Winnipeg Free Press https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/hockey/jets/laine-waiting-to-reap-his-training- rewards-453510973.html

Laine waiting to reap his training rewards

By: Mike Sawatzky

PITTSBURGH — Patrik Laine believes his scoring chances are up from last season, but he's still waiting for the benefits of his off-season training to kick in.

The 19-year-old Jets right-winger eschewed more extensive on-ice workouts in the off-season for extra time in the weight room and added about five kilograms to his 6-5 frame.

His life in the NHL, he insisted, hasn't changed much after a phenomenal 36- rookie campaign.

"No, I would say the same as last year," Laine said following Winnipeg's Thursday morning skate at PPG Paints Arena, where the Jets were preparing to play the Penguins. "Obviously, I'm in better shape than last year but I don't feel like it yet. But I think it's gonna be better every game...

"I tried to be better overall. I didn't have one specific thing I wanted to improve." There should be no concerns about his ability to score. In seven games so far in 2017-18, Laine has four goals and six points while shooting at a 16 per cent clip, which is down from 17.6 per cent in his rookie season. His ice time is also down slightly, from 17:55 to the current rate of 17:28 playing on a line with centre Bryan Lilttle and left-winger Nikolaj Ehlers.

His main concern now?

"Skating feels kinda heavy," Laine said. "That's probably one thing why it feels heavier because I haven't skated a lot... but I know it's going to feel a lot better maybe after Christmas or before that. Just waiting for that moment."

ON THE COMEBACK TRAIL: all-star Penguins has made the long, labourious trek back from major surgery and says he's feeling pretty good just six months after undergoing a procedure to correct a herniated disc in his neck.

"I feel fine right now and I keep trying to build my game and be more consistent," said the 30- year-old Letang, who took a maintainence day Wednesday before returning to the ice Thursday morning. "Having a day off allowed me to rest and get ready for (Thursday against the Jets)."

Letang was limited to 41 games last season, but still managed to rack up five goals and 34 points. He did not participate in Pittsburgh's playoff run to a second consecutive . In 10 games this season, he has one goal and five points while logging a team-high 26:05 of ice time per game.

The Penguins are also wrestling with a difficult schedule that has them playing 19 pairs of back- to-back games in 2017-18. That's a league high, tied with the , spurring some talk about a league conspiracy designed to punish the Pens and Sens, who met in the Eastern Conference final last spring.

The Jets, meanwhile, are slated for nine back-to-backs this season after getting 13 in 2016-17.

"We're all looking at the schedule, it's a pretty busy schedule in November and October and so we're trying to get as much rest as we can when the schedule allows," said Letang, whose Penguins have already played three back-to-back series this season.

"I don't do the schedule and I think there's a lot more politics in the scheduling than we know. Like some markets want different games and the league wants to put smaller markets in better situations, maybe... but at the end of the day, like Winnipeg, I'm pretty sure they travel more than us. If you have more back-to-backs, that's one thing but I'm glad we're not going East Coast, West Coast, back and forth all the time."

HIGH PRAISE FROM WHEELER: Jets says the Penguins are the team he wants to measure the Jets against.

"They are the template, you know what I mean," Wheeler said of the reigning Cup champs. "They do what we're trying to do the best and that's why they've won back-to-back Stanley Cups. You talk about being better at defence, well, you know, they play enough defence because they have the puck all night because they're fast and they transition well.

"They're mature enough, they know how to win and at the end of a shift they're not trying to score a goal. Just little things like that. I think they have enough confidence that they're gonna create a scoring chance next shift or the shift after that, that they don't need to try to do it every single shift." https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/jets-come-close-but-cant-end-winless-streak-in- pittsburgh---lose-to-penguins-2-1-in-ot-453490933.html

Jets come close, but can't end winless streak in Pittsburgh – lose to Penguins 2-1 in OT

By: Mike Sawatzky

PITTSBURGH – The Jets ventured into the belly of the beast that is PPG Paints Arena and nearly ended a 10 1/2-year drought Thursday night.

Winnipeg brought a scrappy work ethic and the heroics of goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, pushing the defending Stanley Cup champion to the brink before dropping a heart-stopping 2-1 decision in front of 18,885 fans.

Phil Kessel's goal at 1:07 of overtime was the winner but the goaltenders — Hellebuyck and Pittsburgh's Matt Murray — were the stars of the show. Kessel scored on a breakaway, firing the puck through Hellebuyck's legs after intercepting a cross-ice pass from Winnipeg's Patrik Laine in the Pittsburgh zone.

It was Kessel's second overtime winner in as many games, his 300th career goal and his 51st game-winner.

"I almost read it too well," said Hellebuyck, who finished with 34 saves. "He came down and I knew he was going to go five-hole and I was going to kick it out and let our D-man go the other way. That’s not goaltending. That’s not what I worked on all summer, that’s not going to be what I do continuing forward."

Laine's error was crucial, too.

"We want to be real careful with those lateral passes," said Jets head coach Paul Maurice, whose team plays the tonight. "Part of 3-on-3 is making a better decision with that puck but also being in a better spot to not have to force it. We’ve got room to put the puck in other places. Clearly he’s in full possession of it and he has to make a better decision."

Winnipeg went to 4-3-1 while Pittsburgh improved to 7-3-1.

Murray was a monster in the Pens net, too. He finished the game with 30 saves, many of which were of the highlight variety, and he held the visitors off the board during their two power plays.

The Jets got a terrific effort from off-season free agent Matt Hendricks. The 36-year-old had missed seven games with a lower-body injury but he centred the fourth line and was a key man on the -killing unit that snuffed out all four Pittsburgh power-play chances. Hendricks finished the game with one hit, three blocked shots while winning seven of 10 faceoffs.

"These guys have a target on their back here in Pittsburgh all season, so we came and we took a point from them," said Hendricks. "We had a chance to take two, it didn’t work out.

"Now we go to play another great team in Columbus and if we come out with the same mentality and the same detailed game I think we’re going to have some success."

Hendricks' effort was widely praised.

"He’s 7-1 on the draw through two periods and that changes how you can run your bench in terms of your penalty kill. He had a real big impact on that," said Maurice. "He does a real nice job and had a big impact on the game for us."

Centre Bryan Little and defenceman Toby Enstrom, the longest serving members of the Jets organization, have never won a road game in Pittsburgh, a span of 16 consecutive games in which they had been outscored 75-37 and also including seven losses since the franchise relocated from Atlanta prior to the 2011-12 season.

