Winnipeg scene of Pen-ocide

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This article was published 29/10/2017 (2875 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A dominant performance by the Winnipeg Jets or the exploitation of a weary visitor? Maybe a bit of both.

But give full marks to the surging Jets, who exploded for five goals in the first period and went on to crush the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins 7-1 in NHL action Sunday night.

Jets captain Blake Wheeler caused the caps to rain down at Bell MTS Place for the first time this season. The veteran right-winger scored three times — his second, third and fourth goals of the season coming in a span of just four minutes, 20 seconds — for his second career hat-trick.

His first was on Nov. 6, 2008 as a member of the Boston Bruins in a 5-2 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Wheeler, however, minimized his own splendid performance and, instead, lauded the collective works of his forward trio.

“It felt really good to get the win, that’s it. We’re going to score goals. (Mark Scheifele, Kyle Connor) and I are going to make plays. Ultimately though, we’re worried about playing the right way, playing fast, trying to lead with the way we play. With that comes some scoring chances, and we’re going to score on our fair share,” said Wheeler, who also set up Scheifele’s power-play goal in the third period.

“It’s all about getting two points (in the standings). We have every guy pushing in that direction,” he added. “The last week has been pretty good. If you play the right way, the same way every night, you’re going to get scoring chances, and we were able to bury them.”

Winnipeg is 5-1-2 in its last eight games after starting the season with ugly losses to Toronto and the Calgary Flames.

The Penguins (7-5-1) lost for the second-straight night after falling 2-1 to the host Minnesota Wild on Saturday. The two-time defending Stanley Cup champions are already 0-and-4 in the second half of back-to-backs early in the year.

Outshot 32-24, the Jets were a definitively opportunistic bunch, finally flashing some offence after a couple of road games in Pittsburgh and Columbus where the finish simply wasn’t there — resulting in overtime defeats. 

In the rematch with the Pens four days later, they slammed four pucks past an unusually shaky Pittsburgh starting goalie Matt Murray and then three more by his replacement, Casey DeSmith, who got a rude welcome to the league. Just 11 seconds into his NHL debut, he was beaten on the first-ever shot he faced when Wheeler dangled blue-liner Kris Letang and then flipped home his third of the night.

The Jets needed just 34 seconds to score the last three goals of the first frame, a team record.

“We came out right and we came out fast, and caught a team on a back-to-back and converted on some chances we haven’t in the last two, especially, and we finished on a lot of those plays,” said Jets head coach Paul Maurice. “Real good jump, real good pace, good start and it was enough to win a game.”

The initial 20 minutes was a complete mismatch. Winnipeg’s much-maligned, offensively challenged bottom six provided the initial spark as centre Andrew Copp opened the scoring just 1:20 into the contest. Brandon Tanev and Shawn Matthias were an effective one-two punch, winning battles in the corner, knocking down pucks and neutralizing the Pens’ cast of talented characters such as Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Phil Kessel.

The fourth line also contributed in a major way as Joel Armia and Brendan Lemieux both hit the scoresheet. Lemieux, playing his fourth NHL game, registered the first goal of his career on a deflection off a Tyler Myers point blast with under eight minutes left. Veteran centre Matt Hendricks quickly raced to the net to retrieve the milestone puck.

“It feels great,” said Lemieux. “Obviously, (I’m) really fortunate to have been able to get one and really excited. Every day I’m up here has been a blessing and I’m just trying to run with it.”

Lemieux, whose night was over four minutes later when he and Pens winger Ryan Reaves, a Winnipegger, tried to start a fight and were handed 10-minute misconducts, credited Hendricks with some much-needed mentorship since his call-up from the Manitoba Moose on Oct. 17.

“I don’t know where I’d be without Hendy. He’s really helped me along and he’s a great guy in our dressing room and he’s the gel, right,” he said. “Especially a guy like me playing on his line, (he) keeps it positive and helps me with all sorts of stuff. He’s a great teammate and I’m really blessed to have him in my life, not just on my line.”

Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck made 31 saves and ran his record to 5-0-1 this season. He was razor-sharp in the second period when Pittsburgh made a push, blocking 14 of 15 drives. He surrendered Malkin’s fifth of the year on a deflected point shot by Kessel late in the second period to finally put the visitors on the board. 

There seems to be no fluster in Hellebuyck’s game, as he provides the brand of consistently tidy goaltending that has been absent from the Jets, particularly last season. 

“My game has really come together and I worked hard this summer to get it back to where I wanted it to be,” said Hellebuyck. “I added a lot of stuff. It’s very easy to replicate now.

“Not a bad night at all. I think the guys enjoyed this one and we’ll look to continue it.”

The Jets’ power-play unit, meanwhile, went 1-for-3, snapping a drought of 11 straight man-advantage opportunities stretching back to Oct. 20 against the Wild. 

Through 10 games this season, Winnipeg has faced only one Central Division foe — the Wild. The clubs hook up again on Halloween night (Tuesday), with a 7 p.m. start in St. Paul, Minn.

The Jets then return home to face the division-rival Dallas Stars on Thursday and the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday.

jason.bell@freepress.mb.caTwitter: @WFPJasonBell