Jets overcome shaky start to beat Flyers in shootout
Winnipeg wins in shootout after spotting Philly early 2-0 lead
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 15/11/2017 (2325 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
On a night they admittedly weren’t at the top of their game, the Winnipeg Jets dug deep and somehow found a way to pull victory from the jaws of defeat.
After spotting the Philadelphia Flyers a pair of goals before the game was even six minutes old, Connor Hellebuyck and his teammates shut the door the rest of the way. Mark Scheifele scored with 49 seconds left in the third period to send it to overtime, and Bryan Little capped off the 3-2 victory by scoring the deciding goal in the shootout.
“I’ve played enough hockey and I know if they get a couple of early ones it’s time to go into shutdown mode. Just hold everything and calm the game down. And sooner or later we’ll get our legs under us, just like we did,” said Hellebuyck, who made 30 saves.
Winnipeg improves to 11-4-3 on the year, while Philadelphia drops to 8-8-3.
“A great comeback win,” said Jets head coach Paul Maurice.
The Jets were coming off consecutive 4-1 wins against the sad-sack Arizona Coyotes, but were facing a mightier opponent who were desperate for a win.
Philadelphia entered the game having been shut out in consecutive losses to the Minnesota Wild, but came flying out of the gate. Jakub Voracek opened the scoring just 2:27 into the game, knocking home a juicy rebound from Hellebuyck. It was the team’s first goal in just over 158 minutes of action.
Sean Couturier made it 2-0 just over two minutes later. Once again, Hellebuyck left a loose puck sitting in front and Couturier cashed in. The goal came on the power play after Jets defenceman Dustin Byfuglien left his feet trying to break up a rush and ended up tripping a Flyers forward while sliding on his belly.
Couturier is having a breakthrough season offensively and now has 11 goals in 19 games, including seven goals and six assists in the past 11. The eighth-overall pick in the 2011 NHL Draft— taken one spot in front of Scheifele — is quickly closing in on his career high of 15 goals, scored over 82 games in the 2014-15 season.
The game took a nasty turn later in the period, as Mathieu Perreault and Radko Gudas got tangled up behind the Flyers net. Gudas, who has a reputation for playing with an edge, delivered a swinging downward stick chop to the back of Perreault’s head. He was initially given just a two-minute minor, but the linesman stepped in and the call was eventually changed to a five-minute slashing major and game misconduct. The league will likely take a look at the play.
Perreault managed to escape injury and got a high-sticking minor on the play, but the Jets were unable generate much on the prolonged power play.
“He got the meaty part of the neck. It could have been worse, I guess,” said Perreault. “He apologized in the penalty box, but when you look at the replay, it looks like he did it on purpose. It wasn’t an accident. He’s been known for doing stuff like that, so I certainly don’t appreciate it. I’m sure the league will take care of it.”
Byfuglien tried to wake his team up midway through the second period with a huge mid-ice shoulder check that sent Jordan Weal flying. He threw another big hit moments later on Michael Raffl.
“I think Buff got pissed off, started hitting guys and that kind of ramped it up a little bit,” said Jets captain Blake Wheeler.
Philadelphia stepped up their physicality, as Patrik Laine was sent head-first into the boards on a questionable hit by Scott Laughton, who was flagged for boarding. On the subsequent power play, Perreault took a feed from Joel Armia during a two-on-one rush and made a beautiful deke on Brian Elliott to score his second of the year.
It was a solid return to the lineup for Perreault, who had missed the previous dozen games with a lower-body injury.
“It was nice to just get back out there on the ice really. It was a great feeling, coming back and being able to win a game and score a goal,” said Perreault.
Winnipeg struggled to muster much of an attack in the third period as the Flyers tried to lock it down defensively. Winnipeg had another scare in the period when Wayne Simmonds cross-checked Nikolaj Ehlers, who crashed leg-first into the boards. Simmonds immediately came over to apologize, and Ehlers escaped unscathed.
Scheifele brought his team back with the big goal in the final minute of play, with Hellebuyck on the bench for an extra attacker. Wheeler fed Scheifele from behind the net, and he buried the wrist shot for his 11th goal of the season to send the game to overtime.
“It’ a good sign of maturity, but we gotta play better,” Wheeler said of the win. “We didn’t have our A game tonight, we didn’t have our legs the way we were accustomed to. Eighty-two games and it’s going to happen.”
Hellebuyck credited the players in front of him, especially forward Brandon Tanev, who had a couple huge blocks on a penalty kill late in the third period to keep the deficit at one.
“It builds a ton of trust and a lot of chemistry between me and my players. I let him know right away on the ice that was a huge play. You never know which block is the most important, and every one could be the game-changer,” said Hellebuyck.
Winnipegger Nolan Patrick, the second-overall pick by the Flyers in last summer’s draft, made his hometown debut as a pro. He had missed the past nine games with a suspected concussion. Patrick skated on the team’s third line with Simmonds and fellow Winnipegger Dale Weise. He had a goal and two assists in his first nine NHL games before he was injured. He was held off the scoresheet Thursday in just under eight minutes of ice time.
Winnipeg finishes off a three-game homestand by hosting the New Jersey Devils on Saturday afternoon.
mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.caTwitter:@mikemcintyrewpg
Mike McIntyre
Sports reporter
Mike McIntyre grew up wanting to be a professional wrestler. But when that dream fizzled, he put all his brawn into becoming a professional writer.
History
Updated on Friday, November 17, 2017 11:20 AM CST: Updates