In fact, the last time the Thrashers/Jets franchise beat the Pens in Pittsburgh came on Dec. 27, 2006, when since-retired defenceman Shane Hnidy played 23:44 to help Atlanta post a 4-2 victory at old Mellon Arena.

The teams traded goals in the first period. The Penguins got things off to a blazing start 85 seconds in when Conor Sheary's perfect one-handed redirection of 's feed on a 2-on-2 break went through Hellebuyck's five-hole. Dmitry Kulikov, the defender on Sheary's side, was unable to contain the speedy winger.

"That’s just how some hockey games start," said Hellebuyck, who won his first four starts before Thursday's OT loss. "I’m kinda glad it happened early in the year but now we know we’ve got the character in this room to battle from it. That’s exactly what we did."

The Jets countered at 10:34 when Bryan Little won an offensive-zone draw cleanly back to Josh Morrissey at the point. The sophomore blue-liner cradled the puck momentarily before ripping a high over Murray's glove into the top corner of the net. It didn't hurt that the shot appeared to change direction ever so slightly as it glanced off Pittsburgh blue-liner Kris Letang's stick.

Carl Hagelin thought he had given the Penguins a 2-1 lead at 6:10 of the middle period when his wraparound backhander beat Hellebuyck. However, the play had been whistled dead moments before when Morrissey, reaching to poke-check Hagelin and bracing himself on the crossbar, dislodged the net.

Morrissey went to the box for delay of game but thanks to nifty penalty killing and a heroic shot block by Hendricks, who had surrendered his stick to defenceman Jacob Trouba, Winnipeg emerged unscathed.

The visitors nearly took the lead, first when Murray denied Nikolaj Ehlers after a fabulous cross- ice pass from Laine and later, when D-man Tyler Myers went in alone, only to find Murray's pad with his shot.

Winnipeg hadn't played since beating the Minnesota Wild 4-3 on Oct. 20. The resulting rust showed early.

"There’s really no way around a six-day break," said Hendricks. "We weren’t as crisp and as detailed as we wanted to be early. That was a heck of a play though, a top-notch goal by Pittsburgh (in the first period). I loved our response. We didn’t go into panic mode and try to score the next shift. We got back to our game plan and dug and dug and dug.

"It was a great hockey game all night long."

Winnipeg Sun http://winnipegsun.com/sports/hockey/nhl/winnipeg-jets/hellebuyck-hard-on-himself-after- kessels-overtime-winner-sinks-jets

Hellebuyck hard on himself after Kessel's overtime winner sinks Jets

By Ted Wyman

PITTSBURGH — Connor Hellebuyck made 34 saves against the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions, earned his team a point and left the building fuming at himself.

The goalie put in a stellar performance but was beaten between the legs on an overtime breakaway by in a 2-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

“I can take some pride on a point but that’s not good enough,” Hellebuyck said. “When we have that good of an opportunity and I blow it like that I can’t live with that. I’ve got to be better.”

Hellebuyck’s record this season is now 4-0-1, his goals against average 2.25 and his save percentage .931. Those are all-star numbers in a limited sample size.

The fact that he was fighting mad at not being able to come up with the last one against an elite sniper on a clear-cut breakaway, speaks to just how much confidence Hellebuyck has right now.

“I almost read it too well,” Hellebuyck said. “He came down and I knew he was going to go five- hole and I was going to kick it out and let our D-man go the other way.

“That’s not goaltending. That’s not what I worked on all summer, that’s not going to be what I do continuing forward.”

Kessel scored on an overtime breakaway for the second time this week. He did the same thing in a 2-1 win over the on Tuesday night.

This one was his 300th career NHL goal.

It came about when Jets second-year winger Patrik Laine made an ill-advised decision to make a cross-ice pass when he had an opportunity to shoot.

Everyone in the house — including Penguins goalie Matt Murray — expected Laine to take a rip, but he tried the pass and Kessel knocked it down and went the other way.

“We want to be real careful with those lateral passes,” Jets coach Paul Maurice said. “Part of 3- on-3 is making a better decision with that puck but also being in a better spot to not have to force it. We’ve got room to put the puck in other places. Clearly he’s in full possession of it and he has to make a better decision.”

The Jets (4-3-1) played well enough to earn the two points. They generated many chances to win the game in regulation time but were stonewalled by Penguins goalie Murray, who had 30 saves.

“I think we had our chances to put them away there and he made a couple of great saves,” forward Kyle Connor said. “I think we’ve got to at least put away a couple of those.”

It was a great night for the Jets penalty-killing unit. Bolstered by veteran Matt Hendricks, playing his first game as a Jet, they killed off all four of the Penguins power play opportunities.

Hendricks played 4:11 of shorthanded time and went 7-3 in the faceoff circle. He also blocked three shots, all while shorthanded, one when he was playing without a stick.

“I give all the credit to Bucky back there between the pipes,” Hendricks said. “He’s been our No. 1 penalty killer here all season and it shows tonight.”

Maurice thought Hendricks was being too humble.

“He’s 7-1 on the draw through two periods and that changes how you can run your bench in terms of your penalty kill — he had a big impact on the game for us.”

Coming off a five-day layoff between games, the Jets looked rusty at times. They gave up a goal just 1:25 into the first period when Conor Sheary tipped a pass from Jake Guentzel past Hellebuyck on a two-on-two break, making Jets defencemen Tyler Myers and Dmitry Kulikov look bad in the process.

The Jets bounced back before the end of the first period and defenceman Josh Morrissey tied it at 9:26 on a long shot that went off the stick of Penguins defenceman Kris Letang.

There were many good scoring chances at both ends of the ice the rest of the way but the goalies were too strong and the Jets, at times, seemed to lack finish.

Mark Scheifele had the puck on his stick for three two-on-one breaks with Blake Wheeler, but the Jets didn’t get a single shot on goal out of them.

“We had a bunch of two on ones where we were forcing it into his pads or didn’t make some plays,” Maurice said. “I thought we were a little slow with the finish to our offence. Part of that was we were a little slow with the decision to shoot or pass. Just get it off your stick quickly one way or another.”

The Jets earned a point in Pittsburgh for the second straight year, which is saying something, considering they have not won here in the last 17 games, getting outscored 77-38 in the process.

Their next game is Friday night in Columbus against a Blue Jackets team that beat the Jets 5-2 in Winnipeg just last week.

