Next day takeaways: 2 thoughts as the Winnipeg Jets end losing streak with a 3-2 win

Staring down a potential fifth-straight loss, the Winnipeg Jets needed overtime to defeat the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday evening. Adam Lowry netted the game-winner on an incredible individual effort from Josh Morrissey, giving Winnipeg a 3-2 win. 

Two things stood out from this game as Winnipeg returned to the win column. 

Gabriel Vilardi, Jets’ top line dominates

Gabriel Vilardi put forward one of his best performances of the season. Early in the game, he got the Jets on the board by deflecting a Haydn Fleury point shot into the net. His strong play continued, as he was relentless on the forecheck all evening and generated a handful of scoring chances for his line. 

That goal was his 10th of the season through 27 games, putting him on pace for 31 goals this season. 

“I think we’ve been kind of in tough here,” Vilardi said after the game on his line. “Obviously, Scheifele was dealing with whatever he was dealing with. I was playing centre, there was a lot of switches, and a lot of confusion, which just kind of wrecked the flow. At least that’s how I kind of felt. It was nice to be in our positions from the start.”

This line has been incredibly up and down to begin this season, but their underlying numbers were solid in this game, leading to results and, ultimately, a Jets win. 

“I thought we did a good job of recovering pucks in the o-zone and generating off the cycle,” Vilardi said. “Scheifele is so good down low, and obviously finding Kyle in the pop spots, and I think I’m pretty good down low too, so that’s what we have to continue to do.”

Coming into this game, Arniel reunited his top-line trio of Connor-Scheifele-Vilardi, and all three of them put together a strong performance. They out-shot-attempted their opponents 17-12 at five-on-five, controlled 55.72% of the expected goals, and chipped in on the power play as Connor fired home his 14th goal of the season. 

“I thought they were really good,” Arniel said. “I thought they could’ve had three or four (goals). There was a lot more attack, they did a good job of getting in the o-zone, and then they attacked the net when they had opportunities. I really liked Gabe, he spent a lot of time around the net front.”

With Scheifele presumably healthy enough to move back in the middle and Ehlers still on injured reserve, the Jets needed a strong performance from their stars, and they got one.  

“Those guys, when they’re on like that, they’re hard to defend.”

Josh Morrissey stepped up

On Wednesday evening, Josh Morrissey was officially named to Team Canada’s roster at the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off tournament. The skill set that he will bring to the best-on-best tournament was on full display on this night. 

Morrissey paced the Jets in time on ice with 29:54, and in overtime, outskated everyone at the end of a shift to get the puck to Lowry for the winner. 

In Morrissey’s five-on-five minutes, the Jets outshot the Sabres 15-6, controlled 57.38% of the expected goals, and owned the high-danger chances 8-6. 

With Dylan Samberg out for the foreseeable future, Morrissey’s responsibilities were bound to grow even larger. He responded to the added responsibility by dominating his 29:54 of time on ice and making a key play in overtime to get the Jets the extra point. 

Up next

The Jets will now travel to Chicago to take on the Blackhawks on Saturday afternoon, a 3:30 CT start. The Hawks just recently fired Head Coach Luke Richardson, as they currently own the worst record in the NHL (8-16-2). 

The Jets will then return home for an extended, four-game home stand starting on Sunday against the Columbus Blue Jackets. 

Stay tuned to Illegalcurve.com for all the news you need regarding the Jets and Moose over the weekend.