How the Winnipeg Jets responded to Scott Arniel’s first challenge to them this year, when he called their performance “embarrassing” last Monday against the Utah Hockey Club, was at the forefront for many Jets fans heading into this final stretch before the 4 Nations Face-Off break.
They are answering those questions on the fly, as Tuesday evening’s 4-1 win over the Montreal Canadiens marked the Jets’ fourth straight win, this one kicking off a three-game east coast road trip, and Winnipeg’s top players drove them to victory.
The Winnipeg Jets’ top line stays hot
The Jets’ top line of Connor-Scheifele-Vilardi had an offensive explosion on Sunday against the Calgary Flames, and they didn’t slow down in this one.
Kyle Connor scored twice, Gabriel Vilardi had two assists, and Mark Scheifele scored while the Montreal crowd booed him every time he touched the puck.
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Photo Credit: Colby Spence (Illegal Curve)
All three of their goals came at five-on-five as the power play had a rare off night, going 0-for-3.
Connor and Scheifele each have 29 goals on the season, putting them both on pace for 45 goals this season. That would be a career-high for Scheifele, whose previous high is 42, but Connor’s current career-high is 47.
Both players are tied for second place in the NHL in goals, with each other, and Sam Reinhart from the Florida Panthers.
On Connor’s second goal, it technically didn’t count as a five-on-five goal for the Connor-Scheifele-Vilardi trio, because the “Gus Bus” was in on the forecheck…
David Gustafsson is proving to be an effective option
Jets’ forward David Gustafsson is now riding a four-game points streak from the fourth line, and his latest point, a primary assist on Kyle Connor’s second goal, had a massive impact on this game. The “Gus Bus” got in on the forecheck, got his stick free from the Canadiens’ defender, and fired a pass on the tape to Connor, who one-timed the puck glove side with 1.5 seconds left in the second period, giving the Jets a 3-1 lead heading into the final 20. Scott Arniel took note of that play in the postgame, where he mentioned how that was a great example of what makes the Jets so successful.
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Photo Credit: Colby Spence (Illegal Curve)
“We’ve talked about it in the past. When we’re on our game, our forecheck is one of our strengths,” Arniel said. “We hem teams in, we get in and turn pucks over and that was a great example, Gus just to run that one down, and obviously KC with that shot. That’s a tough one for them with 1.5 seconds left, big one for us.”
Gustafsson currently is getting into game action because Adam Lowry is week-to-week with an injury, and is not expected back in the lineup until after the 4 Nations Face-Off break.
He’s making the most of that opportunity and is creating questions as to who comes out of the lineup when Lowry can return. With four games remaining until the break, Gustafsson will look to continue this momentum and chip in offensively.
The Jets are riding high as we near the break
As we all remember, the Jets started the season with the greatest 16-game start in NHL history (15-1-0) and began to slip right after that.
Injuries to Dylan Samberg and Nikolaj Ehlers halted their early-season momentum, and they began to lose a handful of games on their gruelling six-game road trip in late November.
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Photo Credit: Colby Spence (Illegal Curve)
However, they emerged from that tough stretch in late November and have proven to be one of the best teams in the NHL once again. Since December 4th, they are 17-6-3, which is tied with the Washington Capitals for the second-best record in the NHL over that time, trailing only the Edmonton Oilers.
Compared to the rest of the NHL during that stretch, they are second in goals for per game (3.42), third in goals against per game (2.23), first in power play percentage (36.5%), first in five-on-five goal share (63.33%), and eighth in five-on-five expected goals percentage (54.18%).
The narrative that this team has been mediocre since their elite start can officially be put to bed, as they have proven over the past month and a half that they can beat elite teams and play consistently, and the results have shown just that.
The Jets are also 24-6-1 with Dylan Samberg in the lineup this season, and with how well the pairing of him and Neal Pionk have played since Samberg’s return, it’s no secret that the Jets’ blueline is much more stable with Samberg in it and that is leading to an incredible amount of success.
Up next
This entertainment-filled road trip is just getting started, as the Jets now travel to Boston to take on the Bruins, in their last matchup, the Jets won 8-1, but the dominant storyline was the David Gustafsson-Trent Frederic fight and the response from it.
The Jets will then take on the Washington Capitals on Saturday night to close out the short road trip, which will officially be a matchup between the top two teams in the NHL.
Stay tuned to Illegalcurve.com this week for all of the latest news you will need regarding the Jets and Moose.
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