Jets climb atop Western Conference with 7-4 win over Golden Knights

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This article was published 01/12/2017 (2836 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Winnipeg Jets are viewing life in the NHL from a vantage point totally unfamiliar to the hockey club.

Winnipeg soared to first place in the Central Division and Western Conference after registering a wild 7-4 victory over the visiting Vegas Golden Knights on Friday night.

Kyle Connor and Patrik Laine fired power-play goals early in the third period to spark the hosts to a 4-2 lead, while Nikolaj Ehlers also scored before the seven-minute mark for Winnipeg (16-6-4).

The Jets grabbed sole possession of top spot in both the division and conference, a point up on St. Louis after the Blues fell 4-1 to Los Angeles Kings.

Winnipeg also has the same number of points (36) as Eastern Conference leading Tampa Bay, but the Lightning, who have a game in hand and one more victory than the Jets, occupy first overall in the NHL.

But Jets captain Blake Wheeler said the team won’t spend any time on self-congratulations.

“It’s the first of December, we’re obviously pleased to have a good start, we’re pleased with the direction we’re headed. But I think the thing that’s given us success, it’s a cliché, but we have taken things day by day at practice to get better, each game to get better in certain areas. I don’t think we’ve peaked,” he said.

“We have a ways to go. We’re learning how to play fast, kind of on the fly, I think we can play faster. With the way the league’s going, that’s an exciting thing. There’s no back-slapping. I think we’re enjoying winning, which is new to our group. But we’re not fitting ourselves for rings, yet.”

Laine set up Connor with a pretty pass to the slot and the rookie winger scored his eighth of the year just 33 seconds into final frame to snap a 2-2 tie. Just over two minutes later, Laine netted his 12th of the year and first in five games, unleashing a hard wrist shot that glanced off a Vegas defender and Lagace high.

The Finnish-born star picked up another point on Ehlers’ wrap-around marker.

Tyler Myers and Matt Hendricks scored earlier for Winnipeg, while Mark Scheifele scored a late goal, his 13th, and Connor chipped in an empty-netter, his second of the game and ninth of the year.

The turning point came at 9:39 of the middle frame, with the Golden Knights leading 2-1. Defenceman Colin Miller rifled a power-play goal for the visitors but the tally was eventually waved off after Jets coach Paul Maurice successfully challenged the Golden Knights were off-side on their entry to the offensive zone.

The non-goal sparked the Jets, who killed off the rest of defenceman Josh Morrissey’s minor for interference and then tied the game on a bad-angle wrist shot from Matt Hendricks, his third of the year, at 13:21.

Only minutes before, Winnipeg’s fourth-line centre suffered a gash along his jaw line when he took an errant skate to the face from Miller as the two tumbled together along the boards. His stay in the dressing room was brief and he returned to rip the tying goal.

Hendricks admitted he was fortunate on two fronts.

“I thought if Lagace was to drop a little early I could maybe find the upper part of the net, kind of a lucky shot,” he said, describing the crucial goal. His thoughts then turned to the dangerous collision along the wall.

“It was scary, obviously, to get a skate high like that and see blood. It wasn’t terrible. Guys have come back and played with a lot worse injuries than that. I’m lucky it’s not as bad as it could be, just happy to get back out there.”

Cody Eakin, William Karlsson, Erik Haula and Colin Miller scored for Vegas (15-9-1).

What happened in Vegas apparently stayed in Vegas.

While the Jets were sluggish and disengaged in their first-ever stop in Sin City against the expansion Golden Knights three weeks ago, a superior effort on home ice paid off in spades.

Winnipeg is 8-2-1 since the defeat in Vegas.

Leading 1-0 on Myers’ early power-play goal, Winnipeg sagged during the second half of the opening period but were the better team the rest of the night, out-hustling, out-shooting and, ultimately, out-scoring the Pacific Division, the real surprise of the league this season.

The overturned goal, however, will remain the critical moment of the game.

But Maurice wasn’t the one who initiated the review.

“By the time it gets to me, the view that I saw I didn’t think it was off-side because I hadn’t seen one of the views. Blake Wheeler said it was and (video coach) Matty Prefontaine, who’s the first look at that had already had a minute on it… He called it offside, it’s just a different view,” said Maurice.

The Jets finished 3-for-5 with the man advantage and snuffed out all four Golden Knights power-play chances.

Winnipeg goalie Connor Hellebuyck made 27 saves, while Lagace stopped 31 for Vegas.

The Jets host the distressed Ottawa Senators on Sunday at 6 p.m. and then depart for a three-game road trip that begins Tuesday in Detroit and includes a pair of stops in Florida against the Panthers Thursday and Tampa Bay Lightning Saturday.

 

jason.bell@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @WFPJasonBell