Jets stop the fierce Kraken – Winnipeg's free press

Gentlemen, you can make your own at home.

The Winnipeg Jets took care of business on Tuesday night with a 4-3 win over the Seattle Kraken as their first-round playoff series against the Colorado Avalanche begins next week in the friendly confines of the Canada Life Centre.

Needing just one point in their final two regular-season games to tie for second place in the Central Division, the Jets won their seventh straight skid.

Kyle Connor scored twice and Nikolaj Ehlers and Tyler Toffoli had the other tallies for a team peaking at the perfect time.

“It's great. Obviously, that's what we wanted to do tonight,” Ehlers said. “It wasn't pretty the whole way, but we got it done. That's what's important.”

Winnipeg improves to 51-24-6 on the year, one win shy of the franchise record they set in 2017-18. It will be an exhibition game when they end their 82-game campaign by hosting the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday night.

“It feels good. That was our goal after finishing the season,” coach Rick Bowness said. “Give the guys a lot of credit, they gave it up and we got it. I think it's important for us to be able to do that.”

Before we look too far ahead, let's take a look at what we've highlighted here:

1) All hands on deck – It's hard to believe, but this was only the second game of the year that the entire roster was ready since the Jets added Sean Monahan and then Toffoli in major trade deals.

There were no players on the injured list as forward Nino Niederreiter returned from a skating injury that has kept him out of the last five games.

Unlike the first meeting on March 30, when they lost 3-2 to the Ottawa Senators, it was a little better. However, winger Morgan Barron didn't finish the game after suffering a lower-body injury in the first period, forcing Winnipeg to play with 11 forwards for most of the night.

“We will know more (Wednesday) morning. It needs to be re-evaluated,” was the only update Bowness could offer.

There were a few close calls on the night, with Josh Morrissey crashing into the boards after opening a can from Jordan Eberle and Gabe Vilardi bleeding after taking a high stick to the face from Ryker Evans.

2) The top lines are glowing – If the Jets are going to make some noise in the playoffs, they're going to need their stars to shine. Bowness seems to have picked the mix he likes when it comes to the two front lines and both played a big part in this win.

The front line of Connor, Mark Scheifele and Villardi scored twice in the first period, with Connor burying goals Nos. 33 and 34 of the season. Scheifele and Morrissey both had neat assists, leading to Thomas Tatar's goal in the first half.

“You know what I see in his game? I see him skating well on both ends of the ice. He really is,” Bowness said of Connor.

“It shows that he was engaged in the game. There have been some great back checks. I know he's scoring and doing things, but watch him come back. When you see that in your player, you know you're fully engaged and he's an elite offensive player, when he's engaged in the game, he's going to get those opportunities and he's going to bury them.”

Then it was time for the second line to shine, as Ehlers scored his 25th goal early in the second period off a nice feed from Toffoli, and Monahan also did the heavy lifting in the offensive zone.

After Seattle's Yanni Gourde and Ty Cartier erased a 3-1 deficit later, Toffoli (of Ehlers) made the difference with his 33rd goal with 8:20 left. The goal came late on a Jets power play.

When you add it all up, Connor (two goals), Scheifele (two assists), Ehlers (goal, assist), Toffoli (goal, assist), Morrissey (two goals) and defenseman Neil Pionk (two assists) all have multiple points. .

“It's important to have all four lines in the playoffs,” Ehlers said. “You've seen it over the years. It's not the first line to score every night. It's fun to entertain everyone. He changes every game and we have to continue to do that. That's how you win in the playoffs. It's exciting for us.”

3) Jennings clock — Connor Hellebuyck wasn't as busy, but had to make some quality stops to keep his team from trailing after the game was tied and Winnipeg's defensive zone structure slipped a bit early in the third period.

He finished the night with 20 saves, improving his personal record to 37-19-4 in over 60 starts this season.

The Jets have surrendered 197 goals through 81 games this season, the fewest in the NHL. Behind them are the Florida Panthers, who played their 82nd game on Tuesday (a 5-2 win over Toronto) and finished the year with 200 goals.

The team that gave up the least at the end of the year was William M. Wins the Jennings Trophy. That will do something to focus on an otherwise meaningless story Thursday night: The Jets will take home the honors if they can hold the Canucks to two goals or fewer. If you turn down all three, they'll share the prize with Paul Maurice's crew. If you refuse four or more, it's second place.

The Jets rallied to end back-to-back road trips by the Dallas Stars (3-0) and Avalanche (7-0), and Tatar's goal at 18:38 of the first period 151 finished the series. :19 (just over seven and a half periods) scoreless. Impressive stuff.

4) Good soldiers – When the Jets are at their deepest and healthiest, some tough decisions have to be made. Forwards David Gustafsson, Cole Perfetti and Rasmus Kupari, along with defensemen Nate Schmidt and Colin Miller, were healthy scratches on Tuesday.

With the team playing so well, there is no room for these guys in the lineup right now. That won't change when the playoffs begin next week.

But if anyone hangs his head and feels sorry for himself or is angry at the hand that has been dealt to him, he does not show it publicly. It sounds like an “all for one, all for all” mentality, which is easier to say when you're dealing with big egos and big paydays in the competitive world of professional sports.

“Listen, I give credit to all of them because they handled it like true professionals,” Bowness said of the team's good challenge Tuesday morning.

“The worst part of being a coach is telling a guy who wants to play, who is competitive, he's not going to play. To prepare just in case your name is called next game. I give all of these guys full marks for buying into the team. They know we have a good team. They see the talent in the team and they know we've had a really good season, so they understand the challenges of getting into the squad and playing. We're lucky to have the depth we have and we're glad these guys are handling it like true professionals.”

5) Additional, additional — The game was played in front of 15,225 spectators. It was the eighth complete home run of the season, all of which have come in the last 22 games after Winnipeg was hitless in the first 18 games. Every ticket is announced on Thursday, making nine of the last 23.

Celebrities were spotted at the game, as former NFL running back Marshawn Lynch was in action in Section 122. The former Seattle Seahawks star nicknamed “Beast Mode” is a minority investor in Kraken, so it's clear he wants to be in the game. – look at the product carefully. Seattle is now 33-35-13 and will miss the playoffs for the second time in three years.

Winnipeg finished 1-for-4 on the power play, while Seattle was 0-for-1.

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Mike McIntyre
Sports reporter

Mike McIntyre grew up wanting to be a professional wrestler. But when this dream did not come true, he tried his best to become a professional writer.

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