NHL - Jets - Round Up November 10-13, 2016

Jets @ Phoenix Coyotes 3-2 - Thursday, November 10, 2016

It wasn't another eight-goal explosion, but the Winnipeg Jets were in control once they got their legs going against the Coyotes. Blake Wheeler scored the go-ahead goal midway through the second period to help the Jets to a 3-2 victory at Gila River Arena. Nikolaj Ehlers scored what proved to be the game-winner late in the third period for Winnipeg (7-7-1), which won for the third time in its past four games. Andrew Copp scored his second goal in as many games, and Connor Hellebuyck made 23 saves in his fifth win. Mark Scheifele assisted on Copp's goal for his 10th point in the past four games and his NHL-leading 19th of the season. The Jets defeated the Dallas Stars 8-2 at home Tuesday, and coach Paul Maurice said there might have been a little hangover. Winnipeg had three shots and not much jump in the first period, but it dominated from there. Radim Vrbata and Tobias Rieder scored for Phoenix (5-8-0), and Louis Domingue made 24 saves. The Jets capitalized on a Coyotes turnover to take a 1-0 lead. Toby Enstrom took the puck away from Dirty Dog Shane Doan along the boards in the neutral zone and shoveled it ahead to Scheifele, who sent Copp into the Coyotes zone with speed. Copp beat Domingue to the blocker side with a wrist shot from the left circle at 4:50.

The Coyotes tied it 1-1 at 9:48 of the first thanks to some hard work in the corner by Jordan Martinook against two Jets. The puck squirted out to the right faceoff dot, where Vrbata stepped into a one-timer that beat Hellebuyck.
Vrbata's fifth goal tied him with Martinook and Oliver Ekman-Larsson for the Coyotes lead. The Jets controlled the second period despite being outshot 11-9. They forced the Coyotes to take two minor penalties and scored one second after a holding call on defenseman Jakob Chychrun ended. Wheeler took a nice backhand pass from Nic Petan and shot past Domingue's glove at 10:18 to put Winnipeg ahead 2-1. Ehlers scored to give Winnipeg a 3-1 with 3:14 remaining. The puck slid right to him in the left faceoff circle after Ekman-Larsson's poor pass from behind the net deflected off Patrik Laine's stick. Rieder scored with 1.2 seconds left to make it 3-2.

* Off a set play, Petan sent a backhand saucer pass to Wheeler on the inside edge of the right faceoff circle, and his one-timer beat Domingue through the five-hole. Wheeler's fourth goal of the season also was his fifth in 16 career games against the Coyotes, who selected him with the fifth pick in the 2004 NHL Draft.

* The Coyotes got in alone on Hellebuyck a few times, but he stopped each one. His best save came at 1:45 of the third period when he closed the pads to deny a Tobias Rieder backhand shot with the Jets clinging to a 2-1 lead.

* The Coyotes had 25 hits through the second period, five by Connor Murphy, whose best came when he knocked Winnipeg forward Chris Thorburn to the ice just inside the blue line at 5:52 of the second.

* Copp raced into the Coyotes zone on the left wing and beat Domingue to the far side to open the scoring. He has two goals and four points in five games since being recalled from Manitoba of the American Hockey League.

Jets Quotes

"We struggled a little coming off an eight-goal night figuring we were going to do this a little differently. But it's a good sign when you can make the necessary adjustments in your game and build and play your best in the third period of a 2-1 game." Maurice said.

"Scoring the first goal was important for us and to get out [with the game tied] the way that first period went was good." Copp said.
"We didn't really have our best game and we found a way to win. We just figured out a way to scratch and claw for two points and that's a good sign." Blake Wheeler

Jets @ Colorado Avalanche 2-3 OT - Friday, November 11, 2016

Rene Bourque was credited with a goal at 1:23 of overtime to give the Colorado Avalanche a 3-2 win against the Winnipeg Jets at Pepsi Center. Bourque, who scored in the second period, was battling with Jets forward Nikolaj Ehlers for the puck in the corner to the right of goalie Michael Hutchinson when Ehlers' attempted pass into the middle went into the net. The play stunned Ehlers, who assisted on both goals for the Jets (7-7-2). Hutchinson and Avalanche goalie Semyon Varlamov made big saves in overtime, Hutchinson against Erik Johnson 55 seconds in and Varlamov on Blake Wheeler's breakaway at 1:05. Colorado (6-7-0) played the third period and overtime without center Matt Duchene, who sustained a head injury early in the second period and is being evaluated.

The Jets overcame a 2-0 deficit in the second period on goals by Wheeler and Mark Scheifele 2:33 apart. Wheeler scored at 13:27 after Ehlers forced a turnover at the Avalanche blue line. Wheeler skated in alone on Varlamov and beat him to the stick side for his fifth goal. Scheifele, who began the game leading the NHL in scoring, scored a power-play goal at 16:00 to make it 2-2. He has 10 goals and 20 points. The Avalanche took a 1-0 lead at 1:03 of the second period on Mikko Rantanen's first NHL goal, which came on a power play. Johnson was inside the blue line when he passed to Rantanen in the right circle. Rantanen moved to the faceoff dot and beat Hutchinson high to the short side.

