Jets win ugly in nation’s capital

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This article was published 26/02/2025 (197 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

KANATA, Ont. — We’ve reached the point in this franchise-record winning streak — one that now spans an incredible 11 games spread out over 35 days — when the Winnipeg Jets are starting to get a bit picky.

“That was probably the ugliest one, I think,” forward Mason Appleton said Wednesday night inside Canadian Tire Centre, moments after his club had downed the Ottawa Senators 4-1.

Talk about first world problems. Or, to be more specific, first-place problems.

“At the end of the day when you put together a streak like this, not every win is going to look the same. That would be almost impossible,” Appleton continued.

“It’s a testament to the type of team we are, how deep we are and find different ways to win. Not every one is going to be a Picasso and tonight we felt like we gave up a little too much. But still found a way to get the win and that’s what matters.”

Fair enough. We’ll concede the Jets weren’t always at their best in this one, especially in a fairly loose and sloppy first 40 minutes.

“We couldn’t make a play. We weren’t connecting. We did a lot of things that were uncharacteristic of us,” is how head coach Scott Arniel described it.

What should we take away from a team that can bring something less than their A game into a visiting building against a desperate opponent fighting for its playoff life and still skate away with a three-goal victory?

“Not every game is going to be great but if we’re still finding ways to win when we don’t play our best, I think that says a lot about our group,” said forward Cole Perfetti.

“We’re winning in different ways, all different styles. I think that says a lot about our group as well.”

Winnipeg improves to 42-14-3 which has them looking down on every other team in the league. They have a three-point cushion over the Washington Capitals for top spot overall and an 11-point buffer over the Dallas Stars for the lead in both the Central Division and Western Conference.

Ottawa, meanwhile, fell for a fifth straight game and remain just out of the Eastern Conference playoff picture with a 29-25-4 record.

Let’s pick this one apart a bit further:

SCRAPPY START

It was clear the Senators came out with a plan to be physical in the opening minutes, dishing out several big hits including one that sent Winnipeg’s top scorer, Mark Scheifele, to the ice. Teammate Logan Stanley rushed to his defence, dropping the gloves with Ottawa’s Artem Zub — who may have gotten away with sticking out his leg.

Although the Jets came out of that exchange shorthanded, it was a penalty they didn’t mind taking.

“100 per cent,” said Arniel. “That’s us sticking together.”

A few minutes later, Senators forward Tyler Kleven crushed Appleton, who didn’t have the puck at the time and clearly wasn’t expecting it. That drew an immediate response from linemate Adam Lowry, with the Jets captain scoring a quick, decisive victory in the ensuing fight.

Lowry appeared to cut his hand on Kleven’s helmet and went to the room for some repairs, while Kleven eventually left the game with a lower-body injury.

“Those are signs of a really good hockey team who care for each other,” said Arniel.

BANG, BANG

The Jets were on their heels a bit off the start, with goaltender Connor Hellebuyck coming through with several key saves. The physical pushback seemed to lead to an offensive outburst in which the Jets struck twice in 77 seconds to seize momentum from the home side.

First up Perfetti, who’s been on an offensive tear of late. He tipped a pass from Nikolaj Ehlers, who pounced on a giveaway from Ottawa’s Tim Stutzle at 7:46 of the opening frame.

“I started circling back almost to get ready to backcheck and then Fly made a great play,” said Perfetti, who is now up to 12 goals on the year and has 12 points (5G, 7A) over his last 10 games.

“I thought it was going to be too hard to handle, so I just kind of chopped at it and ended up going in. It was a good bounce.”

One witnessed by his parents and other family and friends who made the trip from nearby Whitby, Ont., to see him light the lamp in his home province for just the second time in his career.

Next was Appleton, who jumped on a loose puck created by a Nino Niederreiter shot for his eighth of the season at 9:03.

“Any time you can score in bunches like that obviously it gives you a real confidence boost and kind of gets you feeling good,” said Appleton.

DAM BURSTS

Kyle Connor has looked dangerous since returning from the 4 Nations Face-Off, with a whopping 19 shot attempts (and 14 shots on goal) over the last two games. He had nothing to show for it, however, as his personal scoring drought had extended to five games.

He buried a beautiful Gabe Vilardi feed near the midway mark of the second period to make it 3-0. He’s now up to 31 goals on the year and is on pace for 100 points.

POWER OUTAGE

Winnipeg’s power play has been a major weapon this year and is a big part of why they’ve been so successful. They hadn’t scored in three consecutive games prior to facing the Senators (0-for-6 in that span) and ran into another roadblock in this one.

The Jets went 0-for-4, including a huge missed opportunity later in the middle frame after Ottawa’s Thomas Chabot had cut the lead to 3-1.

Senators defenceman Nikolas Matinpalo took two minors on the same play — high-sticking and playing with a broken stick — and then Jake Sanderson was called for a blatant hook early in the four-minute advantage, leading to a five-on-three for a full two minutes. All of which went for naught.

“Our power play has been great all year. We’ve been able to win games and give us a lot of momentum and that first unit has been fantastic. Had some good looks. The goalie made some nice saves,” said Perfetti.

Ottawa’s fans were really into it once play returned to five-on-five, and you thought this might be the emotional boost the home team needed. The Jets really tightened up their game from that point on and really took control in an event-free third period.

“Obviously we want to score there and kind of really put the game away, but it was a good response from our team,” said Perfetti.

Scheifele sealed the win with an empty-netter, his team-leading 33rd goal of the year.

KEY PLAY

Appleton’s goal, just 1:17 after Perfetti opened the scoring, ultimately proved to be the game-winner.

THREE STARS

1. Jets Connor Hellebuyck: 24 saves

2. Jets Kyle Connor: 1G, 1A

3. Jets D Dylan Samberg: Team-high 24:28, 3 shots, 3 hits, 4 blocks, plus-2

EXTRA EXTRA

The Senators were without three key injured forwards in Brady Tkachuk. Josh Norris and Shane Pinto and played with 11 forwards and seven defencemen. Winnipeg’s only injury right now is depth forward Morgan Barron, who is close to a return.

Healthy Jets scratches were defencemen Ville Heinola and Haydn Fleury and forward Jaret Anderson-Dolan, who was called up from the Moose earlier in the day.

Ottawa goaltender Linus Ullmark stopped 35 of 38 shots he faced.

The Jets went two-for-two on the penalty kill, including a clinical one late in the third period with Appleton in the box when they never even let the Senators get set up in the offensive zone.

Winnipeg chartered after the game to Nashville, where they will conclude this quick two-game road trip tonight against the Predators.

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

X and Bluesky: @mikemcintyrewpg