Next day takeaways: 3 thoughts as the Winnipeg Jets decimate the Bruins 8-1

Coming into Tuesday night’s contest, the Winnipeg Jets had lost two straight home games in uninspiring fashion. They flipped the script against the Boston Bruins, as they walked away with an 8-1 win in one of their more dominant performances of the season.

Jets top line had a statement game

The three stars from this 8-1 win, in order, were Gabriel Vilardi, Kyle Connor, and Mark Scheifele. That tells you all you need to know regarding just how dominant the Winnipeg Jets top line was on this night. 

At five-on-five, their numbers were outstanding. They outscored the Bruins 3-0, out-chanced them 9-2, controlled 78.91% of the expected goals, and dominated the high-danger chances 3-0. 

It was a statement game in every sense of the phrase for that line. After Sunday’s loss to the Blue Jackets, the Jets needed an offensive spark, and they got it from their top stars on this night. The Jets captain, Adam Lowry, was extremely complimentary of that line’s play after the game.

“Usually when they play like that, it leads to a win,” Lowry said. “So, they came up huge for us throughout the game, dominant shifts, some huge goals at critical times to get us the lead and things like that. So, their line, they’ve had a great year so far, and it kind of starts with Mark driving it down the middle.”

Scheifele finished tonight’s contest with two goals and an assist, an impressive performance in front of the General Manager of Team Canada at the 4 Nations Face-Off, Don Sweeney. When asked if there was any extra satisfaction from that performance after being snubbed for Team Canada, Scheifele took the high road.

“You’re just happy to play a good game,” Scheifele said. “Of course he’s the GM. But you just want to go out there and give it your all for your team and get a win. Obviously, we needed one at home here and I thought that was a great response there by all of us.”

Whatever injury Scheifele was dealing with that prevented him from taking faceoffs and resulted in a dip in production, he has fought through, and the evidence was in the multiple one-timers he blasted past Jeremy Swayman on this night. He’s heating up with four goals and four assists in his last five games. 

Nikita Chibrikov scored in his season debut

The Winnipeg Jets made a roster move on Monday morning, sending Brad Lambert down after four games with the club and calling up Nikita Chibrikov to skate in his place. 

Arniel mentioned at the morning skate that the plan was to get both prospects in games while Nikolaj Ehlers (lower-body) continues to rehab from his injury. 

Chibrikov came as advertised, as he was relentless on the forecheck all night long and disrupted a handful of plays in the Bruins’ end of the ice. He fired a rocket of a shot past Swayman to give the Jets an 8-1 lead at the time, and as Adam Lowry said, “keep his goal-streak going in the NHL.”

Chibrikov scored in his NHL debut last season, the final game of the regular season, when the Jets defeated the Canucks 4-2, and he scored the game-winner. 

Head coach Scott Arniel enjoyed what he saw out of Chibrikov in his season debut against Boston. 

“He’s fun to watch,” Arniel said. “He’s a ball of energy. You can just see him, he’s always on the go. Made a nice play on the power-play goal, held onto it. Nice to see that shot there at the end. He’s just a fiery kid. His engine gets running and I’m glad he got out and got a chance to be in a game like that.”

With Nikolaj Ehlers resuming solo skating on Tuesday morning, it seems as though Chibrikov is going to get a solid chunk of games to build off of what he accomplished in this contest. 

One thing is for certain: Chibrikov, albeit in a limited sample, looked like a player who is ready for the NHL. As a 2021 draft pick and a 21-year-old, he is more than capable of making this jump to the NHL, and it will be interesting to see if he can force the coaching staff’s hand and remain with the team past Ehlers’ eventual return. 

The Jets stuck up for each other

When the Jets were leading 6-1, tempers flared in this game, and chaos ensued. First, Charlie McAvoy was called for an illegal check to the head of Cole Perfetti. Later, Trent Frederic, 38 career fights, challenged David Gustafsson, 0 career fights, and Gustafsson had to be helped off of the ice after one punch from Frederic landed. 

Logan Stanley then fought Mark Kastellic, and after that, Scott Arniel was seen shouting at the Boston Bruins’ bench. 

The Jets players and coaches were not happy with how this game unfolded, and on the ensuing faceoff, Adam Lowry and Nikita Zadorov dropped the gloves. Arniel applauded his team for sticking up for one another, among other areas of the game, in his post-game press conference. 

“There’s a lot of things that will come out of that game,” Arniel said. “Like I said earlier, the attack mentality of our five-on-five game. The attack mentality of our power play. Playing against a heavy team and playing the right way. Sticking up for each other. Those are all glue things that happen. Those are all things that build towards the future. I’m proud of the guys in all circumstances of that hockey game. We handled it extremely well.”

More specifically, Adam Lowry stuck up for his teammates, and Arniel pointed to his leadership after the game. 

“He’s done that in the last two and a half years I’ve been here,” Arniel said “He’s done that every game. In different situations — not just fighting — his presence and how he leads and goes about things, that’s why he’s wearing the ‘C’ on his jersey.” 

Up next 

The Jets will continue their four-game homestand on Thursday when they welcome the Vegas Golden Knights to town, looking for revenge from their 4-3 loss a handful of games ago. 

They’ll then wrap up the homestand on Saturday against Patrik Laine and the Montreal Canadiens. Stay tuned to Illegalcurve.com for all the updates regarding the Jets and Moose.