Jets keep flicker of playoff hopes alive with 4-2 win over Canadiens

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This article was published 11/04/2022 (1247 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

MONTREAL – The Winnipeg Jets insist they’re still hopeful in their fight for a playoff spot, despite the cards being heavily stacked against them. And with a pair of victories on the road over a 48-hour stretch, including a 4-2 win over the Montreal Canadiens at the Bell Centre Monday night, they remain committed to keep fighting until their faint chances have been extinguished.

“We’re just trying to win games, get two points, one point, whatever you can do and hope to get some help from other teams,” Jets defenceman Josh Morrissey said after the game. “But I don’t think we really talk about anything bigger than the next game. We know where we’re at. It’s more about playing the right way and trying to control what we can, which is trying every night.”

The Jets put forth a solid effort in Montreal, even if they were up against a Canadiens team that is among the worst outfits in the NHL. But downplaying the victory wouldn’t do justice to the fact the Jets had battled the Ottawa Senators the night before and were without a few key players, notably forwards Mark Scheifele and Blake Wheeler.

As part of that commitment to keep pushing down the stretch, the Jets went back to Connor Hellebuyck in net. Hellebuyck wasn’t as busy compared to the game against Ottawa, but he did come up big when needed, ending the night with 23 saves.

“We’re still fighting for every game. We’re in desperation mode right now,” Jets interim head coach Dave Lowry said of returning to Hellebuyck. “It would be no different if we were in a playoff series and we were going back to back. That was the conversation that we had, and understanding that we have to win every game here and just take care of business each and every night.”

Montreal’s Sam Montembeault had a much busier night between the pipes, and the 25-year-old proved to be a handful despite earning the loss. Montembeault finished with 31 saves, several of which were highlight-reel worthy, keeping the Canadiens close all night long.

With the win, the Jets improve to 35-28-11, now five points back of the Dallas Stars for the final wildcard playoff spot in the Western Conference, with eight games remaining on the schedule. The Stars have played two fewer games than Winnipeg, with the Vegas Golden Knights also three points ahead of the Jets and one game in hand. The loss drops the Canadiens to a dismal 20-42-11.

After a series of slow starts in recent games, including in the opening 20 minutes against the Senators, the Jets brought a much better effort against the Canadiens. It wouldn’t amount to much on the scoresheet, as the frame ended scoreless, but it was a marked improvement from 24 hours earlier.

The momentum built up in the first 20 minutes, however, ended up swinging in Montreal’s favour to start the second period, as Joel Armia gave the Canadiens a 1-0 edge just 29 seconds into the frame. The former Jet swatted home a Christian Dvorak rebound mid-air for his sixth of the season, putting the Jets on their heels in a must-win game.

But it would quickly become the Morgan Barron show after that, with the recently acquired forward making the most of his promotion to a line with Nikolaj Ehlers and Paul Stastny as Scheifele works his way through a suspected shoulder injury suffered in Ottawa. Barron, who was part of the return in the Andrew Copp trade to the New York Rangers at the league deadline last month, registered a goal and an assist for his first multi-point NHL game.

“I love playing the game, so it’s exciting for me to get in there and have a game like that. Even just to get this run, I think this is the most consecutive games (6) that I’ve played in the NHL now since being called up,” said Barron, whose brother, a 20-year-old Canadiens prospect, and parents were in attendance. “That’s kind of been my goal, ever since camp this year, to earn a spot on a roster. I know there’s still some work to do and it’s an ongoing thing, day-to-day, but I’ve been happy with the way things have worked out for me so far and I just want to keep it rolling as best I can.”

The 23-year-old fired home an Ehlers drop pass in the slot to even the game just 1:17 after the Armia goal, beating Montembeault glove side for his first as a Jet and second of the season. Barron then showed off his quick hands, deking out Canadiens centre Rem Pitlick before setting up Paul Stastny in front to put the Jets up 2-1 by the four-minute mark of the second.

The goal was Stastny’s 20th of the season, giving the veteran centre his first 20-goal season since he scored 25 as a member of the Colorado Avalanche during the 2013-14 campaign. It was also Stastny’s second goal in as many nights, extending his point streak to three games (2G, 3A).

Barron could have had a second assist and third point if not for a stellar left-pad save by Montembeault on Ehlers.

“Big body and can skate. He’s got a heavy shot,” Lowry said. “Sometimes it’s just finding a spot for a guy and sometimes the injuries provide opportunities and tonight he took advantage of it.”

But as has happened for much of the Jets this season, their third-period lead vanished just as Winnipeg appeared to take over. Josh Anderson got a piece of a Jeff Petry shot from the point, redirecting the puck with his body to fool Hellebuyck and tie the game 2-2 fewer than seven minutes into the final frame.

There have been times this year where that kind of goal has had a debilitating effect on the Jets. But not on this night, as Winnipeg answered back minutes later with Evgeny Svechnikov sliding an on-ice shot in the slot past Montembeault for the eventual game-winning goal. Adam Lowry then clinched the victory with an empty-netter with 1:29 remaining.

“I thought we were extremely resilient tonight and nothing seemed to get us off track,” Lowry said. “Our group was really committed to playing a certain way. We knew that if we stayed with our game we would create opportunities. We give up the goal early in the third and then Dubie’s line goes back out and Geno gets a big goal for us.”

The Jets head home uncertain whether they’ll play Wednesday night against the visiting Seattle Kraken. With a blizzard warning in effect for late Tuesday, with a predicted snowfall between 30 and 80 centimetres, the Jets have been working on contingency plans in the event Seattle can’t fly in.