Maurice said before the game he was leaning toward playing Steve Mason in goal Friday night, but he certainly wasn’t unhappy with Hellebuyck’s performance.

“Real strong, real solid,” he said. “A shot by Crosby that catches him on the shoulder. You’ve got to absolutely be in the right spot to make that save and he had a bunch of those tonight.”

Sportsnet.ca http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/four-things-learned-nhl-hellebuyck-answer-jets/

Four things we learned in the NHL: Hellebuyck the answer for Jets

By Josh Beneteau

The Winnipeg Jets‘ goaltending issues may be over after Connor Hellebuyck put together another fine performance.

Plus, Joe Thornton, Jonathan Quick and Rick Nash reached important milestones in their already decorated careers.

Here are four things we learned in the NHL on Thursday.

Hellebuyck off to a quite a start Steve Mason was brought into Winnipeg to provide stability in net but it turns out the answer to the Jets’ woes was already on the team. Hellebuyck, not Mason, has seized the starting role in the ‘Peg and although he didn’t win on Thursday, he put in another solid performance.

Hellebuyck made 34 saves as the Jets took the defending champs to overtime before a Phil Kessel goal (the 300th of his career) secured the second point for the Penguins.

Kessel’s goal had a tint of revenge on it after Hellebuyck robbed the sniper with a wicked glove save earlier in the game.

Hellebuyck now has a 4-0-1 record with a 2.25 goals-against average and .931 save percentage this season.

After the game, Hellebuyck told the assembled media that his teammates deserved a lot of the credit.

“I thought the team played really good in front of me, they played really hard,” he said.

I’m sure those same teammates would return the compliment to their goaltender.

The Jets will get a second crack at the Penguins on Sunday night. Based on his play Thursday, you can bet Hellebuyck will be back between the pipes for Winnipeg.

Associated Press http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/nhl/winnipeg-jets-pittsburgh-penguins-1.4374350

Phil Kessel plays OT again as Penguins dump Jets Pittsburgh forward scores 2nd straight game-winner, 300th career goal

By Dan Scifo, The Associated Press

Phil Kessel had just one thought on his mind as he raced in on an overtime breakaway against Winnipeg goalie Connor Hellebuyck.

"Hopefully, I score," the Pittsburgh star said with a laugh after scoring his 300th career goal at 1:07 of overtime to lift the Pittsburgh Penguins to a 2-1 victory over the Jets on Thursday night.

Kessel, who also scored the overtime winner against Edmonton on Tuesday, became the 18th American-born player to reach the milestone and the second active behind Minnesota's .

"I've played a decent amount of games in this league," said Kessel, who played in his 843rd NHL game. "It's nice to get 300 goals and I'm just happy to help my team win."

Kessel stripped Patrik Laine of the puck at his own blue line and went the other way on a breakaway. Kessel, with nine points in his last seven games, snapped a wrist shot between Hellebuyck's pads for the winner.

"What's impressive about the goal tonight is that he was at a dead stop when he picked that pass off and he created separation from a dead stop," Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. "It was enough separation for him to be able to get a really good shot off."

Conor Sheary scored his fifth for the Penguins, who won for the fifth time in six games. Pittsburgh has won seven of nine since losing the first two games of the season.

Pittsburgh also won its 17th straight game against the Jets dating back to March 24, 2007. Overall, Pittsburgh won 17 of the last 20 meetings against the Jets, who last won in Pittsburgh, Dec. 27, 2006, when they were the Atlanta Thrashers.

Matt Murray won his seventh straight since allowing 11 goals on 65 shots in his first two appearances. Murray, who stopped 30 shots, helped Pittsburgh earn points in all eight starts this season.

Hellebuyck's win streak ends Josh Morrissey scored his second for the Jets, who had won four of their previous five after being outscored 13-5 in the first two games of the season against and Calgary.

Hellebuyck, who made 34 saves, saw his four-game win streak end. He was seeking a personal best five-game streak and the team record for the longest win streak by a goaltender to begin the season.

Hellebuyck said he knew Kessel planned to shoot between his pads on the game-winner.

"I'm thinking, I'll kick it out, but that's not goaltending," Hellebuyck said. "I need to drop to my butterfly and just make the save."

Sheary opened the scoring 1:25 into the game when he re-directed Jake Guentzel's pass between Hellebuyck's pads.

Morrissey tied it later in the period when his shot from the point caught the stick of Penguins' D Kris Letang and went past Murray's glove hand.

Murray sets stage for Kessel Murray kept the game tied entering the third period, first with a sharp blocker save on Nikolaj Ehlers before back-to-back stops on Tyler Myers and Laine. He stopped Myers on a breakaway and Laine during a two-on-one with Ehlers.

Laine tried again with a wrist shot 30 seconds into the third period, but Murray made the save and a follow-up pad stop on Kyle Connor.

"It's hard to win in this league if you don't get a timely save, and Matt does that for us consistently," Sullivan said. "He's a big reason why we've won these close games."

Murray also set the stage for Kessel's overtime heroics.

"He definitely can win it, and he's shown that," Sullivan said. "He has a knack of scoring big goals at key times."

Pittsburgh Post Gazette http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/penguins/2017/10/26/Phil-Kessel-comes-through-in-the- clutch-for-the-second-game-in-a-row/stories/201710260281

Phil Kessel comes through in the clutch for the second game in a row

BY SAM WERNER

What was going through Phil Kessel’s head when he was streaking down the ice in overtime against the Jets Thursday night?

Was he trying to remember the scouting report on Winnipeg goalie Connor Hellebuyck? Or recalling what he did Tuesday night in a similar situation against Edmonton? Or did he know he was one goal away from 300 in his career?

Not quite. Kessel kept it simple.

“Hopefully I score,” Kessel recalled with a laugh after the game.

He did. And for the second consecutive game, the Penguins went home with a 2-1 overtime win thanks to a goal from Kessel in the extra session.

And while Tuesday night’s game-winner against the Oilers came off a picture-perfect feed from linemate Evgeni Malkin, Kessel did just about all the work for Thursday’s goal himself.

He picked off a Patrik Laine cross-ice pass in at the top of the faceoff circle in the Penguins’ zone, poked the puck out to the neutral zone and beat Laine to it. From there, all he had to do was skate in, and rip a wrist shot that beat Hellebuyck five-hole.

