Perfetti pots third-period winner as Jets beat Flames, move to 8-0-0

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This article was published 26/10/2024 (402 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

CALGARY — Cole Perfetti wasn’t afraid to pass out credit where credit was due.

Although he ended up scoring the game-winning goal on the power play with 3:44 to go in the third period, Perfetti tossed a bouquet to Kyle Connor during his post-game session with members of the media after the Winnipeg Jets earned a 5-3 NHL victory over the Calgary Flames on Saturday at Scotiabank Saddledome.

“We were just joking that KC was buttering him up for me because he was hammering one-timers at him on the 5-on-3,” said Perfetti, who scored his third goal of the season to help the Jets improve to 8-0-0 after they swept this three-game road trip.

“All I had to do was throw an off-speed change-up on him and I guess that’s what got him. A little lucky but that was great.”

Special teams were the order of the day in this one as the Jets scored twice with the man-advantage and added a short-handed goal to go with one even-strength marker and another one into the empty night.

The Jets had a glorious opportunity to break a 3-3 tie several minutes earlier during a 5-on-3 situation that lasted a full 90 seconds.

But instead of getting frustrated by the inability to find the back of the net on the power play, they carried the momentum and got the go-ahead marker and secured another victory against a tough opponent.

“Yeah, there was a little bit of everything,” said Jets head coach Scott Arniel.

“A lot was happening. I was really proud of our penalty kill in the second period. We found a way. That was an entertaining game for the fans. I don’t know about the coaches, but it was entertaining for the fans.”

The Jets return home to face the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday before heading back out for a two-game swing against the Detroit Red Wings and Columbus Blue Jackets.

Let’s take a closer look at how this game unfolded:

The start

With the Jets playing in a third different time zone in the final game of this road trip, goalie coach Wade Flaherty tapped Eric Comrie to make his second start of the season.

It was a tough opening minute for Comrie. He allowed Flames captain Mikael Backlund to score from a sharp angle just 28 seconds into the contest.

Comrie went down early, giving Backlund just enough room to sneak his shot in off the mask.

“Not much you can do there. He settled in, played great,” said Perfetti. “That didn’t rattle him. Just an unfortunate bounce on the first shift. He made some timely saves when we needed him.”

Comrie steadied himself after allowing the early goal, then gave up another unlucky one with 2:32 to go in the second period.

Once again, Comrie went down in the reverse VH stance before Flames defenceman Rasmus Andersson fired a high shot off his mask and in.

Comrie finished with 27 saves as he improved to 2-0.

In order to ensure Connor Hellebuyck isn’t overworked, Comrie is going to need to start somewhere in the neighbourhood of 19-to-24 games.

Hellebuyck, who has started six of eight games, has been outstanding so far, figures to get the next two starts before Comrie gets his third start of the season against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday.

The streak

Connor scored his first short-handed marker of the season on a special effort late in the first period.

He did an excellent job of driving to the far post and even though Flames winger Blake Coleman caught him on the back check, Connor fought through the check, accepted a pass from captain Adam Lowry and then roofed his shot for his sixth goal of the season.

“There’s not many guys that can score that goal like he did,” said Perfetti. “Late in a shift, finds an energy burst to beat the guy up the ice, gets a bit of a hold against him and battles through.

“He gets that pass and it’s on and off of his stick and in, upstairs within a millisecond.”

The goal was another example of why Connor has returned to the penalty-killing rotation.

“We’ve used him this year because he is a threat when the puck happens to go the other way,” said Arniel. “He pushes people back and that’s what you like to see.”

With the marker, Connor extended his point streak to eight games — matching the mark for the longest streak to start a season established by former captain Blake Wheeler during the 2015-16 season.

The bounces

Two goals go in off the mask of Comrie, another off a skate and then Jets defenceman Dylan Samberg takes a shot that goes off the end boards, up in the air and bounces in off the back of Calgary goaltender Dustin Wolf. That was the kind of night it was for both teams.

“Some not hometown bounces for them, off the end wall, off the back and in,” said Lowry.

“That’s the game of hockey. That’s kind of what makes it so great, is the unpredictability and things like that. But put pucks on net and good things will happen. So we’re not going to apologize for that unfortunate bounce.”

Ehlers stays hot

The decision to promote Nikolaj Ehlers to the top power-play unit, in what assistant coach Davis Payne likes to call the pop position, continues to pay dividends for the Jets.

Ehlers scored his second power-play marker of the season to tie the game at 1:51 of the first period when he banked his pass attempt in off the left skate of Andersson.

That Ehlers went an entire season without scoring on the man-advantage was one of the most baffling stats of 2023-24 — even with his limited power-play time on the second unit.

Given his creativity and willingness to adapt to the new spot in the formation, it’s clear that Ehlers has been a threat so far.

Just think about how dangerous he might be once he feels a bit more comfortable in his new role.

Extra, extra

The Jets healthy scratches were forward David Gustafsson and defencemen Haydn Fleury and Dylan Coghlan.

Calgary forward Yegor Sharangovich made his season debut and jumped right onto the top line with Nazem Kadri and Andrei Kuzmenko…

The Manitoba Moose slipped to 2-3 on the AHL season after falling 5-3 to the Rockford IceHogs on Saturday afternoon. Centre Brad Lambert chipped in a pair of assists, while CJ Suess, Mason Shaw and Nikita Chibrikov scored the goals for the Moose, who got 22 saves from Thomas Milic. Lambert (five assists) and Chibrikov (two goals, five points) lead Manitoba in points, while top defence prospect Elias Salomonsson is third with four helpers in five games…

Goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen, who was claimed off waivers from the Jets by the Colorado Avalanche earlier this month, made his first start of the season for the AHL’s Colorado Eagles Friday night. Kahkonen, who was assigned to the Eagles on a conditioning assignment, started against the Calgary Wranglers and finished with 30 saves in a 3-2 loss. Kahkonen is expected to start against the Wranglers on Sunday.

ken.wiebe@freepress.mb.ca

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