Connor caps comeback after Jets blow early lead

ST. PAUL – This time, the second-period woes didn’t come back to haunt the Winnipeg Jets.

Despite allowing a 2-0 lead to evaporate by giving up three consecutive goals, the Jets got the equalizer from Nino Niederreiter in the third period before Kyle Connor ensured the extra point by scoring 46 seconds into overtime to secure the 4-3 victory over the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday at Grand Casino Arena.

“He’s as good as it gets, right? He’s unbelievable the way he shoots the puck and the way he does the little things,” said Niederreiter. “It’s pretty remarkable to watch.”

Out with Mark Scheifele and Josh Morrissey, Connor did what he does best after getting the puck after a smooth zone entry, burying a wrister for his fifth goal of the campaign and the 61st game-winning goal of his career.

“They’re cohesive out there. They kind of read off of each other,” said Jets head coach Scott Arniel. “That criss-crossing and sort of scissoring they do when they cross into the O-zone, it puts defenders on their heels. It usually opens up somebody and that’s kind of what happened there.”

Connor has a knack for delivering in those moments and this was the latest instalment.

“Once one team gets possession, in overtime, it’s always being patient, you don’t want to open something up… and I thought we did that,” said Connor. “I just found some quiet ice. I was trying to get (the shot) through a screen. Saw a little hole on the far side.”

That little hole on the far side was all he needed as the Jets improved to 7-3-0 on the season.

They’ll host the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday at Canada Life Centre to open a two-game homestand.

Let’s take a closer look at what transpired Tuesday in this battle of Central Division rivals.

THE DEBATE – The first goal from the Wild had the Jets coaching staff starting at the iPad and strongly considering a coach’s challenge.

After Jets defenceman Neal Pionk turned the puck over, Wild captain Jared Spurgeon ripped a shot over the net that went high up in the air and got behind goalie Connor Hellebuyck.

During the mad scramble, Wild forward Matt Boldy tried to jam home the puck but appeared to catch the pad of Hellebuyck.

However, after lengthy deliberation, the Jets decided against the coach’s challenge, thinking the evidence wasn’t conclusive in the allotted time to try and take the goal off the board.

“We had a little bit of everything going on that one,” said Arniel. “The very first one was a high stick. It looked like a high stick. Then we finally found an angle. That’s tough in that 30 seconds for (video coaches) Matty (Prefontaine) and James (Cochrane) to try to find everything. Then it was, ‘Where was the puck? Was it under Helly’s pad? Did they pitchfork him?’ That type of thing, push him in the net. Man, we got right up to the end of it and it was a tough one. At the end of the day, the puck was laying there and I think there was some contact, but I don’t know if we could have found it quick enough to make that call.”

THE SHUFFLE – Arniel was looking for a spark in his middle-six, so he made a tweak on three of his four lines.

While keeping the top trio together, Arniel moved Vladislav Namestnikov to the wing on the second line with Jonathan Toews and Alex Iafallo.

Namestnikov helped the move pay dividends by scoring his second goal of the campaign at 12:38 of the first period while giving the Jets two goals in a span of 22 seconds.

Niederreiter’s marker came after the initial shot by Nyquist was blocked, but he stayed with it and the puck got over to his linemate for the equalizer.

Earlier in the day, Nyquist spoke openly about the need to provide some more offence and being involved on the tying goal is sure to provide a confidence boost.

“You always want to get on the board when you come to a new team or when you’re an offensive threat like he is,” said Niederreiter. “And if things aren’t going the way you want them to go, things lead into frustration and it can be hard to play the game. We all do it.”

The Jets have used a number of different permutations and combinations in the middle-six and using Namestnikov on the wing could be a hint at what could come once captain Adam Lowry is cleared to return.

Provided everyone stays healthy, moving Namestnikov to the wing makes a lot of sense, given his versatility.

The corresponding move saw Morgan Barron promoted to third-line centre and that makes sense given his strong start to the campaign. He also brings speed and size to the line with Nino Niederreiter and Gustav Nyquist.

Parker Ford was inserted for Nikita Chibrikov and he centred a fourth line with Tanner Pearson and Cole Koepke.

“They clicked well together and that is what you hope,” said Arniel. “I just like the fact it is spread out, and it isn’t just (about) the other team trying to shut down our top line and we are not getting contributions from anyone else. I thought that was, not just goals, but scoring chances, which there were a lot more of.”

When you consider how disappointed Arniel was after the last game with the Utah Mammoth, giving the energetic Ford another chance made sense on a number of levels.

Ford gave the Jets another right-handed faceoff option and he’s played his role well in his three games this season.

THE LESSON – After another strong first period helped the Jets build a 2-0 cushion, a tough second period nearly caused Winnipeg to drop a third game in four outings.

The Jets steadied themselves in the third and handed the Wild another tough loss.

“I mean, it’s within us. We’re a veteran group. We know exactly what we’re supposed to do and what we have to do to wear teams down,” said Niederreiter. “That’s just something (where) we’ve got to find a way, knowing that if we play the right way, we don’t always have to make it so hard on ourselves.”

THE KEY PLAY – Kyle Connor ripped a shot past Filip Gustavsson 46 seconds into overtime.

THE THREE STARS

Kyle Connor, Jets – Buried the OT winner, had four shots on goal, seven shot attempts.

Brock Faber, Wild – 1G, 1A

Logan Stanley, Jets – 2A.

EXTRA, EXTRA – Following the morning skate, Arniel confirmed sending Lowry down to the Manitoba Moose of the American Hockey League for a brief conditioning stint was under consideration but a final decision had not yet been made. Lowry continues to progress, but the next step for him would be to take some contact before he receives full medical clearance.

“Yeah, it is a possibility,” said Arniel. “He’s really getting close here. We’ve just got to decide what days we’re going to practice because if he just keeps getting morning skates, it’s not doing him any good. We’re just trying to make sure that when he’s ready to go that he’s been in a couple of different scenarios where he’s been able to battle.”

The healthy scratches for the Jets were defenceman Colin Miller and forwards Nikita Chibrikov and Brad Lambert.

ken.wiebe@freepress.mb.ca

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