Home-ice victory for Jets over Hurricanes makes it three in a row after shaky start to season

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This article was published 14/10/2017 (2892 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

They kicked off their season with a messy home opener that put fans in a foul mood. But the Winnipeg Jets enlisted some good housekeeping habits and tidied things up in their return to Bell MTS Place Saturday night.

No, it wasn’t pretty. But a 2-1 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes was another important step for a fragile franchise looking to finally clean up their act. It’s the third straight win for the Jets (3-2-0) after starting the season with lopsided losses at home to Toronto and on the road in Calgary.

“Get used to it. Let’s hope,” captain Blake Wheeler said following the game. “With the guys we’ve got on this team, if we commit to playing a style like that it’s going to be tough (on the opponent).”

Nikolaj Ehlers brought the crowd to life when he used his blazing speed to break a tie with just over 14 minutes left in the third period. He flew down the wing, circled behind the Carolina net and dropped the puck for Wheeler, then took the return feed in the slot and beat goalie Scott Darling with a wrist shot for the game-winner. It’s his team-leading fifth goal of the season, all coming in the past three games.

“I’m feeling good. I feel comfortable out there and I’m using my speed as much as I can. I’m playing with two great players, they’re making it easy for me,” said Ehlers.

Both teams possess plenty of skilled, offensive weapons and are currently icing the two youngest rosters in the league. But aside from the Ehlers goal, this one took on the tone of a pair of squads desperate to focus on their defensive games and afraid of doing too much with the puck. The result was a choppy affair that seemed stuck in neutral for much of the night.

“As tough as it was, they were good enough. Some nights you just got to find a way to be good enough,” said coach Paul Maurice. “I’m not here trying to convince anybody that was well played. That game was going to be played like that, was going to look like that, with these two teams and the style of play.”

Carolina was playing for just the third time in 11 days and coming off three days of rest. Winnipeg was returning from a three-game western road trip, which coaches and players warned earlier in the day could make for some ugly hockey.

Dustin Byfuglien, making his return to the lineup after missing the previous two games with a lower-body injury, set the tone just a few minutes into the game with a sliding play to break up a two-on-one rush. His defensive commitment had been called into question after his first two games, so this no doubt brought a smile to the coach’s face.

“He’s a big strong man, and his game was completely under control tonight,” said Maurice.

The Jets opened the scoring with just over six minutes left in the first. Bryan Little finished off an odd-man rush by firing home a low shot that just slid past Darling. Ehlers made a nice drop pass to set it up, with Patrik Laine drawing the other assist.

Mathieu Perreault took a tripping penalty less than a minute later, and Carolina made them pay. Jeff Skinner — playing in his 500th career game — beat Connor Hellebuyck with a shot over his shoulder and just under the crossbar.

The trio of Little-Ehlers-Laine had another dangerous rush moments later and drew a slashing penalty. Laine fired a rocket off his stick that rattled the post but stayed out to keep it tied.

Neither team mustered much in the middle frame. The Jets didn’t even record their first shot of the period until it was more than halfway done, as Mark Scheifele’s shorthanded breakaway was denied by Darling.

“There was no panic, nobody trying to do their own thing or trying to create offence out of nowhere. Straight lines, we used our speed, used the back of the net,” said Wheeler. “When in doubt, get it to the fly guy (Ehlers) over there and he’ll take care of the rest.”

After taking the lead the Jets locked it down the rest of the way. Hellebuyck was solid once again in his third-straight start in net, stopping 28 of the 29 shots he faced including a flashy glove stop with 1:35 left and Carolina pressing for the equalizer.

“The glove save, I had a very clear shot of it. It was mine to grab. He made a good shot. That’s what I’m there for. I think that goes back to the guys in front and keeping it to the outside and letting me see things. Those are the big keys to the game,” said Hellebuyck.

Winnipeg didn’t win three-in-a-row until their 54th game last season — failing on nine previous chances to extend two-game win streaks. They didn’t waste much time doing it this season, something their coach said will build confidence given the style of play needed for success.

“I don’t think we could have opened it up. I don’t think we made enough 10 foot passes to open up anything, except a can of worms had we not continued to do it,” said Maurice.

The Jets finished the game down a couple of players. Both Perreault and Dmitry Kulikov were shaken up early in the third and went to the dressing room. Neither returned to action. Kulikov took a big hit and skated slowly off the ice, while it wasn’t clear what happened to Perreault. Maurice said both players will be further evaluated on Sunday. Tanev earned a promotion to the line with Little and Laine in Perreault’s place.

Winnipeg continues their three-game homestand by hosting Columbus on Tuesday and Minnesota on Friday.

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @mikemcintyrewpg