“What was impressive about the goal tonight was he was at a dead stop when he picked that pass off, and he created separation from a dead stop,” coach Mike Sullivan said. “Enough separation to be able to get a really good shot off.”

That’s no coincidence either. Sullivan went on to say that Kessel was in the best shape he has been in since joining the Penguins more than two years ago.

“I think it’s just an indication of, number one, his fitness, but also his skating ability,” Sullivan said. “He can really skate, and when he gets some ice — and overtimes tend to lend those opportunities where you get some ice to play on out there — he can be dangerous. And he’s certainly shown that for us in this part of the season.”

Kessel might be a bit of a risk-taker in when he goes out there for overtime — if that puck gets through him Thursday night it could’ve turned into a golden scoring chance for the Jets — but as Sullivan said after the game, he also has the ability to end the game with one shot.

“He has a knack for scoring big goals at key times,” Sullivan said.

And for his part, Kessel said he tends to enjoy the challenges and opportunities overtime presents.

“I don’t mind playing 3-on-3,” he said. “There’s a lot of ice, you know you’re going to get chances. I’ve just been fortunate the last two nights.”

That’s probably underselling it a bit, which is typical of Kessel. He also said he couldn’t remember if he had ever scored overtime winners in back-to-back games before.

Kessel now has four goals on the season, one off the team lead held by and Conor Sheary.

Kessel’s goal Thursday night had a bit of history attached to it, as well. It was the 300th of his career, making him just the 18th American-born player to reach that milestone. He’s one of only two active American with that many, joining Minnesota’s Zach Parise.

“I’ve played a decent amount of games in this league,” Kessel said. “It’s nice to get 300 goals. I’m just happy to help my team win.”

He wasn’t the only one. New teammate Ryan Reaves has started a tradition, of sorts, giving Kessel a “face wash” with his glove in the celebration following a Kessel goal.

“I mugged him today,” Reaves said. “It was bad.”

The replay of the celebration certainly makes it look like Kessel maybe didn’t enjoy it so much in the moment, but it’s for a good reason, right?

“He’s given it to me a couple of times out there,” Kessel said. “If we win, it’s fine.” http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/penguins/2017/10/27/Penguins-2-1-overtime-Jets-Kessel- Sheary/stories/201710270122

Postgame takeaways from Penguins' overtime win over Jets

BY JASON MACKEY

Much of the Penguins’ 2-1 overtime win over the Winnipeg Jets at PPG Paints Arena on Thursday will be about Matt Murray and Phil Kessel.

And rightfully so.

But here are four additional takeaways from the Penguins’ second consecutive win and fifth in their past six games.

Sheary scores again Conor Sheary tied Sidney Crosby for the team lead in goals with his fifth of the season, his tally coming at 1:25 of the first period.

Crosby, whose 11th point of the season tied him with Evgeni Malkin for the Penguins lead in that category, started the sequence by snatching a loose puck in the defensive zone.

Jake Guentzel skated up the left wing with speed and flipped a pass into space for Sheary, who touched it past Connor Hellebuyck for the goal.

“I saw it was a two-on-two rush, so I tried to beat my defenseman to the inside,” Sheary said. “I knew Jake would put it to an area for me to get it. I just tried to deflect it on net, and it went in for me.”

The goal was further evidence of how well this line works together, and it added another reminder of Guentzel’s playmaking ability.

After an up-and-down postseason, it’s looks like Sheary has returned to the form that allowed him to score 23 goals in 61 regular-season games in 2016-17.

The Penguins’ power play was really, really good. Overall they had nine shots on goal spread over four power-play chances … but couldn’t score. The closest they came was Kris Letang hitting a post.

Coaches tend to focus a lot on the process, and that much was there for the Penguins. Terrific puck-movement. A shoot-first mentality. The Jets really packed it in down low on the penalty kill, but the Penguins were unable to take advantage.

“They did a lot of really good things,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said of his power play. “They did everything but score. ‘Tanger’ hits the post. If that goes in the net, we walk away from the game saying, ‘Geez, the power play was great.’

“That’s the fine line between scoring and not scoring. As a coaching staff, we just try to look at the process. Are we making good decisions? Are we executing? Are we working together? Are we doing the little things? Are we retrieving pucks? Do we have somebody in front taking the goalie’s sightlines away? There were a lot of good things about the power play tonight.”

Most encouraging might be the shooting mentality that Kessel had. Kessel attempted 11 shots and put nine on goal. From the left circle on the power play, Kessel appeared very much eager to fire, which is what Sullivan has been wanting him to do.

“You can see Phil looking to shoot the puck more coming off the flank on that backside,” Sullivan said. “He’s dangerous. He can score goals from there. When he does shoot the puck, a lot of times it creates more offense. That rebound goes somewhere. It forces decision-making on our opponent’s part. Then our players can act on their instincts from there. There was a lot to like about our power play [Thursday]. We just didn’t score.”

Trotman fits in Defenseman Zach Trotman didn’t dazzle in his Penguins debut, but he was perfectly serviceable. Certainly wasn’t a liability back there.

“Still getting used to some chemistry with some guys,” Trotman said. “Still getting used to the speed a little bit. I thought I was OK. Definitely some things I can work on, but it’s good to be back out there and get a win.”

Trotman played 12:09 and had two shots on goal and a hit. He saw 1:32 of power-play time, but things weren’t quite as smooth there as the second unit endured some struggles.

“We have some things to clean up a little bit there,” Trotman said. “I haven’t had a lot of time to practice power play with that group, so it’s small stuff. Timing on the breakout. Working with Olli [Maatta] a little bit on one-timers. That kind of stuff. It was nice to be out there.”

Getting defensive ... again Another terrific defensive effort for the Penguins. That makes two in a row following that 7-1 loss in Tampa over the weekend.

The Penguins had a 70-54 advantage in attempted shots. Whatever leaks there were, Murray was there with a timely save.

“I think we’re playing a little bit harder and a little bit smarter,” Sheary said. “We’re taking care of our D zone a little bit more. ‘Murr’ has been playing pretty good and making big saves at key moments for us.” http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/penguins/2017/10/26/Phil-Kessel-comes-through-in-the- clutch-for-the-second-game-in-a-row/stories/201710260281

TSN.ca http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/video/despite-the-loss-hellebuyck-shows-he-s-the-key-to-jets- success~1242173 (VIDEO LINK)

Despite the loss, Hellebuyck shows he's the key to Jets' success

Despite their overtime loss to the Penguins, Craig Button says that Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck has been the key to their success, and explains what Kyle Connor brings to Winnipeg's top line http://www.tsn.ca/will-a-dearth-of-offence-from-bottom-six-forwards-doom-canadian-teams- 1.896818

Will a dearth of offence from bottom-six forwards doom Canadian teams?

