There’s no place like home

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 30/03/2025 (185 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

When the result is in doubt, go hard to the blue paint.

Mason Appleton put the theory into practice early in the third period by driving to the net and producing the game-winner in what turned out to be a 3-1 victory over the Vancouver Canucks on Sunday at Canada Life Centre.

That allowed the Jets to close out a four-game homestand with a 3-1 record, which expanded the lead for first overall over the Washington Capitals to three points — and moved their gap over the Dallas Stars in the Western Conference to six points (though both the Capitals and Stars have a game in hand).

“It’s just a proven method that we’ve had success with all year,” said Appleton. “We know our recipe and our recipe works. It’s one of those things where you just have to keep believing in that and not try to make changes and do things differently. There’s a reason why we win and there’s a way we play and the longer we can stick to that the better our results are.”

The willingness to go to the hard areas when it’s tough to beat a goaltender is one of those important ingredients to the success that has allowed the Jets to post a record of 51-19-4 as they prepare to open a three-game road trip on Tuesday against the Los Angeles Kings.

“I did like the fact of how we scored it because that is playoff style hockey,” said Jets head coach Scott Arniel. “(Lowry) was in there hacking and whacking first and then (Appleton) cleaned it up.”

Let’s take a closer look at this one:

THE HIGHLIGHT-REEL GOAL

Cole Perfetti delivered a dazzling goal that turned out to be the insurance marker at 12:11 of the third period.

Perfetti executed a perfect toe drag around Canucks defenceman Derek Forbort to get into Vancouver’s zone alone and then he froze Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko before roofing his shot high to the blocker side.

“I was just kind of trying to bait him, I was just waiting for him to turn his feet, and was hoping he did. And then it just ended up working out nicely,” said Perfetti, who is up to 16 goals this season.

“Originally, when I got around him. I was like, I’m going to go deke him. And then I felt the stick go between my legs, and I knew I was going down. So I was just like, I gotta try and get it on net. And, luckily, it went in.”

Perfetti’s goal brought the Jets’ bench to its feet.

“Everyone kind of gives each other that ‘wow’ look. You don’t see goals like that too often,” said Appleton. “Obviously, (Perfetti) is a super skilled player. He made a great move and the finish was just as impressive.”

Perfetti continues to impress with his consistent and productive play during the stretch run.

THE REVIEW

After Canucks centre Pius Suter snuck in and scored the first goal of the game with 65 seconds left in the first period, the Jets challenged the play for offside.

And while replays appeared to show that Suter had entered the zone early, there was no definitive angle to confirm that when aligned with where the puck was on the zone entry by Tyler Myers. The goal stood and the Jets ended up with a delay of game penalty.

“It’s tricky because when it gets to that point. On the video that we have, it looks offside,” said Arniel. “But when you touch the next frame — or go back one frame — it’s amazing how close it is. Once they start looking at it that long, we figured it was going to be a goal.

“Honestly, we thought 100 per cent that it was offside. That one honestly — and you’ve seen them lots. There was a (skate) blade in the air. Where was it? Was it all the way over? Was the puck all the way over? It was tight. We would have made that call — I would have made that call again.”

THE BABY BUMP

Jets left-winger Kyle Connor continued to shine after becoming a first-time father.

After recording a pair of assists in Friday’s game, Connor scored the equalizer in the second period on Sunday.

Connor took a pass from Mark Scheifele, gathered speed through the neutral zone and then whistled a shot between a pair of Canucks blue-liners that slipped through the five-hole of Demko.

The goal was Connor’s team-leading 38th and, after adding an assist, that moved him to 90 points for just the second time of his career.

Connor is closing in on his career-high of 93 points, with eight games to go in the regular season.

THE RECOVERY

One of the unheralded plays of the game was delivered by Jets defenceman Colin Miller.

Although Canucks winger Conor Garland snuck behind him at the offensive blue-line, Miller made a smart play to knock the puck on his stick before he could sneak in and get a scoring chance.

Miller is getting into a groove down the stretch here, as he also assisted on the goal from Connor.

The veteran D-man has appeared in 56 of the 74 games so far this season and he’s been anchoring the second power-play unit in the absence of Neal Pionk, who continues to work his way back from a lower-body injury.

THE POWER-PLAY WOES

The Jets have been one of the most productive teams in the NHL on the power play this season, leading the entire league for the bulk of it.

But the issues with a two-man advantage popped up again during the first period of Sunday’s game.

With a great opportunity to open the scoring with a lengthy advantage that lasted 67 seconds, the Jets had a few opportunities but none that ended up being as dangerous as they would have liked.

“There were a couple looks, a couple that we just missed. We had some (go) wide,” said Arniel. “It was sort of a buck short and a day late.”

For a group that has enjoyed so much success at five-on-four and even six-on-five, it’s strange that they haven’t been more successful as of late at five-on-three.

However, the Jets have still scored four times with a two-man advantage this season.

KEY PLAY

Mason Appleton crashes the net and deposits home a rebound for the game-winner at 6:24 of the third period.

THREE STARS

1. Kyle Connor, Jets — Scored the tying goal and added an assist.
2. Mason Appleton, Jets — Provided the game-winner.
3. Cole Perfetti, Jets — Scored a highlight-reel insurance marker.

EXTRA, EXTRA – With a crowd of 15,225 on Sunday, the Jets recorded a fifth consecutive sellout, which was the 13th of the campaign. There are only three home games remaining in the regular season.

“You obviously want that every night. I know that sometimes you have to earn it as well,” said Arniel. “One thing about the building, whether it’s at capacity or not, we’ve been doing a good job of entertaining them and it’s been reciprocated back the other way. It is really loud when you get to ice level. And not just this four game stretch. They’ve been great for us all year long. Obviously, winning certainly helps that, but it’s a loud building and we’d like that to continue.”

Connor Hellebuyck is up to 43 wins for the season, which leaves him six behind the single season for victories by a netminder, currently held by Martin Brodeur and Braden Holtby. Eric Comrie is expected to get at least two more starts this season, so Hellebuyck will need to run the table in order to equal the total.

The Jets went with the same lineup for the second straight game, which meant defenceman Haydn Fleury and Ville Heinola were the healthy scratches.

ken.wiebe@freepress.mb.ca

X and Bluesky: @WiebesWorld