said Maurice. “I’d like to think we’re going to be a better team because some of those kids we brought in, a lot of them we really like where they’re trending.”

jeff.hamilton@freepress.mb.ca