By Travis Yost

Canada has a bottom-six forward problem. Well, most of Canada.

Montreal and Edmonton have had awful starts to the season. Calgary and Winnipeg had sleepy starts, but now see themselves in the middle of the pack in their respective divisions. Ottawa is off and running – their 12 points in nine games is seventh best in the NHL, and most of that was without superstar defenceman Erik Karlsson.

These are five teams in very different situations and operating environments. But they have one incredible commonality – they aren’t getting any offensive punch from their depth forwards.

The divide is fascinating. For a frame of reference, the average NHL forward averages around 0.7 goals per 60 minutes. For a top-six forward (who usually is more skilled and is playing with better teammates), that rate rises to around 0.8 goals per 60 minutes. For a bottom-six forward, that number jumps down to about 0.5 goals per 60 minutes. So while we might have different expectations relative to the league’s premier forwards, the reality is that bottom-six players are still reasonably productive offensively.

Keep that in mind when you take a glance at the below graph, which shows the bottom-six forwards’ scoring rates for each team through the first two weeks of the season. (To identify top- six forwards, I used a minimum of five games played as a cutoff and then ranked each forward based on average 5-on-5 ice time per game. More on this in a minute.)

Toronto and have been fine on this front. The other five Canadian teams, not so much. Don’t strain your eyes looking for Edmonton and Winnipeg – their number is actually 0.0, so they don’t appear on the graph.

Why are things so dire right now? Eyeballing the deployment from our Canadian coaches, what immediately jumps off the page is the talent discrepancy between Toronto/Vancouver and the other five teams. Toronto has no issue generating offence with any line on the ice, and they’ve been able to push talented players like , Mitch Marner, and into depth roles.

Vancouver, a team in transition, has found softer ice time for a couple of old stars in the Sedins and other proven veterans like Thomas Vanek and Sam Gagner.

Now look at the other five groups:

There’s some talent to be found in those other five teams (Bobby Ryan and are two obvious callouts), but beyond that, it’s a lot of defence-first/defence-only forwards and young players trying to find their way in the league.

For each team, there’s a slightly different takeaway. In Ottawa, Guy Boucher’s militant adherence to “The System” means a lot of defensive-minded forwards see ice time. Regardless of how you feel about Boucher’s philosophy, one point not in dispute is that such a theory is going to stunt offence somewhere in the lineup. Combine a bunch of checking forwards with a lot of minutes not playing with Karlsson and you have a bottom-six forward group that’s never going to score a swath of goals.

Montreal’s situation is more complicated. Their most talented player in the group, Galchenyuk, is a guy they have tried to trade. Their younger players have been struck by the goal-scoring epidemic that seemingly plagues every Habs forward these days. And even low-risk, high- reward buys like Ales Hemsky haven’t panned out.

The most frustrating situations are in Calgary and Edmonton. The Flames have been rolling the dice on a series of youngsters, with limited success. Curtis Lazar's career goals-per-season average is still under six, and we're probably approaching the point where the organization considers moving on. Sam Bennett is an established NHLer, but he's never scored at the rate a fourth-overall pick would deserve. And the rest of the guys – Troy Brouwer, Jaromir Jagr, , and Matt Stajan – have all seen their best years pass.

In Edmonton, it’s a worst-case scenario. Ryan Strome and Zack Kassian have provided limited firepower, and their list of fringe AHL/NHL talents haven’t been able to get a footing either. Mark Letestu has actually found the net this year, but his markers are all on the power play.

And then there is Winnipeg. Keep in mind the Jets had one of the league’s more prolific offences last season, finishing sixth in total goals. So it’s not like their team is starving for talent. The young players in the top half of their lineup have carried their weight – Nikolaj Ehlers and Patrik Laine, for example, have a combined for 10 goals. But the depth issues in Winnipeg were real last season and they appear real again. The team is extremely top-heavy and will be reliant on their big guns to carry much of the scoring load. It’s saying something when journeyman checking-line forward Shawn Matthias could be your bottom six’s best bet to find the net.

This is going to be an interesting story to track as the regular season progresses. Most of these teams have playoff aspirations, and a couple of teams’ dreams go well beyond that. But in a modern era where goal scoring is at a premium, teams really can’t incur the risk of running out such ineffective units over a long period of time.

To that end, one has to wonder if a lot of the trade block focus – especially for these five groups – will be on finding another talented attacker.

NHL.com https://www.nhl.com/news/winnipeg-jets-pittsburgh-penguins-game-recap/c-292318890

Kessel scores 300th NHL goal to send Penguins past Jets in OT Murray makes 30 saves for seventh straight win by Wes Crosby / NHL.com Correspondent

PITTSBURGH -- Phil Kessel said he got lucky Thursday when he scored 1:07 into overtime to give the Pittsburgh Penguins a 2-1 win against the Winnipeg Jets at PPG Paints Arena.

It's difficult to luck into 300 NHL goals, though.

Kessel scored on a breakaway to reach the milestone in his 843rd game. It was his second overtime goal in the past two games. He is the 18th United States-born player in NHL history to score 300 goals and is one of two active Americans to have reached that mark, joining Minnesota Wild forward Zach Parise.

"I've played a decent amount of games in this league," Kessel said. "It's nice to get 300 goals and I'm just happy to help my team win."

The Penguins were tied 1-1 with the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday before Kessel scored 42 seconds into overtime. His four goals have him one shy of the Penguins lead behind Sidney Crosby.

"Sometimes you get lucky," Kessel said. "I'm fortunate to get them in."

Penguins coach Mike Sullivan gave Kessel a bit more credit.

"He can win it and he's shown that," Sullivan said. "He has a knack to score big goals at key times."

Matt Murray, who made 30 saves for the Penguins, has won seven straight starts since allowing 11 goals on 65 shots in his first two games this season. He has allowed one goal each of his past two starts.

Connor Hellebuyck was left frustrated with his inability to stop Kessel's last shot despite making 34 saves for Winnipeg (4-3-1).

