NHL - Jets - Round Up November 20-25, 2016

Jets @ Carolina Hurricanes 1-3 - Sunday, November 20, 2016





Slowly but surely, the offense is coming for the Carolina Hurricanes. Elias Lindholm and Noah Hanifin each scored his first goal of the season, and Cam Ward made 28 saves to help the Hurricanes to a 3-1 win against the Winnipeg Jets at PNC Arena. Lindholm gave Carolina a 1-0 lead at 6:45 of the first period. He skated in from low in the left faceoff circle and shot between defenseman Dustin Byfuglien's legs to beat Connor Hellebuyck high to the short side. Hellebuyck made 37 saves for the Jets (9-10-2), who have lost three in a row to start a five-game road trip. Carolina pushed the lead to 2-0 in the third period with Mark Stuart in the penalty box for cross-checking. Rask scored his team-leading eighth goal after Lee Stempniak gathered a shot near the crease and quickly set up Rask for an easy finish at 2:39. Scheifele cut the Carolina lead to 2-1 at 9:33 when Nikolaj Ehlers tracked down a long chipping attempt and centered for Scheifele charging through the slot. Hanifin made it 3-1 with a one-timer on the power play set up by Justin Faulk at 18:17. The Hurricanes had the top-rated penalty killing unit before the game (90.7 percent) and didn't allow the Jets to score on three attempts, extending their streak of kills to 19.

* Lindholm took advantage of Byfuglien, using him to screen Hellebuyck. The goal seemed to lift a burden for the 21-year-old forward, who later blocked three shots and made several nice passes.

* Jordan Staal had a point-blank chance with 12:48 to go in the second period. Lindholm made a quick touch pass to Staal between the circles, but Hellebuyck stopped the snap shot with a quick glove.

* Hanifin's goal was a glimpse of what the Hurricanes are hoping for from the 19-year-old defenseman. His end-over-end one-timer from above the faceoff circle was the fifth goal of his NHL career.

* The Carolina penalty kill needed to be at its best with 6:50 remaining when Victor Stalberg was whistled for hooking. Ward made strong stops on Patrik Laine and Scheifele to preserve not only the unit's streak, but Carolina's one-goal lead.

* Staal won 19 of 22 faceoffs...The Jets skated shorthanded for 10:29...The Hurricanes had scored two power-play goals in the previous nine games...Ward extended his record against Winnipeg to 24-12-5...Byfuglien skated a game-high 28:43.

Jets Quotes

"They gave what they had. They can barely see straight, can't pass the puck as well as they would like. They've got nothing left. They did what they could. That team played 17 [games] in 29 [days] and they've been all over God's green earth, playing a 5 o'clock game today. They're beat up and sore and tired." Paul Maurice
"These three games are done. You can't worry about them anymore. Just focus on the next one. Learn from the last three and come back stronger for the next one. We worked hard and played more of our game." Mark Scheifele said.

Jets @ Wild 1-3 - Wednesday, November 23, 2016


Two third-period goals gave the Minnesota Wild a 3-1 win against the Winnipeg Jets at Xcel Energy Center. Wild defenseman Jonas Brodin made it 2-0 13 seconds into a Minnesota power play at 11:13 of the third period. Jets forward Blake Wheeler made it 2-1 at 12:06 with a power-play goal, and Zach Parise scored into an empty net at 19:29. Dubnyk made 15 saves for Minnesota (10-7-2). Connor Hellebuyck made 23 for Winnipeg (9-11-2), which has lost four in a row. Mikko Koivu gave Minnesota a 1-0 lead at 19:01 of the second period. The goal was his first in his past 11 games, third of the season. Wheeler deflected a Toby Enstrom shot at 9:46 of the third period to seemingly tie the game 1-1, but a coach's challenge by Minnesota determined Winnipeg was offside.

* Brodin deflected a pass from Mikael Granlund through traffic for his fifth NHL power-play goal.
"[Granlund] made a great play and I was just trying to shoot it and I hit the forward's stick there and it bounced in," Brodin said. "So, yeah, it was sweet. We got lucky there but it was good."

* Wheeler fed Josh Morrissey back door at 5:07 of the first period but Dubnyk robbed the Jets forward to keep the score 0-0.

* Hellebuyck stopped Parise at 7:08 of the second period to keep it 0-0. It was the third scoring opportunity by Parise denied by Hellebuyck.

* Granlund battled along the boards and Jason Zucker worked the puck out front to an open Koivu, who gave Minnesota the lead.

