Jets find their scoring touch in 8-4 victory over Canadiens

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This article was published 01/03/2022 (1333 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It will go down as one of the wildest contests in recent memory around these parts, the kind folks will be talking about for years to come. And when the dust finally settled at Canada Life Centre on Tuesday, the Winnipeg Jets had escaped with a much-needed 8-4 victory over the Montreal Canadiens. 

“That was a crazy game. A lot of back and forths. Mistakes, penalties,” said centre Pierre-Luc Dubois. 

No kidding. Desperate to keep their slim playoff hopes alive as they began a four-game homestand, the Jets came flying out of the gate and built a 4-0 lead before they’d even hit the halfway mark of the first period. The rout was on, or so it seemed. And the Habs looked like the sorry squad that had won just eight of its first 48 games this year, rather than the resurgent outfit that came to town having rattled off five straight victories under interim coach Martin St. Louis. 

But as we’ve come to learn this season, nothing seems to come easy for Winnipeg, and that apparently includes playing while comfortably ahead. They blew a 3-0 first-period advantage Friday in Denver, ultimately falling 6-3 to the Avalanche, and they seemed destined to one-up that collapse after giving up four straight Montreal goals before the second period was even five minutes old. 

Gulp. 

But a penalty shot save by Connor Hellebuyck off Rem Pitlick with 3:01 left in the middle frame, and a power-play goal by Andrew Copp just 18 seconds later represented another big swing, putting the home team back up front, this time for good. 

“Oh, that’s a huge turning point when you talk about momentum in games. It’s either 5-4 for them, but we come right back after that and score,” said interim Jets coach Dave Lowry. “That was a huge moment in the game and it was probably a turning point in our favour.” 

The Jets, having just dodged another disaster, opened up the floodgates again with a trio of third-period tallies to give them some further breathing room. According to the NHL, it’s the first game in league history where a team had a four-goal lead, blew a four-goal lead, then won by four goals. 

“Our job is to be the best we can and stay (consistent) the whole time, but when momentum swings like that and penalties and four on fours, it can get a bit more complicated,” said Dubois. “We were on the wrong side of a comeback in Colorado. Tonight, to keep going and not panic too much feels really good. At this point of the year we’ll take the two points and be happy with it. We did a lot of good things. I think it’s a game we can use to build off.” 

Winnipeg improves to 24-21-9, including two straight wins. Montreal falls to 13-34-7. 

A defensive and goaltending clinic this was not, but it was certainly an exciting night for the 13,816 in attendance, along with plenty of offensive-minded players who padded their personal stats. 

“It was a back and forth game. Lots of goals, lots of fun,” said Mark Scheifele, who led the way with two goals and an assist. It was his first time facing Montreal since their second-round playoff series last season, which ended early for Scheifele as he hit Canadiens forward Jake Evans with a charge in the dying seconds of a Game 1 loss. Evans left the ice on a stretcher with a concussion, Scheifele was suspended four games, and the Jets were swept away. 

Scheifele was asked prior to puck drop if he was expecting any retaliation. He wasn’t, but produced a spicy soundbite when he said “If Jake Evans wants to fight me, I’ll answer the bell.” Turns out it was defenceman Chris Wideman who jumped him late in the game, quickly wrestling him to the ice. 

“I definitely wasn’t looking to go fight out there. It was just one of those things, kind of spur of the moment. He kind of put me in a chokehold and it just went from there,” he said. “I wasn’t really expecting it to happen, but you always have to think that there’s going to be something that could happen. It’s a physical game and there’s a chance that that happens, especially (with) the magnitude of what happened last year (with Evans), but it’s all over now.” 

Scheifele skated away with his first, and probably last, Gordie Howe hat trick. He also hit the 20-goal mark for the seventh time in his nine-year NHL career. It was the kind of performance that makes you wonder what could have been had he just showed some restraint last spring and pulled up rather than obliterate Evans. 

Scheifele was far from the only big contributor, with eight other players having multi-point games. 

The club’s other top centre, Dubois scored once and had two helpers, while linemates Kyle Connor (three assists) and Evgeny Svechnikov (one goal, one assist) were flying. Copp — returning from a six-game absence due to a concussion — Adam Lowry, Paul Stastny and defenceman Nate Schmidt all had a goal and an assist, while captain Blake Wheeler helped set up a pair. 

At the other end of the ice, Montreal’s Josh Anderson notched his first career hat trick, while Artturi Lekhonen had the other. 

Hellebuyck finished the night with 31 saves. Sam Montembeault was pulled after giving up seven goals on 23 shots, giving way to Andrew Hammond who was beaten once on seven shots. 

“I think we just reset and went back to the mindset that the game was 0-0,” Lowry said of when it became 4-4. “Obviously, when you have a four-goal lead, you’re not expecting them to come back. And then the flow of the game, well, it then moves in our favour for a while, it went in their favour, and then in the third period we took over again.” 

Winnipeg had a big night on the power play, scoring four times on six chances. Montreal had one goal on six opportunities. 

“They fought to the end. They’re a team that made plays and kept getting their chances, even towards the end of the game,” Scheifele said of the pesky opponent. “They made us be on our heels.”

The Jets will now enjoy a couple of days off to get ready for a visit from the Dallas Stars, one of their Central Division rivals they’ll likely have to pass to make the postseason. The homestand then concludes with games against the New York Rangers on Sunday, and the two-time Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning next Tuesday. 

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca 

Twitter: @mikemcintyrewpg