"I have to have that save in overtime. I don't know what I'm thinking," Hellebuyck said. "I almost read it too well. I knew he was going to go five-hole. I'm thinking I'll kick it out, but that's not goaltending. I need to just drop to my butterfly and just make the save like I've been working on all summer, just getting that quick butterfly. So, I overthought it."

Pittsburgh (7-3-1) has won 17 straight home games against the Jets/Atlanta Thrashers franchise since March 24, 2007. The Penguins are 7-2-0 in their past nine games after beginning the season 0-1-1.

Conor Sheary gave Pittsburgh a 1-0 lead 1:25 into the first period. He entered the Winnipeg zone with Jake Guentzel, who carried the puck through the neutral zone. Guentzel slipped a pass through Tyler Myers that Sheary tipped through Hellebuyck's five-hole for his fifth goal of the season.

Penguins defenseman Kris Letang inadvertently helped erase that lead when Josh Morrissey tied it 1-1 at 9:26 of the first. Bryan Little won a faceoff back to Morrissey, who sent a wrist shot past Bryan Rust and Riley Sheahan before Letang tipped it past Murray and into the right corner of the net.

The Jets came close to taking the lead twice late in the second period.

Tyler Myers had the first chance when he skated toward Murray and deked left to right, but he was denied by Murray's toe save with 2:50 remaining in the second period. Murray then made a stick save on a Patrik Laine one-timer from just outside the crease 32 seconds later.

Goal of the game Kessel intercepted a pass from Laine intended for Myers in the slot before racing the length of the ice on a breakaway. He finished it by shooting through Hellebuyck's five-hole.

Save of the game Laine nearly put the Jets ahead 2-1 when Nikolaj Ehlers backhanded a pass by Letang through the Penguins crease. Laine sent a point-blank one-timer on net, but Murray pushed back to his right to make a stick save with 2:18 remaining in the second period.

Highlight of the game Crosby had a chance to give Pittsburgh a 2-1 lead late in the second period when he went on a 2-on-1 with Guentzel facing Ehlers. Crosby elected to keep the puck and had his wrist shot turned away by Hellebuyck with 5:53 remaining in the period.

They said it "These guys have a target on their back here in Pittsburgh all season so we came in and took a point from them. We had a chance to take two. Didn't work out. Now we go to play another great team in Columbus tomorrow, so we have to come out with the same mentality and same detail." -- Jets forward Matt Hendricks

"I'm just trying to improve every night and feel a little bit better each and every night. I think I've been doing that." -- Penguins goalie Matt Murray

Need to know Hendricks returned from a lower-body injury to make his season debut, and defenseman Dmitry Kulikov returned from a lower-body injury after missing two games. Hendricks, who won 70 percent of his face-offs, and Kulikov each had three blocks. … Kessel is the second player in Penguins history to score an overtime goal in consecutive games, joining forward Aleksey Morozov (2003-04). ... Defenseman Zach Trotman made his Pittsburgh debut in place of defenseman Justin Schultz, who was placed on injured reserve with a concussion. Trotman had two shots in 12:09.

What's next Jets: At the Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday (7 p.m. ET; FS-O, TSN3, NHL.TV) Penguins: At the Minnesota Wild on Saturday (8 p.m. ET; FS-N, ATTSN-PT, NHL.TV)

Hockey News http://www.thehockeynews.com/news/article/ehlers-takes-his-best-shot-and-it-s-paying-off- early-for-the-jets

EHLERS TAKES HIS BEST SHOT – AND IT'S PAYING OFF EARLY FOR THE JETS

By: Jared Clinton

Nikolaj Ehlers is off to the fastest start of his young career and he's got his mind set on making sure it continues.

There was a stretch last season when it seemed as though no matter what Nikolaj Ehlers tried, he couldn’t light the lamp. He was getting stopped on breakaways, stymied on one-timers, shut down by keepers and pinging pucks off the post. The result was a 15-game goal drought, one that spanned from mid-November until early December and saw Ehlers stick-smashingly frustrated.

Of course, as these things often go for players who are far too talented to stay out of the goal column for that long, things started to snowball for Ehlers once he finally lit the lamp again. From Dec. 10 onwards, Ehlers tied for 22nd in the league with 21 tallies and his 41 points put him into a tie for 50th among all skaters over the four-month span. The result was a career-best finish in both goals, 25, and points, 64, totals that were good enough for fourth- and third-best finishes, respectively, among his Winnipeg Jets teammates. And Ehlers, who’s fresh off of signing a seven-year, $42-million extension, had a plan to make sure he kept that going and didn’t have to endure another similar slowdown this time around.

“I definitely worked on (my shot) this summer,” Ehlers said. “Right now, I wouldn’t say it’s luck, but it’s going my way. The shots are going in.”

No kidding.

For those who haven’t been paying attention, it may come as a surprise that Ehlers, not Patrik Laine or Mark Scheifele or Blake Wheeler, is leading Winnipeg in scoring through the early part of the season with six goals and eight points. And much of that came during the second week of the NHL campaign when Ehlers, on the strength of a hat trick, the second of his career, and a three-game scoring streak helped propel the Jets to three straight wins.

A dissection of Ehlers’ numbers through the Jets’ first handful of games seems to suggest that his scoring pace is going to have to slow at some point, though. One would have to assume that simply by virtue of his bloated 23.1-percent shooting percentage, which is almost double his rate from last season. But even if — or, more likely, when — Ehlers’ shooting percentage dips back down, chances are he’s still going to be in line to set another career high in goals. Not merely because of the hot start, mind you, but because Ehlers has made a point of shooting more this season.

That’s not to say Ehlers has been a Joe Thornton-esque pass-first type, but he’s certainly been more deferential in the past. Take his rookie campaign, when he scored 15 goals. That season, Ehlers was 109th in the league with 2.32 shots on goal per game. As a sophomore, Ehlers bumped that up to 2.49 shots per game, good for 83rd in the league. This time around, though, he’s at 3.71 shots per outing, putting Ehlers in the same territory as Laine, Nikita Kucherov and Vladimir Tarasenko. If he maintains that rate, Ehlers would be on pace 300 shots, and if his shooting percentage dips to last season’s percentage, he’s looking at the first 30-goal campaign of his career.

Ehlers’ focus isn’t solely on becoming an even greater offensive threat, however. He wants to become a complete player, a player the Jets can rely on in all situations. “That’s what I want. That’s what I’m working for,” Ehlers said. “I’ve been taking some big steps the past couple of years.”

