High-flying Jets fill the net again

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This article was published 03/11/2024 (338 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Nikolaj Ehlers knew he was within striking distance.

The Winnipeg Jets forward had countryman Frans Nielsen squarely in his sights, but after firing a puck into the empty net to put this game on ice to give him two points in the game and 474 in his career, Ehlers stood alone with the most points recorded by an NHL player born in Denmark.

“Obviously I’m very proud of this,” said Ehlers, whose team opened a four-game homestand on Sunday at Canada Life Centre with a 7-4 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning. “There’s Danish guys that I’ve watched growing up and Frans was obviously one of them. He was an outstanding player in this league. Lucky enough, I got to play with him at the world championships in his last year.

“He’s an incredible role model. Great guy. He was a great player. I hope he’s happy for me.”

Mark Scheifele scooped up the milestone puck for Ehlers after setting up the empty-net goal with 2:45 to go in the third period.

Ehlers figures to create a bit more separation on Nielsen and Pittsburgh Penguins forward Lars Eller (409 points) as his career continues.

“I’m trying to be myself out there. Like I said, there’s been a lot of really good Danish NHL players so far,” said Ehlers. “I’ve played with most of them, so that’s pretty cool for me, too. They’ve been idols to me. To be up there now it’s a pretty cool feeling.”

The Jets, who improved to 11-1 on the NHL season, are back in action on Tuesday against Utah HC.

Ehlers is up to eight goals and 17 points on the season and he continues to be one of the most productive players on a Jets team that has now scored at least six goals on six different occasions.

Let’s take a closer look at what transpired:

PICTURE PERFECT – Scheifele and Gabe Vilardi provided an example of textbook execution during a two-on-rush during the second period.

Scheifele froze the Lightning defender and got the puck over to Vilardi, who returned the favour to leave his linemate with an open net to fire into.

The goal was Scheifele’s seventh of the season.

Connor extended his point streak to 12 games on Sunday, chipping in an assist during the third period marker by Samberg that proved to be the game-winner.

Samberg has already reached a career-high for goals in just the 12th game of the season (he had three total in 156 games coming into the campaign).

ON THE BOARD – Jets defenceman Logan Stanley took a nifty pass in the slot from Nikolaj Ehlers and ripped home a shot through traffic as Vladislav Namestnikov provided a jumping screen at 5:49 of the second period.

It was the first goal of the season for Stanley, who has suited up in eight consecutive games after missing the first four contests of the season with a knee injury.

Stanley also delivered a heavy check in the neutral zone on Lightning forward Luke Glendening.

“It really sparked the crowd. They got into it,” said Arniel. “Obviously our bench did as well. Stan’s a big man. When he does that stuff, he’s going to create more space for himself. It was a big moment and we knew what we had to do after that.”

Zemgus Girgensons responded by dropping the gloves with Stanley and was promptly (and correctly) given an additional minor penalty for instigating the fight and a customary 10-minute misconduct.

“Right, that’s kind of how it’s going,” said Stanley, asked if he thought he would have to fight despite it being a clean hit. “Girgensons there, I have a lot of respect for him. He’s been in the league a long time and is sticking up for his teammates. I would do the same.”

The Jets got a power play goal with 20 seconds left in the minor to take a 4-3 lead when Alex Iafallo scored his first of the season after a nice set-up from Nino Niederreiter.

“That hit, I was on the ice (for it), I felt that one too,” said Ehlers. “For him to step up and then fight, it gets the whole team going — the bench going — and then we got a power play that goes (out) and scores a goal. That’s pretty exciting for us. And obviously, it changes the momentum.”

THE HIT II – Connor was pulled from the game by the concussion spotter with just over five minutes to go in the third period after he took a high hit from behind from Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov.

Arniel said Connor was fine, though he didn’t like the fact the hit was delivered while the Jets’ winger was engaged with another Lightning player.

“I’m not a fan of that one. KC’s got his back turned and he kind of takes a run at him from behind,” said Stanley. “I’m glad KC’s all right.”

CHALLENGE NOT ACCEPTED – The Lightning crashed the crease to make it 1-0 at 6:49 of the first period, but Arniel used a coach’s challenge for goalie interference, arguing that Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck wasn’t able to reset because of contact from Tampa Bay forward Conor Geekie.

Not only did Geekie end up in the lap of Hellebuyck at the end of the play, but the Strathclair product and former Winnipeg Ice forward also pushed the right pad of the Jets’ netminder to start the sequence.

One could make the argument that Jets defenceman Josh Morrissey pushed Geekie into Hellebuyck near the end of the play, but it’s strange that the goal wasn’t overturned for the initial foray.

“Yeah, we were (surprised). And we’d call that all day. We’d challenge that every time. They made the decision. We have to live with it,” said Arniel, who was treading lightly when it came to criticism of officials even as he was asked a follow-up question later in the availability. “I can’t really comment on that. I mean, I think we all saw what we saw. I just felt like Helly never had the chance to make the next save. I understand the first part, but the next part was that he didn’t have a chance to make the next save. That was the beef for us.”

AFTER BURNER – Key play: Samberg wired home a shot from the left point 47 seconds after Kucherov tied the game, sending the Jets to their 11th win in 12 outings.

Three stars

Nikolaj Ehlers – 1G, 2P

Dylan Samberg – 1G, 1P

Nikita Kucherov – 1G, 2P

EXTRA, EXTRA — Vladislav Namestnikov and Cole Perfetti also scored for the Jets, while Hellebuyck finished with 26 saves and improved to 8-1 on the season. The Lightning had given Andrei Vasilevskiy 10 of the first 11 starts of the campaign but had backup Jonas Johansson between the pipes on Sunday and he finished with 27 saves.

The healthy scratches for the Jets were forward David Gustafsson and defencemen Haydn Fleury and Dylan Coghlan. Defenceman Ville Heinola (ankle) and forward Jaret Anderson-Dolan (foot) have been on the ice in recent days as they continue to work their way back from injury.

The Lightning were without Brayden Point for the bulk of the game as the top-line centre appeared to suffer a groin injury at some point in the first period after he scored a power-play marker that made it 2-0.

ken.wiebe@freepress.mb.ca

X: @WiebesWorld