PHEW! Jets snap losing skid

This is exactly what Scott Arniel had in mind when he was asking everyone for more.

On this night, scorers scored, checkers checked, special teams were crisper and critical saves were made.

Most importantly, the Winnipeg Jets overcame what has been an imposing mental hurdle and hopped back into the hot tub time machine to a place where they played with confidence instead of playing tentatively when things got tense.

Chalk it all up and the Jets finally snapped an 11-game winless skid that saw them plummet to the bottom of the NHL standings, earning a 5-1 victory over the Los Angeles Kings on Friday night at Canada Life Centre.

The decisive margin of victory led to a raucous atmosphere during the third period, with the hometown fans singing throughout the final 20 minutes of play and saluting the Jets with a standing ovation before the final buzzer sounded.

“It most certainly did. A lot of relief for everyone,” said Arniel, asked if the game felt like a group therapy session. “Shout out to the crowd. They were loud, they were enjoying themselves.

“We needed that. We needed it badly.”

The Jets also needed to bring some joy back into their collective game, which is tough to do when leads are tough to hold and the losses mount.

The Jets continue a five-game homestand on Sunday afternoon against Brenden Dillon and the New Jersey Devils.

Let’s take a closer look at what transpired in this one:

THE START

Eric Comrie was back between the pipes for just the second time since Dec. 11 and he came up with a performance that he needed, turning aside 23 shots to pick up his first victory since making 34 saves against the Buffalo Sabres on Dec. 5.

During his previous three starts, Comrie was shelled for 15 goals, leading to some frustration for one of the most positive people on the planet.

The Jets came up with a better effort in front of him, limiting the Kings to only 12 shots on goal through two periods.

Comrie made a critical save off former Manitoba Moose forward Jeff Malott on a rebound chance with about 90 seconds remaining in the second period to ensure the Jets took a four-goal lead into the third when Mark Scheifele scored his second goal of the contest with 42.8 seconds to go in the middle frame.

“I just try to do my job out there. When I get called upon, I have to go out there and make a big save,” said Comrie. “I feel like that’s maybe what I didn’t do the last few games. I didn’t give them the big save when we needed it. I just did my best job to stay in the moment and stay in the present and give them that save when I needed to.”

The goal from Kings forward Quinton Byfield prompted the Jets to use a coach’s challenge for goalie interference, but it was not overturned.

Byfield entered the blue paint on his own volition and the Jets believed that his presence there prevented Comrie from being able to fully push across and make the save after Warren Foegele’s shot was tipped in front by Taylor Ward.

The puck caromed in off Byfield and into the net.

“At the very beginning their guy (Byfield) went into the crease and his foot hit Comrie’s,” said Arniel. “I talked to the ref after about it. But they felt (Comrie) had enough time to get himself reset, there was a gap between when it hit him and when the puck went in the net. We thought that was maybe a call we’d seen before that went the other way. It is what it is.”

THE SLUMP BUSTER(S)

Ending lengthy scoring droughts was the order of the day, beginning with Vladislav Namestnikov, who had a perfect redirection after a point shot by Logan Stanley.

Namestnikov sat out Thursday’s game as a healthy scratch, but scored a goal in his first shift of the game on Friday.

That’s the type of response a coach loves to see.

“I was really happy with him,” said Arniel. “To do it on that first shift was awesome.”

That snapped an 18-game pointless streak and was his first goal in 30 games — a wild stat when you consider Namestnikov had six goals and seven points in his first 12 games of the season.

“It was a long time coming,” said Namestnikov, who showed plenty of emotion during his goal celebration. “You want to score so bad and it doesn’t go in for however long it was, it’s hard and it drains you mentally. But you’ve got to keep going and I’m just glad it went in.”

Namestnikov referenced the benefits of watching Thursday’s.

“You kind of watch the game from the side and see there’s more room than when you’re on the ice,” said Namestnikov. “You re-evaluate your game and go from there. It was a new day, a new mindset. You just go out there and play and have fun.”

Linemate Nino Niederreiter also chipped in an assist on the play, snapping a 17-game pointless drought.

The slump-busting wasn’t done there, as Jonathan Toews notched his first goal since Nov. 11, a span of 29 games without denting the twine.

Toews has come out of the holiday break energized and is playing instinctually, which has led to an offensive surge.

With his goal on Friday, Toews has recorded five points during the past eight games and is up to 14 points in 44 games this season.

FOURTH LINE CONTRIBUTION

For the second time in as many games, the Jets’ fourth line came up with an important goal.

On Thursday, it was Tanner Pearson finding the back of the net and on Friday, it was Cole Koepke, who got himself into a prime shooting position and ripped home a shot after a sneaky no-look pass from Dylan Samberg.

Although Danny Zhilkin is still looking for his first NHL point, he’s looked extremely comfortable during the past two nights, using his speed effectively while defending well.

Zhilkin, who finished with 13 shifts for just under 11 minutes of ice time against the Kings, even got an opportunity to contribute to the penalty kill – which is an area where he can provide an additional boost.

THE KEY PLAY

Koepke’s third goal of the season, with 1:55 to go in the first period, proved to be the game-winner.

THE THREE STARS

1. Mark Scheifele, Jets, Scored a pair of goals to hit 22 for the season.
2. Jonathan Toews, Jets, Scored a goal, went 73 per cent in the faceoff circle.
3. Eric Comrie, Jets, Made 23 saves for his first win in five starts.

EXTRA, EXTRA

With defenceman Neal Pionk (lower body) and forward Morgan Barron (upper body) out of the lineup due to injury and considered day-to-day, the lone healthy scratch was winger Gustav Nyquist.

Jets defenceman Colin Miller returned to the lineup for Pionk and had a strong showing, collecting an assist while recording two shots on goal, seven shot attempts, two hits and a blocked shot.

The Kings were without several forwards, including Joel Armia, Corey Perry and captain Anze Kopitar, who is retiring at the end of this season.

The Jets chased Kings goalie Darcy Kuemper after he allowed five goals on 16 shots on goal through two periods of play.

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