Jets shine with total team effort to blank Stars 3-0

DALLAS — That is what playoff hockey is supposed to look like.

On a night when the Winnipeg Jets avoided a four-game season series sweep to the Dallas Stars, the most important thing to come out of the 3-0 victory at American Airlines Center on Thursday night had virtually nothing to do with the final score.

Other than showcasing exactly what it’s going to take in order to have a chance to play well into and possibly beyond April.

This was a clinical effort, one where puck management was precise and where doing the little things was evident as they got back to playing their pressure game all over the ice.

“It looked a lot like that stretch we had with a lot of games with not a lot of goals against,” said Jets forward Nikolaj Ehlers, who scored the game-winning goal. “But it’s not just the goals against — it’s seeing how everybody is working together out there and that’s what we need, so that’s exciting.”

Playing such a complete game was even more impressive when you consider the opponent, a Stars team that had won 10 of the previous 11 games.

“Oh, it’s huge,” said Ehlers, whose team extended its winning streak to five games. “I mean they’re in first right now for a reason. They’ve got an incredible team and for us to go out and play the way that we did against a great team like that, it shows what we can do if we play the right way. We’ve just got to buy in.”

One of the items near the top of the to-do list was making life a whole lot easier for the man between the pipes.

On that front, the Jets were highly successful, drastically reducing the number of high-danger chances against as Laurent Brossoit delivered his 14th victory and third shutout of the season.

Offensively, the Jets scored goals from Ehlers, David Gustafsson, and Mark Scheifele into an empty net to improve to 49-24-6.

“That’s the game we want to play. That team’s a great hockey team over there, obviously,” said Jets head coach Rick Bowness. “We knew we had to bring our A game out there on every shift and we did. That’s the way we want to play and we’re going to.”

The Jets close out this four-game road trip on Saturday afternoon against the Colorado Avalanche for a tilt that could determine second spot in the Central Division.

Let’s take a closer look at what transpired in the Lone Star State:

The response

Ehlers couldn’t have enjoyed spending a good chunk of the third period on the bench in Tuesday’s 4-3 overtime win over the Nashville Predators, but he was quick to respond after being reunited with Sean Monahan and Tyler Toffoli.

Ehlers, who was limited to a season-low 9:37 of ice time in that outing, found himself alone in the slot and buried a beautiful pass from Sean Monahan for his 24th goal of the campaign at 14:51 of the first period.

Prior to the contest, Bowness talked about the importance of finding some continuity on his two scoring lines and was hoping the reunion of Ehlers with Monahan and Tyler Toffoli could be a way to spark some production. Bowness referenced that line scoring roughly at a goal per game clip before Toffoli got sick and missed a game due to illness on Apr. 1.

Monahan was quick to grab the puck as a souvenir since it was the 200th NHL goal for Ehlers.

“It was nice to score that goal and get the boys going,” said Ehlers. “When you play it simple, you don’t have to think too much and you do what comes to your mind first. You don’t create as many turnovers so I think I was able to use my speed a lot today and I tried to shoot the puck when I got it. Playing with those two guys has been a lot of fun so it’s exciting to get back and to be playing well.

“They’re easy players to play with. (Toffoli) has an incredible shot. We obviously want him to use that as much as possible and (Monahan’s) defensive play and his playmaking skills, the way that he reads the game, is a lot of fun to play with. And for myself, I try to skate as much as I can and get open for those two and create something. So far it’s been really good and we want to keep that going.”

Bowness and Ehlers had a productive talk on Thursday morning.

“Yeah, he wasn’t happy with his game (against the Predators),” said Bowness. “Listen, he was good at both ends of the ice, you saw that back check in the second period. That’s just as impressive as the goal so I thought he had a really, really solid game on both ends of the ice,” said Bowness. “But he was ready to go tonight and he’s an honest guy. That’s right. He is accountable. And he knows he wasn’t at his best. And he takes great pride in that. So give him a lot of credit for a good bounce-back game.”

 

Gustafsson ends drought

The Jets made one lineup change, inserting David Gustafsson up front for Cole Perfetti, who had just 9:23 of ice time in Tuesday’s game against the Predators. Gustafsson, who sat out eight of the previous nine games as a healthy scratch, snapped a 30-game goal drought that stretched back to Oct. 30 when a point shot from Dylan Samberg caromed in off his skate after it changed direction off the stick of Stars forward Mason Marchment.

“I’m not surprised. He’s been working his bag off for the last bit here. We all see that,” said Brossoit. “I was happy to see him out there and happy to see him succeed.”

Gustafsson is having a solid season but he’s been a victim of the numbers game after the arrival of Toffoli and has had to stay patient for his next opportunity.

Oddly enough, Gustafsson was put into the lineup for his defensive ability but also found his way onto the scoresheet.

 

Brossoit stands tall

Much of the talk going into the contest revolved around Jake Oettinger’s brilliant play against the Jets this season – and throughout the first six starts in his NHL career.

Playing with the confidence that has allowed the Jets to feature one of — if not the — best tandem in the NHL this season, Brossoit finished with 25 saves in what was his 21st start and 22nd appearance.

Brossoit improved to 4-0-1 against the Stars and has turned aside 110 of the 115 shots he’s faced in those meetings.

“It really doesn’t matter who’s on the other side,” said Brossoit, “but thanks for jinxing it.”

He was tracking the puck well, controlled his rebounds and came up with timely saves when called upon — once again showing plenty of teams around the NHL that he’s ready for a heavier workload come next season once he becomes an unrestricted free agent on July 1.

One of the Stars’ best chances was a point shot from Thomas Harley, which Jamie Benn redirected and clanged off the post.

“That’s all I gave him,” Brossoit said with a wry smile.

 

The milestone

Lowry suited up in his 700th NHL game on Thursday, another impressive milestone for the third-round pick in the 2011 NHL Draft.

“I’m super thankful to have been fortunate enough to play in the league this long doing something I love,” said Lowry. “That’s the thing you think back on when you look back on your career, grateful for the support I’ve had from my family and grateful to have done it all with one organization. It’s another game for me, now, at this point, but it’s always nice to hit these milestones.”

Lowry has done an excellent job in his first season as team captain and his performance on the ice has matched his leadership abilities.

“He plays the right way and he plays a 200 foot game and he plays a hard game. So it’s really impressive to play that many games when you play as hard as he does and as physical as he does,” said Brossoit. “He’s been great (as captain). He’s got a very calming presence. He’s very inclusive, he plays the right way on the ice and leads by example. So I can’t say enough good things about him.”

 

Extra, extra

Jets winger Nino Niederreiter was a bit more involved in the morning skate on Thursday and took part in an off-ice workout afterward as he works his way back from a lacerated leg that was a result of a skate cut. Bowness wasn’t ready to fully commit to a timeline for his return to the lineup, but did say he was “hopeful” that Niederreiter might be able to play against the Avalanche on Saturday.

ken.wiebe@freepress.mb.ca

X: @WiebesWorld