Jets blank biteless Sharks

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This article was published 14/02/2024 (600 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

This was complete and utter domination in almost every sense of the word, yet somehow it ended up being a one-shot game with plenty of drama.

There were some tense moments, but the Winnipeg Jets looked comfortable in this tight affair and found a way to rack up consecutive wins, thanks to a mostly tidy defensive effort in a 1-0 shutout win over the San Jose Sharks on Wednesday night at Canada Life Centre.

“Obviously, it would be nice to score a few more but that’s a big win,” said Jets centre Mark Scheifele, who had 11 shot attempts in the game to go along with five shots on goal. “Nice to get that one.”

The victory helped the Jets improve to 32-14-5 on the season and they won the season series 2-1 over the Sharks.

The two teams combined for seven goals in the meetings and all three games were decided by a single goal.

“They play hard. They’re one of those teams, you see it a lot on the rush, they backtrack really well. It kind of eliminates a lot of our rush chances,” said Jets forward Morgan Barron, who scored the lone goal of the contest at 17:47 of the first period. “We had to try to create off of the cycle tonight, and as the game went on, I felt we did a better and better job of that.”

Prior to the contest, there was plenty of chatter about the Sharks playing for the first time in nearly two weeks as they came out of the NHL all-star break.

Jets head coach Rick Bowness said Wednesday morning the onus was on his team to pressure the opposition all over the ice. After a somewhat sleepy start in the opening seven minutes, the Jets found their skating legs and went on the attack, racking up a plethora of shot attempts (84-41) and scoring chances (39-16), including 24-7 in high-danger chances according to Natural Stat Trick.

“We had more than enough scoring chances to score more than one goal. It’s not going in,” said Bowness. “Give their goalie a ton of credit. Huge saves. We were all over the net. Just keep pushing. If we can create that much offence, the puck will have to go in soon.”

The Jets open a two-game road trip on Saturday night in Vancouver against the Canucks in what will be the first of three meetings between teams that have been battling for top spot in the Western Conference this season.

Here’s a closer look at what took place on Wednesday night:

1 The save — With 2:50 to go in the second period, Scheifele ended up making one of the most important saves of the game, backing up goalie Connor Hellebuyck. With Hellebuyck down on the ice after making a save, Sharks winger Anthony Duclair shovelled a backhand over the outstretched pad. However, Scheifele was behind Hellebuyck and made the street-hockey style save with his right shin pad. “A lot of mini sticks. That was exactly what it was,” said Scheifele. “I don’t think (Hellebuyck) knew where the puck was, so a defensive play comes out of me every once in a while.” What’s going through your mind at the moment Duclair has the rebound chance? “Drop your stick and just try to make a save, honestly,” said Scheifele. “Honestly, just try to get any limb on it whatsoever.” Scheifele reacted quickly and pushed the puck into the corner. Once the play was eventually stopped, a review was initiated by the situation room to see if the puck actually crossed the line. It was ruled that the call on the ice was confirmed and it was not a goal. “I was very confident, yeah,” said Scheifele, asked if he was certain the puck had not crossed the line. “You know the rules. When the ref said that, I said, ‘Did you think I was going to?’ I know the rules. I think that’s the first time a ref has given me a compliment, too.”

Bowness appreciated Scheifele’s effort on the play. “He’s backchecking hard. He knew where to go,” said Bowness. “He kept the puck out of the net, so that’s good, good for him. He’s worked hard at both ends of the ice.”

2 The goal — Barron went to the net and was the beneficiary of a good bounce to get his team on the board at 17:47 of the first period. Bumping up to the third line after a power play opportunity, Barron was in the right spot as Neal Pionk unloaded a shot from the right point that was initially tipped by Jets captain Adam Lowry. The puck then caromed in off Barron for his ninth goal of the campaign. “We were joking with Neal in the intermission because it would have been a month or two ago now, but the same shot, the same place. I wasn’t sure if (that one) hit me. But (this) one hit me. It kind of bounced off my glove and I saw it trickle in.” The Jets already have six forwards in double digits for goals this season and several others (Vladislav Namestnikov and Alex Iafallo, knocking on the door. Lowry’s assist snapped a seven-game drought without a point.

3 The shutout — Hellebuyck was clearly less busy than his counterpart, Kaapo Kahkonen, who finished with 38 saves in the contest and did an exceptional job of keeping his team in the game. Hellebuyck wasn’t overworked, but he stayed sharp when the quality chances arrived, including a point-blank save off Luke Kunin late in the third period with the Sharks enjoying a 6-on-5 advantage with the goalie pulled. “He did a lot of work but he had some timely saves. Early in the third there, they had a couple of really good chances that he stopped,” said Bowness. “In the second period, their chances weren’t very many but they came in little bunches there, in a hurry, and he made big saves, and yeah. He did his job.” For Hellebuyck, it was his third shutout of the season and the 35th bagel of his career.

4 The switch — Bowness made a subtle change to the top line at 6:22 of the third period, flip-flopping Nikolaj Ehlers and Alex Iafallo for the remainder of the game. The Jets have been talking about searching for the optimal permutations and combinations among the top-six of late and the process remains ongoing. Asked what went into the decision, Bowness was succinct in his response. “I just didn’t like what I was seeing from that top line,” said Bowness. “It wasn’t the third. (It was) what led up to the third (period).”

5 Extra, extra — Forward Rasmus Kupari was the lone healthy scratch for the Jets, as defenceman Brenden Dillon served the third game of his three-game suspension for his check to the head of Pittsburgh Penguins centre Noel Acciari. Jets forward David Gustafsson is up to two AHL games played with the Manitoba Moose during a conditioning stint which can last up to two weeks. Gustafsson suited up in games against the Calgary Wranglers on Tuesday and Wednesday and he’s expected to play in as many as six games before returning to the Jets.

ken.wiebe@freepress.mb.ca

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