Sunday 16 April 2017

NHL - Jets - Update - April 01-08, 2017


Ottawa Senators @ Jets 2-4 - Saturday, April 01, 2017
The Ottawa Senators fell into a tie for second place in the Atlantic Division after losing to the Winnipeg Jets 4-2 at MTS Centre. The Toronto Maple Leafs tied the Senators with a 5-4 win against the Detroit Red Wings. Ottawa (41-27-9) is 2-5-3 in its past 10 games and leads the Boston Bruins by one point for third place. Boston defeated the Florida Panthers 5-2 and has played one more game.
Mathieu Perreault broke a 2-2 tie at 7:46 of the third period. Nikolaj Ehlers scored into an empty net with 25 seconds left. Blake Wheeler and Adam Lowry scored for the Jets (37-35-7), who have won a season-high four straight.
Connor Hellebuyck made 29 saves. Mike Hoffman scored twice for the Senators, and Condon made 24 saves. Hoffman scored at 16:15 of the first period to make it 1-0. He stole the puck from Joel Armia in the neutral zone but lost it. Nelson Nogier's clearing attempt up the middle failed, and Derick Brassard passed to Hoffman for a one-timer. Wheeler tied it 1-1 at 3:29 of the second period after Senators forward Chris Kelly tried a reverse pass behind the net that came out in front to Wheeler's stick. Hoffman scored 11 seconds later for a 2-1 lead. He tried a centering pass that deflected off the stick of Bryan Little past Hellebuyck. Lowry tied it 2-2 by backhanding a rebound past Condon at 10:43. Senators defenseman Cody Ceci left the game in the second period with a lower-body injury. Defensemen Marc Methot (finger) and Erik Karlsson (upper body) were scratched.

* Little threaded a pass between two Senators to Perreault in the high slot. Perreault quickly turned and got a wrist shot off to beat Condon.
* Jets defenseman Jacob Trouba had two assists, was plus-3 and had four shots and three blocked shots in 24:46.
* Boucher said Ceci won't play Monday against the Red Wings. "We're going to have to recall somebody for sure," he said. … Ottawa leads the Tampa Bay Lightning by five points for the second Eastern wild card. … Hoffman has 19 points (six goals, 13 assists) in his past 18 games. … Wheeler has seven points (three goals, four assists) in a five-game point streak. … Ehlers reached 100 NHL points (39 goals, 61 assists) in his 151st game.

"We just don't quit. I wish we would've done it earlier in the season, but it's nice to get those wins now and get that good feeling in the room and knowing that we can do it and build on that." Perreault said.
"Handle it right [on their winning streak after being eliminated from Stanley Cup Playoff contention]. It's a tough situation. You've got to come to the rink and you've got to play hard, because that's your job regardless. And we've done that." Paul Maurice

Jets @ Columbus Blue Jackets 5-4 - Thursday, April 06, 2017
The Columbus Blue Jackets will finish third in the Metropolitan Division after a 5-4 loss to the Winnipeg Jets at Nationwide Arena. Columbus (49-23-8) is five points behind the Pittsburgh Penguins with two games left. Pittsburgh defeated the New Jersey Devils 7-4 and will have home-ice advantage against the Blue Jackets in their Eastern Conference First Round playoff series. Brandon Saad scored twice, and Nick Foligno scored for Columbus, which has lost five in a row. Joonas Korpisalo made 27 saves. Winnipeg goaltender Eric Comrie made 35 saves to win his NHL debut. Jacob Trouba scored two power-play goals, Bryan Little had a goal and three assists, Mathieu Perreault had a goal and two assists, and Mark Scheifele scored for the Jets (39-35-7), who have won six straight.
Trouba put Winnipeg ahead 4-3 at 4:06 of the third period with his eighth goal of the season. Little's 21st at 9:35 made it 5-3. Boone Jenner scored with 6:00 remaining to make it 5-4 with his 17th goal. The Blue Jackets led 1-0 after Foligno scored his 26th goal at 6:58 of the first period. Trouba made it 1-1 with 6:06 left on a power-play goal with 20 seconds remaining in a double-minor for high-sticking to Scott Harrington. Scheifele gave the Jets a 2-1 lead on his 32nd goal with 4:35 left. Perreault scored his 13th at 3:49 of the second period for a 3-1 lead. Saad made it 3-2 at 7:12 and then put in his rebound at 12:35 for his 24th to tie the score 3-3.

* Trouba went down to one knee to get in position to one-time a pass from Little.
* Jets center Jack Roslovic became the first Columbus-born player to reach the NHL. In front of more than 100 family members and friends, he played 8:24 on 14 shifts and was a minus-1 with one shot on goal. He also had a block and was 1-for-6 on faceoffs.
"The dream was to play in the NHL and to do it in this fashion was special," the 20-year-old said.
* Perreault moved around Columbus defenseman Seth Jones before scoring.
* The playoffs begin April 12. … Wheeler has 10 points (three goals, seven assists) in a seven-game point streak and 17 points (five goals, 12 assists) in his past 12 games. … Scheifele has 23 points (seven goals, 16 assists) in his past 20 games. … Perreault has 17 points (six goals, 11 assists) in his past 11 games. … Little has seven assists in his past three games. … The Blue Jackets scored more than two goals for the second time in nine games. They didn't have a power play. The Jets were 2-for-3.
"That was really exciting [his debut]. I was happy to get in there. The team did really good job keeping everything to the outside. That really helped a lot." Eric Comrie
"It's one of those games where a lot of our chances we're going in for us." Little said.

Nashville Predators @ Jets 1-2 - Saturday, April 08, 2017
The Nashville Predators will finish as the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference after a 2-1 loss against the Winnipeg Jets at MTS Centre. The Predators (41-29-12) ended their regular season with 94 points. The Calgary Flames also have 94 points, but hold the regulation/overtime tiebreaker against Nashville (41-39 wins). The Predators led 1-0 in thie third period, but Blake Wheeler scored shorthanded with 45 seconds left to make it 2-1 after Kyle Connor tied the game at 10:47.

The Predators will play the Chicago Blackhawks, the Central Division champions, in the Western Conference First Round. Connor Hellebuyck made 33 saves for the Jets (40-35-7), who closed their season on a seven-game winning streak, setting a new franchise record. Ryan Ellis scored for the Predators. Rinne made 34 saves. Nashville went 0-for-6 on the power play. Ellis scored shorthanded at 11:41 of the second period to make it 1-0. Bryan Little tried to work a pass to Mathieu Perreault in the neutral zone, but Ellis was there to cut it off, sending him on breakaway for his 16th goal. Viktor Arvidsson appeared to make it 2-0 at 15:25. The referee called a good goal on the ice, but it was reversed because of goaltender interference. Connor tied the game 1-1 on a wrist shot for his second goal of the season.

* Wheeler dropped the puck to Mark Scheifele and both broke out of the Jets zone. Scheifele passed to Wheeler, who pulled the puck to his backhand before shooting past Rinne for the game-winner.

"I was kind of flat-footed and I knew [Mark] Scheifele was coming with some speed so I just left the puck for him and we were off to the races. We were kind of knocking on the door all game, and what a play he made to send me in. That one felt good." Wheeler said.
"It was a fun game to be a part of and it obviously feels good to contribute. I kind of came in late at the end of the season; just shows you to never quit." Kyle Connor

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