Bourque increased the Colorado lead to 2-0 at 9:33 with his third goal and second in two games. Tyson Barrie skated down the right side and passed across to Bourque near the crease on the left side for a tap-in.

* Bourque was credited with the winner when Ehlers inadvertently shot the puck into his own net. "I'll take 20 more of those," Bourque said.

* Varlamov made a glove save against Wheeler's breakaway 18 seconds before the winning goal. "He was rock solid the whole night and then saved the game for us in overtime," Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said.

* Scheifele tied the game on the power play. Ehlers passed to Wheeler behind the net, and he fed Scheifele in the slot for a one-timer past Varlamov.

* The Avalanche killed three consecutive penalties after the Jets tied the score, and five of six overall.

* Jets defenseman Jacob Trouba, a restricted free agent who signed a two-year contract on Monday, made his season debut and had two shots in 23:14 of ice time. "I didn't know too much what to expect, but I had some ice time," he said. "I need to make some better reads next time and make better adjustments." ... Scheifele has a five-game scoring streak (five goals, six assists), as does Ehlers (two goals, eight assists) ... Varlamov, who had 16 saves, ended his five-game losing streak. He faced two shots in the third period.

* Patrick Laine who last season played for Tampere based side Tappara in his homeland, came up against Mikko Rantanen who was at TPS of Turku.

Jets Quotes

"I felt some pressure from two guys and thought I had some support. I tried to get the puck off the boards and to Toby [Enstrom]. The puck got past him and into the net." Ehlers said.

"It was nice to play against friends and amazing that he got his first NHL goal, and I'm happy for him. It was a nice goal, but a tough loss." Patrik Laine, on Avalanche forward and fellow Finland native Mikko Rantanen

"Of course it feels good, especially when we win the game. They gave me a lot of room and I looked to get it to a linemate for a tip, but no one was open so I ripped it over the glove." said Rantanen, who played in his eighth NHL game this season and 17th overall.

Los Angeles Kings @ Jets 2-3 SO - Sunday, November 13, 2016


Patrik Laine and Mark Scheifele scored in the shootout to help the Winnipeg Jets to a 3-2 win against the Los Angeles Kings at MTS Centre on Sunday.
Laine scored first in the shootout, slipping his deke between the pads of Kings goalie Peter Budaj. Scheifele scored the winner on a wrist shot past Budaj's blocker side. Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck made a save on Dustin Brown's shootout attempt before allowing a goal to Dwight King. Nic Dowd missed on his attempt. Lowry and Marko Dano scored for the Jets (8-7-2) in regulation.

Tanner Pearson and Tom Gilbert scored for Los Angeles (7-8-1), which went 0-for-5 on the power play. Pearson opened the scoring with his sixth goal at 5:38 of the first period. He took a pass outside of the Jets zone and skated into the high slot, scoring on a wrist shot past Hellebuyck. Kings forward Kyle Clifford received a five-minute boarding call at 13:00 of the first period. Clifford hit Jets forward Kyle Connor from behind, driving his head into the end boards. The Jets scored twice on the ensuing power play. Connor left the game but returned to start the second period. Enstrom made a cross-ice pass to spring Nic Petan, whose low shot was saved by Budaj's right pad, but the rebound came to Lowry's stick and he tied the game 1-1 at 14:04. Dano scored 3:51 later. Gilbert scored his first of the season at 12:58 of the third period to make it 2-2.
Hellebuyck and Budaj each made 27 saves. The Kings lost for the first time after regulation. They were 5-0. Los Angeles captain Anze Kopitar did not play after he sustained an upper-body injury in the third period of a 2-1 loss at the Ottawa Senators on Friday. He is listed as day-to-day. Jets forward Alexander Burmistrov was a late scratch because of an upper-body injury. There was no update on his status following the game.


* Scheifele's wrist shot in the shootout helped Winnipeg to its fourth win in the past six games.

* Hellebuyck made a glove save with Kings forward Jeff Carter bearing down on him on a breakaway attempt early in the third period.

* Laine went from his backhand to his forehand before slipping the puck between Budaj's pads in the shootout.

* Kings forward Trevor Lewis got his stick on the puck to break up a shot by Jets defenseman Jacob Trouba on the power play late in the third period.

* The Jets are 5-0-0 when leading after two periods. The Kings are 1-5-1 when trailing after two. … Winnipeg is 6-for-18 on the power play over the past four games. … Right wing Dustin Brown played in his 900^th NHL game, all with the Kings. 

Jets Quotes

"Patrik's goal really displays the puck skills he has, and then [Scheifele] with his quick release there. Those are two huge goals and they're always fun to watch." Adam Lowry said.

"We've identified our game. We know what it looks like when we're playing the way we're supposed to play. It's not easy to play that way every night, but it's easier when everyone buys into it and it feels like we've got everybody in here playing the same way." Blake Wheeler