Jets snap five-game losing streak with 5-2 win over Blues

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This article was published 01/02/2020 (2044 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Winnipeg Jets head coach Paul Maurice made no attempt Saturday morning to diminish the magnitude of his team’s evening tussle with the defending Stanley Cup champions.

Hours later, the Jets showed they heard the message loud and clear.

The Jets carried much of what they did right 24 hours earlier against the Boston Bruins into their matchup with the St. Louis Blues and were rewarded with a 5-2 triumph at Bell MTS Place.

Relying on a relatively sound defensive game, a gritty forecheck, some opportunistic scoring and the steady goaltending of Connor Hellebuyck, Winnipeg snapped a five-game losing streak against the top squad in the Western Conference. 

Third-line winger Jack Roslovic scored twice, his 10th and 11th goals of the year, and set up Andrew Copp’s eighth, as the Jets built a 3-0 cushion through two periods and then endured a turbulent final frame to improve to 26-23-4.

Winnipeg is three points back of the Arizona Coyotes for the final wild-card spot and has a game in hand.

Speaking to reporters earlier in the day, Winnipeg’s bench boss called it “really important day for us,” suggesting it was critical the Jets weren’t still lamenting a 2-1 defeat Friday despite taking it to the Bruins. In fact, he noted a mirror image of that bullish, 60-minute effort was required against the Blues and beyond — if the Central Division team has designs on a playoff spot.

Copp concurred there can be no nights off with 29 contests left.

“It’s a two-month sprint to the finish line right now, so you’ve got handle it day by day. We’re playing like it’s the playoffs right now. We’re going to have to compete each and every night,” he said. “We’re going to have to be at our best, effort-wise and intensity-wise, because anything else is going to probably put us on the outside looking in at the end of the day. So, we’ve got to be ready to go.”

On a three-game road trip prior to an eight-day break, the Jets were dreadful in Chicago and weren’t great in Carolina but showed signs of improvement in Columbus despite dropping a 4-3 decision to the Blue Jackets.

This weekend’s back-to-back against a pair of the NHL’s premier teams offered signs of hope, despite the holes that remain on the back end and a shortage of firepower lately. 

Copp maintained that has to be the standard of play.

“Hold each other accountable. It starts with the guys that have been here a little while, setting that tone right away. And then getting those guys that are young and kind of new to the playoff experience and this time of year, where everything gets ramped up heading to the deadline and after it,” he said.

“That’s when the hockey ramps up and you’ve got to be as direct as possible and intense. I feel like we’re going to get our rest over the next couple months on the off days, and we’ve got to make sure we’re ready to go on these game days.”

Hellebuyck’s heroics don’t hurt, either. He was rock-solid, particularly in the opening period as he turned aside several Grade-A opportunities for the Blues, finishing with 38 saves to register his 22nd win of the season. 

“Our goalie was phenomenal. They just made a couple of plays where, unfortunately, they just weren’t ones that (Hellebuyck) was going to have any chance of saving,” said captain Wheeler. “Anything that he was going to get a look at, he was saving tonight. So, we felt good on the bench.”

St. Louis centres Brayden Schenn and Ryan O’Reilly threw a scare into the Jets with third-period goals coming at 13:20 and 15:50, respectively, but Wheeler and Patrik Laine iced it with empty-netters.

Wheeler registered his 16th, while Laine netted his 19th.

“We were resilient and tried to carry over the effort from (Friday) and, hopefully, get a result. The game’s been right for a few games now and, at some point in time, it’s going to bounce your way, and we got it to go our way,” said Wheeler. 

“We got back after it, and that’s how we have to play if we’re going to give ourselves a chance to win. The competition is heating up here so we’re going to have to bring that effort every night.”

The Jets host the Nashville Predators on Tuesday, fly to St. Louis for a rematch with the Blues on Thursday and then return to play six consecutive home games over an 11-day span.

Winnipeg got a break as a St. Louis clear attempt hit linesman Greg Devorski and caromed to defenceman Sami Niku, who delivered a sweet pass to Roslovic. His high shot beat goalie Jordan Binnington with just 1:16 left in the opening period.

“That kind of got some good mojo on the bench. When you get a bounce to go your way, you want to keep rolling with it. We finally got a couple of good bounces tonight,” Wheeler said. 

Roslovic stretched to grab a rebound off a Dmitry Kulikov shot and deposited the puck behind goalie Binnington at 17:05 of the second frame. Then, with just 15 seconds left in the frame, Copp took a pass from Roslovic and wired a shot that beat Binnington cleanly.

Niku finished with a pair of assists and continues to look more and more comfortable since his promotion from the Manitoba Moose in early January, making a couple of slick moves to move the puck. He got nabbed for a holding penalty but the Jets erased the Blues’ man advantage.

“There are going to be things in his game that he will learn how to handle. That one-on-one, that’s going to be a critical piece for him because he’s not going to outmuscle guys so he has to figure out a way to do it without getting that free hand up on the hip,” said Maurice.

“What I’m pleased most with about Sami’s game right now is that he seems to play better against heavier teams. And that’s not always true about the slightly built, skating, passing guy. Maybe he’s just smart enough to figure if he goes a little faster, he’s not going to have to take as many hits, but I’ve liked his game on back to back against pretty heavy opponents.”

The Blues are 31-14-8, going 1-2-1 on a four-game trip through Western Canada.

Blues forward Alex Steen played the 1,000th game of his NHL career. The son of former Jets centre Thomas Steen was raised in the Manitoba capital.

Steen received a short standing ovation when the milestone was announced in the first period. But, oddly, the 35-year-old winger refused interview requests after the game — not exactly a show of class by the 15-year veteran 

jason.bell@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @WFPJasonBell