Jets down Blackhawks with five straight unanswered goals

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This article was published 09/02/2020 (2038 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

IT was quite the powerful visual. There was Nathan Beaulieu, blood trickling down his face, trying to whip his teammates into a frenzy as he headed to the dressing room for repairs after being on the wrong end of a second-period slobberknocker Sunday night at Bell MTS Place. 

“Let’s (expletive) go,” the journeyman Winnipeg Jets defenceman shouted at his own bench, seemingly unfazed by the fact Chicago’s Nick Seeler got the better of him in the scrap, cutting him under the left eye. 

You know what? It apparently worked. And a sleepy start turned into a fantastic finish as the Jets erased an early 2-0 deficit and came away with a 5-2 victory over the Blackhawks.  Winnipeg improves to 29-23-5, including 4-0-1 in the last five, while Chicago falls to 25-22-8.

“This game was so important to us and I didn’t like our first period at all, I thought the bench was quiet. So I thought I’d get the boys going a little bit,” Beaulieu explained after the game, wearing the wound like a badge of honour. 

“I’d rather not get hit. But it’s part of it,” he said with a smirk. 

Andrew Copp certainly got the message, scoring the game-winning goal with just over six minutes left. It’s the third time in five games his tally has been the difference — and all of them coming after a bizarre play against Boston on Jan. 31 in which his lace got tied up with Anthony Bitetto’s skate, pulling the Jets defenceman away from covering Jake DeBrusk who was left all alone to score the third-period winner.

“Ever since that idiot skate lace lost us a game, we’ve been good. Just want to keep it rolling. This is where our best players need to play their best,” said Copp, who is embracing the opportunity to take on a bigger offensive role with centres Bryan Little and Adam Lowry, along with veteran winger Mathieu Perreault, all out of the lineup with injuries. 

“It’s getting better. Confidence is huge. The role kind of changes sometimes, depending on match-up and obviously linemates are all new. We’ve figured out a little bit of chemistry together between the three of us (Jack Roslovic and Jansen Harkins),” he said.

There was a bit of extra motivation for Copp and his linemates Sunday, as they were on the ice as Chicago’s Dominik Kubalik opened the scoring just 15 seconds into the game, giving the visitors the kind of quick start they were looking for. Brandon Saad made it 2-0 midway through the first period, and it looked like this one could be over in relative short order.

Chicago hadn’t played since Wednesday and had plenty of jump, while the Jets — playing for the third time in four days and fourth time in six days — were certainly sluggish.

“That was the period I was actually expecting (Saturday against Ottawa). We were off of it by miles. But, what you’re hopeful is that the seven or eight games prior have given you enough of a template that you know where to go. Our gaps were so far off,” said coach Paul Maurice.

But then came the first big turning point, with Sami Niku in the penalty box for tripping early in the second period. Copp broke the puck out of his zone, setting up Kyle Connor for a beautiful shorthanded goal at 3:44 on a two-on-one rush. He fed Connor with a perfect saucer pass over a sliding Erik Gustafsson.

“I felt like Gustafsson was going to slide, and it felt like Crawford, he’s a big goalie and he comes out and challenges you. I don’t know if that was the best option, but it was the one that worked,” said Copp.

Suddenly, the Jets had a pulse. That was followed shortly after by the Beaulieu scrap, which seemingly came out of nowhere but was definitely by design, and they were practically frothing at the mouth. 

“He really is probably one of my favourite teammates that I’ve played with. The positive vibe he has every day, he’s pretty awesome to be around. He’s one of those guys, he lays it on the line every night. You just can’t have enough guys like him on your team,” captain Blake Wheeler said of Beaulieu, who has battled three different injuries this season.

It was pretty much all Jets from that point on as the ice tilted greatly in Winnipeg’s favour. 

Wheeler tied the game at 9:04 of the third period with the Jets on the power play for his 17th of the season. And then Copp put the Jets ahead for good at 13:27, taking a feed from Roslovic and beating Crawford up high from in tight. 

“I just tried to make a quick move and go upstairs. Great, great pass by Jack. That’s a play where guys stay in the slot and look for that one-timer a lot, but Gustafsson came out and really took that way, so I just saw some space behind him. And that pass was just fantastic, just to be on the same page as that. Great play by Rosie,” said Copp.

Patrik Laine, with his ninth goal in the past nine games, made it 4-2 with an empty-netter. He’s now up to 24 on the year. And Connor, with his second of the game and team-leading 28th, added another into the vacant cage in the waning seconds. Connor also chipped in an assist and had a seven point weekend after a goal and three helpers in Saturday’s 5-2 win over Ottawa. 

Connor Hellebuyck made 24 saves, while also adding a helper on Wheeler’s goal for good measure. The Jets now occupy the first Western Conference wildcard playoff spot with 25 regular-season games left on the docket. 

“We had a good stretch there for a while and then our game slipped a little bit and then we went through a tough stretch. At the end of that tough stretch, we were playing a really good game, just not getting the results. We finally have got it turned around a little bit to now. We’re believing in that game a little bit and it’s given us an opportunity to win every night and we’re getting those results,” said Wheeler. 

The Jets, now 2-0-0 on this critical six-game homestand, will enjoy a full day away from the rink on Monday, then get back to business Tuesday when Jacob Trouba, Brendan Lemieux and the New York Rangers come to town. That’s also the annual Hall of Fame game, with ex-Jets 1.0 legends Thomas Steen and Randy Carlyle being honoured and having banners go up in the rafters. 

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @mikemcintyrewpg