Lightning bolt with 2 points

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This article was published 24/10/2015 (3630 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The pace and the quickness coach Paul Maurice is trying to instil in his Winnipeg Jets can lead to a lot of great places.

Like Friday’s first and third periods against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

But on the way to these good places, the detours are dangerous.

The Jets found that out at the MTS Centre, giving a high-paced effort for most of it but falling 4-3 to the Lightning in overtime.

Ondrej Palat, not that noticeable much of the night, was the successful triggerman on a three-on-one, ending the game 36 seconds into the three-on-three overtime.

He only got the chance because Jets rookie Nikolaj Ehlers missed a breakaway by hitting the post with 5.6 seconds left in regulation time.

And also by Bryan Little’s breakaway miss in the opening seconds of the extra period.

“A breakaway and a three-on-one,” Maurice said of the overtime, which left his team at 4-2-1. “One of them’s going in. It was a chance festival, not very long.”

The attacks and counters were moving along at an accelerated clip, each team feasting on the other’s uncertainty for stretches.

And at that speed, the accidents can be nasty.

Each team experienced them, the Jets pushing the issue in the first and third and Tampa Bay, with a 16-shot second period, taking its measure of the home team.

“I think the first 20 minutes we came out with a lot of energy and speed, got the puck and played down there,” said Ehlers, who scored his second of the season in the first period, capping a speedy rush. “The second period we didn’t come out with as much energy and speed and we came back with it in the third.”

Game-tying speed

JETS right-winger Blake Wheeler extended his points streak to a personal-best seven games with a remarkable third-period goal.

He tied the game 3-3 at 1:17. While killing a penalty, he raced to a puck Lightning goalie Ben Bishop was handling behind his net, nicked Bishop’s stick, stole the puck on the end wall and circled quickly to deposit it in the vacated net.

“I think anytime you can score a big goal, the momentum is on your side,” Wheeler said of sparking a 16-shot third period by the home team. “It was nice to get one early in the third to tie it up. It would have been nice to score one more to win in regulation.”

Wheeler’s seven-game streak (4-5-9) is the longest active in the NHL.

Ehlers flies

EHLERS, the 19-year-old rookie who still has junior eligibility, looked continuingly more at home on Friday.

He can get lost and distracted defensively sometimes, but he was dynamic enough to make up for much of that.

“He’s very, very quick,” Maurice said. “He’s learning as he goes that he doesn’t have to stay in motion for that to happen. When he’s on his best, he’s not cheating in behind. He’s coming from where he’s supposed to come from with speed.

“And he picks the right times to stretch.”

Hot opponents

AGAINST the Lightning, you’d always be wise to keep an eye on sniper Steven Stamkos and his linemates.

Stamkos had an assist on the game-winner but had nothing to show for regulation time, as the visitors’ best line was their fourth unit of Cedric Paquette (one goal, two points), Vladimir Namestnikov (goal) and Eric Condra (one assist).

“They’re pretty good,” Maurice said, asked why the Jets had so much trouble with that unit. “They made plays, they were hard on the puck. We didn’t transition it very well. We got excited about what we created in the first and thought we should just be able to do this for the rest of the game. (Tampa) was a little upset with their first for sure.”

Friday returns

THE Jets saw rookie Nic Petan come back into the lineup along with defenceman Ben Chiarot.

Chiarot missed three games with an injury and moved into a pairing with Tyler Myers.

Petan was back on the fourth line after sitting out last Sunday, when Anthony Peluso was inserted into the lineup.

tim.campbell@freepress.mb.ca