Jets claw out a victory in desert

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This article was published 27/02/2022 (1306 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

GLENDALE, Ari. – Looking to end a disappointing four-game road trip on a high note, the Winnipeg Jets delivered, clawing their way back in the third period to earn a 5-3 win over the Arizona Coyotes at Gila River Arena Sunday afternoon.

For the second time in their week-long jaunt away from Canada Life Centre, the Jets dropped a pair of one-goal leads. But while it resulted in a 3-2 overtime loss against the Dallas Stars on Wednesday, Winnipeg rallied in the third period against the Coyotes, scoring three unanswered goals to seal the victory.

“Just a lot of resilience,” Jets winger Kyle Connor said of the final frame. “The way it has been going, it could have been easy to just start pointing fingers, blaming each other and not come out. We just really came together there. I thought we had a good push. Obviously, it was a big win for us.”

Down 3-2 after 40 minutes, Blake Wheeler sparked the comeback, firing a wrist shot past Arizona’s Scott Wedgewood to tie the game 3:17 into the final frame. Connor would add two more, including an empty-net marker, bringing his goal total to a team-leading 32.

The victory improved the Jets record to 23-21-9, and snapped a four-game losing streak that also included defeats against Colorado and Calgary. While it came against the worst team in the NHL, with the Coyotes falling to 14-35-4 with the loss, the Jets will take anything they can get as they try to rally down the final stretch to earn a spot in the NHL playoffs.

“You always hope you can build some momentum off of (a win),” Jets interim coach Dave Lowry said. “We stayed with it today. We did a lot of things right. I thought we checked the right way and we created opportunities. I really felt today, we were very good in the offensive zone, because we did things right.”

The Jets will have to do a lot of things right in the final 29 games if they hope to sneak into that final wild card playoff spot in the Western Conference. They currently sit six points back of the Dallas Stars, who have a game in hand.

Winnipeg opened the scoring Sunday with a goal from Adam Lowry, who got a piece of a Nathan Beaulieu shot for his second in as many games. Jakob Chychrun evened the score a few minutes later, beating Eric Comrie, who made 26 saves in relief of No. 1 Connor Hellebuyck. Wedgewood ended his day stopping 33 of 37 shots put up by the Jets.

Evgeny Svechnikov, who was moved to the No. 1 line with Connor and centre Pierre-Luc Dubois for Friday’s loss to the Avalanche, also has goals in back-to-back games. His fifth of the season came just 43 seconds after Chychrun’s goal, putting Winnipeg up 2-1.

The top line combined for six points, with Svechnikov adding an assist and Dubois finishing with two helpers. Winnipeg received goals from three different lines, with collective being a key ingredient if the Jets plan on playing hockey in the spring.

“We’re going to need that coming down the stretch. We need (scoring) from everybody, but our top players got to be our top players. We got to produce,” Connor said. “We’re not where we want to be in the standings, it’s quite the daunting task, but I believe in this group, and I think we can get it done.” The scoring in the first was rounded out by a highlight-reel goal from Barrett Hayton. Hayton beat Jets defenceman Brenden Dillon and then danced around forward Austin Poganski before beating Comrie with a nifty deke to the backhand.

Nick Ritchie would give the Coyotes their first lead of the game, 3-2, scoring the only goal in the second period. The marker was the result of a no-look pass from Loui Eriksson from behind the net that completely fooled Comrie. Hayton earned the second assist.

“He made a really good move,” Comrie said of the Hayton goal. “He’s a good player. I played with him for a little bit here and he’s got some good hands so I know what he can do and, unfortunately, I didn’t read it correctly.”

That set up the third-period comeback, beginning with Wheeler’s seventh of the season. It was a key goal after an uninspiring second period by the visitors, and a third that began with a quality scoring chance by Ritchie just seconds after the face-off.

“It gave us a big lift, and it allowed us to settle in and play the third period the way that we needed to,” Lowry said of Wheeler’s goal.

From there, Comrie stood tall between the pipes, including turning aside several chances in the final moments before Connor sailed the puck from centre ice into the open cage.

The Jets finish the road trip 1-2-1.

“Obviously, not the road trip we wanted to start,” Connor said. “We came in here and knew it wasn’t going to be easy. They’ve been playing some pretty good hockey and the way we’ve been playing, things haven’t been going the right way. So, we came in here just really focused, shift-by-shift, and I think just, overall, we just stuck with our game and the confidence to not waver.”

The Jets return to Winnipeg for a four-game homestand, beginning Tuesday against the Montreal Canadiens, followed by dates against Dallas Friday, the New York Rangers Sunday and the Tampa Bay Lightning Mar. 8.

Jeff.Hamilton@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @jeffkhamilton