Hellebuyck backstops Jets to 3-0 win over Panthers

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This article was published 24/11/2023 (682 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

SUNRISE, Fla. – This is what committed, two-way hockey looks like.

With head coach Rick Bowness back behind the bench for the first time in more than a month after taking a personal leave, the Winnipeg Jets put on a defensive clinic in a tightly-contested tilt against a team that advanced to the Stanley Cup final last spring.

By the time the buzzer sounded, the Jets had earned a 3-0 win over the Florida Panthers on Friday night at Amerant Bank Arena.

“I think it’s the best defensive game all year,” Bowness told the Free Press. “They didn’t get a (scoring) chance in the first period. That’s a great team over there, that’s a home game for them. For us to come out and play that hard in the first period and limit that to no chances, that’s just a great effort by our team.”

With the victory, the Jets extended their season-high winning streak to five as they improved to 12-5-2 on the season. They also improved to 4-0 against former head coach Paul Maurice since he joined the Panthers. Florida, which had won four straight, fell to 12-7-1.

Making his 15th start in 19 games, Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck recorded 32 saves for his first shutout of the year as he continued a stretch of impressive performances – the biggest save of the night coming with his right pad against Carter Verhaeghe on a rebound chance just past the midway point of the third period.

“Our details were so solid,” Hellebuyck said. “My job essentially just became control the game, don’t let anything bounce away. Control my rebounds, and when I didn’t the guys were there. Just a great team effort all around.”

The Jets got goals from Nino Niederreiter, Nikolaj Ehlers and Adam Lowry (into the empty net), while Dylan Samberg and Mason Appleton each had a pair of assists. They improve to 6-0-2 against Eastern Conference teams as they get set to close out a three-game road trip on Sunday against the Nashville Predators.

THE OFFICE – Another day, another goal from Niederreiter that comes from right around the blue paint. Niederreiter’s sixth goal of the campaign, which opened the scoring late in the first period, came from a familiar place, as he was first to a loose puck that snuck behind Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky after a shot from the left point from Samberg.

The goal doesn’t happen without Lowry winning the offensive zone faceoff or Mason Appleton getting the puck back to Samberg, who chipped in his fourth assist of the season. Niederreiter is another member of the Jets on an expiring contract and he’s already well on his way to the eighth 20-goal season of his career. There is mutual interest in both sides as it pertains to an extension and Niederreiter continues to provide tremendous value since coming over in a trade deadline deal last February.

“I feel like we did a lot of great things,” said Niederreiter. “I think it’s the most complete game we’ve played all year. We didn’t give them much in the D-zone. We got pucks out when we needed to, made plays when the plays were there. It was a tight-checking game, they didn’t give us much as well. We just stuck to our game plan and did a lot of good things out there.”

THE RETURN – There’s no doubt it was an emotional day for Bowness, who was back behind the bench for the first time in more than a month after taking a leave to deal with a medical issue for his wife Judy.

At the end of his post-game scrum, Bowness was short and to the point when asked what it was like to be back in a familiar place.

“Love it,” he said, before letting out a quick chuckle. “Comfortable.”

The Jets were also happy to have him back.

“It was good. You could tell that he was a little nervous and I feel like you could also tell that he was super excited,” said Niederreiter. “He’s so passionate. It was great having him back there again.”

HIGHLIGHT-REEL MARKER – After a speedy zone entry, Ehlers made a sensational move in the high slot, walking around Panthers D-man Uvis Balinskis with a nifty move before beating Bobrovsky with a sneaky wrister midway through the final frame to make it a 2-0 game.

“Oh, filthy,” said Hellebuyck, when asked what the goal looked like from the other end of the rink. “Beautiful hands, beautiful feet. I mean, what more can you say about the guy. He’s just nasty all around.”

It was the sixth goal of the season for Ehlers, who seems to be finding his stride and putting a slow start behind him. This was another example of the explosiveness that the dynamic Ehlers can bring when he’s on his game. Ehlers has recorded at least a point in five of his past six games (scoring in three of them) and is up to 11 points in 19 games.

THANKSGIVING STANDINGS ASSESSMENT– U.S. Thanksgiving is one of the early markers on the NHL calendar and history has proven it to be a pretty good barometer when it comes to sorting out which teams are well on their respective way to qualifying for the Stanley Cup playoffs.

When the date hit on Thursday, the Jets were tied with the Colorado Avalanche for second place in the Central Division, just one point behind the Dallas Stars (who are back in Winnipeg on Tuesday as the Jets open a four-game homestand).

How much attention does Bowness pay to that date? Not much apparently. “I don’t get beat up on those things,” said Bowness. “Those things, sometimes, people get these theories. There is no theory that is 100 per cent. You don’t feel comfortable, you don’t feel uncomfortable. We are where we are. We have to keep pushing.”

Lowry shared a similar viewpoint. “It’s a good talking point but at the same time, we were in a similar position last year and we know how critical every point is and how tight the race became for us,” said Jets Lowry. “We’re happy with where we are but we’re going to continue chasing. We’re going to continue trying to climb and continue to try and get better. As the season has gone on, we’ve made some big improvements in areas of our game. That’s kind of the whole process of the regular season. You want to continue to get better. You want to continue working on things so you give yourself the best chance of making the playoffs. And once you’re there, you give yourself the best chance to win the Cup.”

EXTRA, EXTRA – There was some lineup uncertainty going into the contest as Bowness called defenceman Brenden Dillon a game-time decision after he skipped the morning skate for maintenance purposes with a lower-body issue. Logan Stanley took the warmup, but Dillon was good to go and skated alongside Pionk on his usual pairing, and had no issues as he dropped the gloves with Sam Reinhart in the third period and scored a decisive victory.

Forward Dominic Toninato was the other healthy scratch for the Jets.

A roster move could be around the corner as Bowness left the door open for forward Gabriel Vilardi to return to the lineup on Sunday. Vilardi has been progressing nicely after missing the past 16 games with a knee injury.

The Jets are also expecting to get defenceman Declan Chisholm back from his conditioning stint with the Manitoba Moose of the American Hockey League. Chisholm suited up in six games with the Moose and chipped in five assists.

As for who might start in goal against the Predators, Laurent Brossoit is in line for his fifth start of the season – though Bowness wasn’t ready to make a public declaration. “He’s an option. A good option,” said Bowness. “We’ll see.” Indeed, we will see. Giving the call to Brossoit makes sense for a number of reasons, especially when you consider the Jets are not trying to overwork Hellebuyck. If the Jets are serious about getting Brossoit north of 20 starts this season, getting five in the first quarter is a must.

ken.wiebe@freepress.mb.ca

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