Jets down Ducks 4-1 in Anaheim

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This article was published 24/11/2017 (2849 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Angst over a recent lack of scoring punch from the Winnipeg Jets’ second forward line has been alleviated, for now.

Nikolaj Ehlers snapped an eight-game goal-less skid with a pair in the first period and his centre, Bryan Little, ripped his first tally in five games and just his third in 22 contests this season as the Jets put in a thorough effort to dump the Anaheim Ducks 4-1 Friday afternoon.

Winnipeg (14-5-3) also received a strong 30-save performance from goalie Connor Hellebuyck, who returned to the crease after giving up a bunch to Nashville on Monday in a 5-3 loss to the Predators.

Forwards Ryan Getzlaf and Ryan Kesler, who give the Jets fits every time the clubs meet, were absent for the Ducks (10-9-3) because of long-term injuries.

The Jets have won two straight after rebounding with a 2-1 victory over the Los Angeles Kings Wednesday. The Central Division team concludes a four-game road trip tonight against the San Jose Sharks, capping the club’s third of nine back-to-backs this season.

Jets head coach Paul Maurice said he’ll turn to goalie Steve Mason to start against the Sharks. Mason was a force in L.A. earlier in the week, blocking 38 shots. 

Ehlers, who netted his ninth and 10th goals before the five-minute mark of the opening period at Honda Center, said there was definitely some relief for he and his linemates, Little and Patrik Laine.

“For sure, it’s always nice scoring goals and getting the win. I think our line, especially, hasn’t been producing and playing the way we’ve wanted to,” he said. “Last game against L.A. was a step in the right direction and (it’s) another step in the right direction (in Anaheim). It’s great for our line and great for the team.”

The Danish-born left-winger’s first of the afternoon was critical, coming just one shift after Mark Scheifele’s goal at the 34-second mark was waived off after video review clearly showed Blake Wheeler was offside during entry into Ducks’ territory.

“The start was huge. A lot of credit to Scheif’s line, they got us going on the first shift. We ended up scoring on the second one,” said Little. “It was big. Getting another quick one gave us a lot of momentum. That first 10 minutes, we came out of the gates really hard.”

What a difference a day makes.

On Thursday afternoon, Ehlers sat at his stall in the visitors’ dressing room at Honda Center, lamenting a nearly three-week stretch devoid of offensive production. The 21-year-old was down on himself, noting he’s driven by the desire to be a key performer for the surging Central Division squad.

“For me personally, I can’t score right now,” he said after a practice on U.S. Thanksgiving. “I’m just trying to work hard and play a simple game. And I’m sure that at some point, hopefully, they’ll go in again.”

Ducks goalie John Gibson can attest to Ehlers’ immediate reversal of fortune.

Ehlers beat Gibson just 40 seconds in and then ripped his second at 4:59 with the Ducks (10-9-3) a man short. Little helped orchestrate both goals and then scored a power-play marker of his own in the second period.

Defenceman Tyler Myers also had two assists and now has six points in his last six games. Kyle Connor’s empty-netter was his sixth goal of the campaign.

The Jets outshot the hosts 36-31 and led 2-0 and 3-1 at the period breaks. At several points in the game, the Jets had sustained pressure in Anaheim territory, while doing another fine job limiting quality scoring chances against them.

It’s the eighth time this season Winnipeg has given up just one goal, producing eight of the team’s 14 triumphs. 

Protecting leads is becoming second-nature to the second-best squad in the Western Conference and the third in the NHL, which has won 10 of its last 13 games by having all four lines and three sets of blue-liners getting into the action.

“We don’t have to hide a line and we don’t need to run one line too heavy, so we get to the end of the game everybody’s got pretty good legs,” Maurice said. “When it gets into the real serious and tight time of the game, they have the energy to do it.”

Despite the trio’s recent struggles, Maurice stuck with the combination of Little, Ehlers and Laine, believing chemistry would come. He’d been vocal lately in his reluctance to break up his third- and fourth-line units, equally effective since centre Adam Lowry and winger Mathieu Perreault returned from injuries earlier this month.

The trio made him look good Friday.

“Nik Ehlers skated and that’s the reason that line looked fast. The other two moved everything a little bit quicker,” Maurice said. “It’s a good line. We’ve got two leading goal scorers, fairly close. We’ve got Scheif at 11, Patty at 11, Nik at 10, right? So, for goal scoring that line should be right and they were (Friday afternoon), so it’s there.”  

Down by two in the second period, the Ducks scored on a high knuckler from blue-liner Francois Beauchemin with heavy traffic in front of Hellebuyck at the 5:46 mark. But Little beat Gibson at 12:06 to regain the two-goal lead.

Some bad blood spilled over late in the second frame as Jets defenceman Ben Chiarot looked to catch the Ducks’ Corey Perry with the butt end of his stick as the two came together. Perry was cut on the play and a scrum ensued but only Scheifele received a minor penalty when he got a late shot in on the Anaheim star forward. 

Gibson blocked 32 shots for the Ducks, who were a Ryan-less flock Friday. Ryan Kesler is out indefinitely after having off-season hip surgery. Ryan Getzlaf missed his 11th straight game and could be shelved for another month as he recovers from surgery to repair a broken facial bone, an injury suffered Oct. 29 in a game againt the Carolina Hurricanes when he was struck by a puck. Veteran goalie Ryan Miller, meanwhile, was sidelined by a lower-body injury for his sixth straight game.

Forwards Shawn Matthias and Marko Dano and defenceman Tucker Poolman were healthy scratches for Winnipeg.

jason.bell@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @WFPJasonBell