It hasn’t gone unnoticed, either. During training camp, Winnipeg coach Paul Maurice said he was surprised by Ehlers’ development from last season to the start of this campaign, adding it was the most impressive among the Jets’ forwards. “It’s not the goals and the assists, it’s the ability to put him on the ice and not have him be somebody the center has to take care of out there,” Maurice said in September. “It changes what we can do.”

Getting to this point has been a process for Ehlers, though, and improving further means leaning on teammates and learning how to take that next step from veteran players. Playing with Scheifele and Wheeler, Ehlers said, has helped him take steps in the right direction, and skating alongside Bryan Little in the early part of this campaign has given Ehlers the opportunity to learn from someone who “knows how to play every single game.”

You won’t find Ehlers sitting back and enjoying the fruits of his labor through the early season, however. He knows there’s more room to grow, he wants more out of his own game. And Ehlers knows how to get there.

“It’s going back to working every single day, working on everything,” Ehlers said. “Not just your speed or your stickhandling or your shot, it’s about working on every single thing every single day to become a better player. That’s what I’m doing.”

The Athletic https://theathletic.com/139207/2017/10/27/the-penguins-are-starting-to-play-the-right-way/

The Penguins are starting to play ‘the right way'

By Seth Rorabaugh

When the Winnipeg Jets land in Pittsburgh, it usually mean goals. Lots of them.

At least for the Penguins.

Through their first 59 games against the Jet/Thrashers franchise, the Penguins averaged 3.83 goals per game over 17 seasons. Only the Canucks (3.96) have surrendered more goals per contest to the Penguins.

As the two teams squared off at PPG Paints Arena Thursday, it seemed safe to assume the 60th encounter between these foes would once again offer more fireworks.

Instead, the Penguins would follow a more recent trend of patient, disciplined and low-scoring hockey as they carved out a tidy 2-1 overtime victory. It was their second consecutive win by such a score following Tuesday's home victory against the Oilers and put further distance between them and a series of high-scoring, chance-for- chance games in New York and the state of Florida, including Saturday's ugly display in Tampa which saw them get surrender a touchdown in a 7-1 blowout loss to the Lightning.

Are the Penguins beginning the play “the right way” as Mike Sullivan tends to implore?

“I think so, yeah,” said Matt Murray. “To an extent, for sure. We're taking strides in the right direction there I think. We're getting our chances but we're not cheating to do so which I think is really important. We're not giving the other team much. Yeah, I'd say it's a step in the right direction for sure.”

“I think we've been a lot more committed in the (defensive) zone,” Ryan Reaves said. “We're working from the (defensive) zone out and when you do that, the offensive zone is going to take care of itself.”

Despite the tight score, it wouldn't be accurate to describe this as a late-1990s Devils trapping festival capable of inducing narcolepsy. The Penguins did surrender 31 shots. Beyond that, the number of high caliber scoring chances the Jets were allowed wasn't exactly to Sullivan's liking. Still, he likes how his team played, warts included.

“We're cutting down the number of scoring chances that we're giving up,” Sullivan said. “A few of them are still a little bit of the higher quality that we'd like to avoid. But part of it is the game and I understand that. I do believe that we're making progress and we're moving in the right direction as far as our play away from the puck and being a little more difficult to play against.”

Of course, on those occasions the opposition does pose a serious threat to score, it is helpful when your goaltender is tuned in.

“It's hard to win in this league if you don't get a timely save and Matt does that for us consistently,” Sullivan said. “He's a big reason why we've won in these close games the last couple of games. He's made those timely saves for us that give our guys an opportunity to stay in the game.”

“I think the right way is a good (phrase),” said Conor Sheary. “I think we're playing a little bit harder and a little bit smarter. I think we're taking care of our (defensive) zone a little bit more and (Murray) has been playing pretty good and making big saves at big moments for us and that's a big help too.”

The Penguins are still an unfinished project in need of some refinement, particularly with two of their regular defensemen – and Justin Schultz – sidelined due to concussions. They likely will remain that way until the late stages of the regular season. But over the past two games, they've shown signs of progress after a playing loose and even undisciplined at times during the first three weeks of the season.

One could even say they are playing the right way.

“We've played two low-scoring games but we still give up chances,” Phil Kessel said. “We can always get better but if you win 2-1, it's a pretty tight game out there.”

Kessel wins it again in overtime

Thursday's victory improved the Penguins' to 3-1 in overtime contests this season. After dropping the season opener at home against the Blues on Oct. 5, the Penguins have pulled off overtime victories against the Rangers on Oct 17, Oilers on Tuesday and Thursday versus the Jets.

Kessel was involved in all three instances. At New York, he stole a puck from Rangers defenseman Ryan McDonagh near the opposing net and set up Evgeni Malkin for a goal. Against Edmonton, he scored on a two-on-one rush off a pass by Malkin.

On Thursday, he did it all by himself.

Stealing a puck from Jets right winger Patrik Laine in the Penguins' left circle, Kessel pushed the puck up ice, pulled away from Laine – a competitor in last season's fastest skater competition during the All-Star weekend – and attacked the Jets' net. Approaching the crease, Kessel snapped a wrister from between the hashmarks and through goaltender Connor Hellebuyck's five hole for the game-winning score at the 1:07 mark of the period.

“I don't mind playing three-on-three (overtime periods),” Kessel said. “There's a lot of ice. You know you're going to get chances. I've just been fortunate the last few nights.”

While he isn't routinely cited as an example of peak conditioning, Kessel's contributions this season have not been an accident.

“He has a knack to score big goals at key times,” Sullivan said. “You know what was impressive about the goal tonight? He was at a dead stop when he picked that pass off and he created separation from a dead stop to enough separation to be able to get (a) really good shot off. I think that's really a testament to Phil's work ethic though out the course of training camp. Phil is in as good of shape as he's been since he's been a Penguin right now. “That's really a credit to him to be able to create that separation. And I think it's really an indication of number one his fitness but also his skating ability. He can really skate. And overtimes tend to lend those types of opportunities where you get some ice to play on out there. He can be dangerous and he's certainly shown that for us in this part of the season.”

Sheary and Guentzel start quickly

While neither team threatened any single-game scoring records with the low offensive output, this contest started off as if it would be another typical Penguins-Jets offensive exposition.

