Reunited top line cashes in

NEWARK, N.J. – Message received, response delivered.

The Winnipeg Jets were able to regroup from a lethargic outing to earn a 4-3 victory over the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday night at Prudential Center to open a four-game road trip.

While the Jets can’t afford too many missteps during the final 30 games, this might end up being an example of incremental growth in the quest to stay relevant down the stretch.

The top guns were firing on all cylinders, the Jets didn’t give up much defensively at even strength and they didn’t sit back after building a 4-1 lead with an excellent second period that included three five-on-five goals.

Yet, the Jets gave up a power-play goal late in the second period that gave their opponent life, allowed an extra-attacker marker and then had to survive a few hair-on-fire moments during the final one minute and 46 seconds to hang on for the win.

“Obviously, it wasn’t pretty,” said Jets winger Nino Niederreiter, whose goal gave him 499 NHL points. “We knew we had to play fast and that’s what we did in the second period or for most of the second. The third was a little sloppy again, but we found a way to win and that’s all that matters.”

The Jets, who improved to 21-24-7 and remain eight points behind the second wild-card spot, continue this four-game road trip on Thursday against the Tampa Bay Lightning, who are battling for top spot in the Atlantic Division and on a roll, posting a 15-1-1 record over the past 17 games.

“(We needed) that badly,” said Jets head coach Scott Arniel, who took his team to task after a disappointing 5-1 loss to the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday. “I thought in the first period, we were turning pucks over and not playing fast and weren’t getting through the neutral zone. Jersey was hard on us, but I thought our second period was the exact opposite. We played a lot quicker and got out of our end.

“And obviously we got some odd-man (rushes) off it and did a better job of forcing Jersey back to their goal line to get pucks and the forecheck got working. Certainly, in the third period, we knew the push was coming and, at the end of the day, that was a big two points for us.”

Let’s take a closer look at what transpired:

The Reunion

Although the trio connected on a blended shift to open the scoring, Arniel chose to reunite his top unit to open the second period and it didn’t take long for them to cash in.

After generating a pair of scoring chances on their first shift back together, Scheifele used his elite vision and passing ability to find Vilardi with a cross-ice pass and Vilardi took care of the rest, firing home a wrist shot that made it 2-1 for the Jets.

Vilardi scored his first goal in six games and moved to 20 for the season, marking the fourth consecutive campaign he’s hit that mark.

What made it the right time to put the trio back together?

“I wasn’t real big on our first period by everybody,” said Arniel. “That line, when they are together, there is some chemistry. And you saw it on the first goal. I really liked Gabe’s game. I thought he kind of gave us a spark with his work ethic and puck possession. I tinkered things around…. and it worked itself out.”

Scheifele opened the scoring, finishing off a perfect tic-tac-toe sequence with Kyle Connor and Vilardi.

“We obviously love playing with him,” said Connor, who is up to 60 points in 52 games. “He’s been playing great, and he obviously gave us a boost.”

Scheifele and Connor had gone two games without a point going into the evening, but neither had reached three games without a point this season — and that streak remains intact.

Fourth line strike

At a time when secondary scoring has been at a premium, the Jets were able to deliver another fourth-line goal, this one coming off the rush on a rare two-on-zero situation.

Alex Iafallo found Cole Koepke for the initial shot and Koepke stuck with the rebound to give him five goals on the season.

“We need the secondary scoring. We’ve talked about it all year long,” said Arniel. “We’ve gone through stretches where we haven’t been getting it. If you’re going to win on the road, everybody’s got to contribute and that was kind of what we got from everyone.”

After going 17 games without a goal to start the season, Koepke has found his groove, scoring five times the past 19 contests.

That’s the type of production the Jets were hoping for after Koepke produced a career-high 10 goals and 17 points in 73 games with the Boston Bruins last season.

“When he puts his speed on display like that, he’s a hard player to defend,” said Arniel. “We’re trying to get him in positions where we can get him in foot races against people. He’s also a good penalty killer. He closes quickly and does a good job that way. There’s a role to play, and he recognizes it and does the (best) he can.”

Glass more than half full

Winnipegger Cody Glass is having a fantastic season with the Devils.

Although he was held off the scoresheet on Tuesday, Glass is tied for second on the Devils in goals with 13.

The only player on the Devils with more is captain Nico Hischier, who has 17.

Unfortunately for Glass, he’s been bitten by the injury bug on multiple occasions in his NHL career and on Tuesday, he went down after blocking a shot in the second period and didn’t return to the game.

Devils head coach Sheldon Keefe told reporters after the game that further evaluation is required before the severity of the injury is known.

The key play

Niederreiter buried a feed from Vladislav Namestnikov on a two-on-one rush for the game-winner.

THE THREE STARS

1. Gabe Vilardi, Jets, Scored a goal, added an assist.
2. Mark Scheifele, Jets, Scored once, chipped in a helper.
3. Jesper Bratt, Devils, Scored a pair of goals.

Extra, extra

Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck made his 33rd start of the season and finished with 26 saves.

The Jets healthy scratches were defenceman Isaak Phillips and forward Gustav Nyquist, who was out of the lineup for the 11th time in the past 13 games. Nyquist has zero goals and eight assists in 32 games this season.

Prior to the game, the Devils inducted long-time right-winger John MacLean into their ring of honour. MacLean, who played 1,194 NHL games, spent the bulk of his career with the Devils and helped the franchise capture the Stanley Cup in 1994-95, producing five goals and 18 points in 20 post-season games. MacLean appeared in 32 games with the Manitoba Moose during the the 2000-01 season and he referenced his pit stop in the International Hockey League during his induction speech, noting how much he enjoyed his time in Manitoba.

winnipegfreepress.com/kenwiebe