* Jets forward Drew Stafford returned after missing 15 games with an upper-body injury. He had two shots in 13:51. … Wild defenseman Marco Scandella had two shots and one blocked shot playing 12:20 in his first game back from an ankle injury. … Granlund had two assists. He has at least one point in nine of his past 14 games.

Jets Quotes

"I know he (Nikolaj Ehlers) was on his toe, so the stuff that I see at the side of the bench there, it was close. I thought there was a chance because it was an allowed goal when it went in the net, and I thought that there might not be enough there, but I didn't see any more of the extra replays on it." Maurice said.
"Yeah, it's pretty frustrating. Goals have been tough to come by for our group the last little bit here. To get a big one, tie the game up, kind of swing the momentum in your favor; there's not much you can really say. It's frustrating." Blake Wheeler

Wild Quotes

"We did a really good job defensively, and offensively we had some chances, some rushes, some pipes. We were able to get a 3-1 win. We were able to get enough. It's kind of been the same story. Devan [Dubnyk] played really well. ... When he saw the puck he stopped it." Parise said.

"We did a good job. That is a fast team that looks to get chances off the rush. They have a lot of guys that can put pucks in the net. I thought we did a great job. We countered. We countered when they turned the pucks over. We were great in our end all night. That is what we've been doing."
"We have to get these divisional games (Central). We know at the end of the year how important they are. And to hang on in regulation is big. We have been so close this year. We feel like our record could be fantastic right now. We are that close. We have to start getting these good feelings in here and getting these wins and they'll start to pile up for us." Dubnyk said.

"As soon as they scored, [Chris Stewart] and [Jared] Spurgeon told me it was offside. That's what made me go look right away."
"I don't want to talk to [Mikael Granlund] because I just want him to keep doing what he's doing. Every time he touches the puck, you think he can beat a guy. He's a pretty special player." Bruce Boudreau said.

Jets @ Nashville Predators 1-5 - Friday, November 25, 2016


Colin Wilson and Ryan Johansen each scored two goals, and Mike Fisher had three assists for the Nashville Predators in a 5-1 against the Winnipeg Jets at Bridgestone Arena. It was the sixth straight home win for the Predators (10-7-3). Wilson tied the game at 1-1 at 5:39 of the second period on a redirection from outside of the crease. Fisher retrieved the puck along the boards and made a cross-ice pass to Wilson, who directed it past goaltender Connor Hellebuyck for his third goal. Johansen gave the Predators a 2-1 lead a little more than a minute later, at 6:47 on the power play, for his third goal. James Neal gave the Predators a 3-1 lead at 17:54 of the second period on a redirection from below the left faceoff circle on a power play. It was his 10th goal of the season. Wilson gave the Predators a 4-1 lead at 2:13 of the third period on the third power-play goal of the game for Nashville. Fisher broke in on the rush and made a cross-ice pass that Wilson tipped past Hellebuyck for his second goal of the game.

Johansen gave the Predators a 5-1 lead at 8:15 of the third on a shot from the right faceoff circle. Predators forward Filip Forsberg made the pass to Johansen, who beat Hellebuyck for his second of the game. Dustin Byfuglien gave the Jets a 1-0 lead at 14:46 of the first period on a wrist shot from the point. Byfuglien's shot deflected off of the stick of Wilson past Predators goaltender Pekka Rinne for his second goal. Captain Blake Wheeler and forward Mark Scheifele each took one shift in the third period for Winnipeg (9-12-2). Neal left the game after the second period with an upper-body injury. Predators forward Colton Sissons left the game in the second period with an upper-body injury. Rinne made 22 saves.

* Fisher got the puck in the right faceoff circle and found Johansen for the one-timer that beat Hellebuyck.

* Rinne made a save on Jets forward Patrik Laine in the second period on a partial breakaway. Laine got behind the defense and took a wrist shot on the blocker side that Rinne stopped.

* Fisher's pass on Wilson's first goal came from along the boards next to the right faceoff circle and went cross-ice to Wilson in the crease.

* Neal's goal bounced off of his stick and above the shoulder of Hellebuyck into the net. He chopped at the puck and got enough of it to send it airborne toward the net.

* Winnipeg defenseman Toby Enstrom missed the game for a personal matter. ... Rinne is 8-1-2 with a 1.35 goals-against average and a .952 save percentage in November. ... Predators defenseman Ryan Ellis missed the game with an upper-body injury and is day to day. ... Predators defenseman Anthony Bitetto returned after missing 18 games with an upper-body injury.

"[Scheifele and Wheeler] have been carrying this club in so many ways. They were running 15 minutes through two periods and they were frustrated. The other players have to understand that it's not just two or three guys that have to get the job done." Paul Maurice said.