The Penguins scored the game's first goal only 1:25 into regulation. Working a puck up the left wing, Jake Guentzel created a two-on-two rush along with Sheary against Jets defensemen Tyler Myers and Dmitry Kulikov. Facing nominal pressure from Myers, Guentzel sent a pass through his skates towards the slot. Sheary darted by Kulikov and tipped the pass with his backhand through Hellebuyck's five hole for his fifth goal of the season.

“I saw it was a two-on-two rush so I tried to just kind of beat my defenseman into the inside,” Sheary said. “I knew Jake would put it into an area for me to get it and I just tried to deflect it on net and it went in for me.”

The disparity in size between the two sets of opposing players was striking. Sheary (5-foot-8, 175 pounds) and Guentzel (5-foot-11, 180 pounds) clearly used their speed to their advantage against the robust Myers (6-foot-8, 229 pounds) and Kulikov (6-foot-1, 204 pounds).

“I don't think this group of players is ever intimidated by size or aggression,” Sullivan said. “We try to use teams' aggression against them. That's been kind of our mantra here for the last long while if teams are going to try to play a heavy game against us. … The most important this is is that we don't get caught up in trying to play someone else's game.”

Statistically speaking -The Penguins led in shots, 36-31. -Kessel led the game with nine shots. -Right winger Blake Wheeler led the Jets with four shots. -Kris Letang led the game with 30:12 of ice time on 30 shifts. -Wheeler led the Jets with 24:40 of ice time on 28 shifts. -The Penguins controlled faceoffs, 36-27 (57 percent). -Crosby was 15 for 22 (68 percent). -Jets center Matt Hendricks was 7 for 10 (70 percent). -Jets defenseman Jacob Trouba led the game with four blocked shots. -Riley Sheahan and Ian Cole each led the Penguins with three blocked shots. Historically speaking -Kessel's score was his 300th career goal. -Kessel became the second player in franchise history to score overtime goals in back-to-back games. The other was right winger Aleksey Morozov March 19 and 21, 2001. Morozov scored in home wins of identical 4-3 scores against the Hurricanes and Rangers. -The Penguins' last overtime goal against the Jets was scored by Sidney Crosby Feb. 16 last season: -Crosby also scored his 1,000th career point earlier in that contest. -Zach Trotman made his Penguins debut. He logged 12:09 of ice time on 17 shifts and recorded two shots on net. -Trotman became the first native of Indiana to play a game for the Penguins. -The Penguins have won 17 consecutive home games against the Jets-Thrashers franchise dating to March 24, 2007. -For what it's worth, the record for longest home winning streak against one opponent is owned by the Ducks. They defeated the Flames in 22 consecutive games at home. That streak was recently broken Oct. 9. It had started Jan. 19, 2004. -The last time the Jets-Thrashers won a game in Pittsburgh was Dec. 27, 2006. The Thrashers won, 4-2, at the Civic Arena thanks to goals from defenseman Vitaly Vishnevski, Niclas Havelid, left winger Vyacheslav Kozlov and center Bobby Holik. The Penguins got goals from center Erik Christensen and defenseman Ryan Whitney.

TSN 1290 (AUDIO LINKS) http://www.tsn.ca/radio/winnipeg-1290/kelly-poor-penalty-killing-continues-to-hurt-the-jets- 1.897134

Kelly: Poor penalty killing continues to hurt the Jets

NHL analyst Mike Kelly discusses the Winnipeg Jets start to the season, Edmonton's struggles early on, if Montreal has begun to turn their season around and if Vegas can keep up their hot start. . http://www.tsn.ca/radio/winnipeg-1290/yost-bottom-sixes-having-problems-north-of-the-border- 1.897270

Yost: Bottom sixes having problems north of the border

Travis Yost joins the Afternoon Ride to discuss the problems depth forwards on Canadian teams are having with scoring. Yost also discusses how an improved Winnipeg Jets defence could lead to a playoff run despite early stumbles from their bottom-six. www.winnipegjets.com https://www.nhl.com/jets/news/hellebuyck-brilliant-but-jets-fall-to-pens-in-overtime/c-292319450

Hellebuyck brilliant, but Jets fall to Pens in overtime Morrissey scores Winnipeg's lone goal; Kessel scores OT winner for Pittsburgh by Ryan Dittrick @ryandittrick / WinnipegJets.com

Sure, the Winnipeg Jets leave PPG Paints Arena with only one of the two points they came for, but they can certainly be proud of the effort and the way they handled the two-time defending Cup champs in their own barn.

"We grinded hard," Jets captain Blake Wheeler said following a 2-1 OT loss to the Penguins on Thursday. "They were able to make one extra play that we weren't able to make. You've got to love the mindset, though. We battled hard. the penalty kill was huge tonight and (Connor Hellebuyck) was awesome. There are lots of positives to draw on going into tomorrow."

In overtime, Phil Kessel picked off a Patrik Laine's cross-ice pass attempt just inside the offensive blue line and took it back the other way on a breakaway. With Laine in chase, Kessel rifled a shot five-hole to record his fourth of the year and his second OT winner in as many games.

It was Kessel's 300th career goal -- 53 of which have come with the Penguins.

With the OT defeat, the Jets fall to 4-3-1 on the year, but will look to get back in the win column on Friday as they make a stop in Columbus to finish up a two-game road trip.

"I've got to have that save in overtime. I don't know what I was thinking," said Hellebuyck, who had a magnificent night in goal, stopping 34 overall.

"I almost read it too well. I knew he was going five-hole and I thought I could kick it out, but that's not goaltending. I need to just drop in my butterfly and make the save like I'd been doing all summer."

"We want to be very careful with those lateral passes in overtime," added Head Coach Paul Maurice, who didn't fault his goaltender one bit. "Part of 3-on-3 is making a better decision with that puck, but also not being in a position to force it. (Laine) has to make a better decision, but we've got to move around him better, too."

It was a thrilling, back-and-forth physical affair and shots favoured the Penguins 35-31 after regulation.

Conor Sheary opened the scoring for the Penguins only 1:25 into the first period. Jake Guentzel threaded a pass from the far side past Tyler Myers and onto the stick of Sheary driving the middle. The winger's backhand redirect beat Hellebuyck five-hole, putting him into tie with Sidney Crosby for the team lead in goals with five.

"We weren't as crisp and as detailed as we needed to be early, but that was a heck of a play," said Matt Hendricks, who played 8:57 and won 70 per cent of his faceoffs in his Jets debut. "I loved our response. We didn't go into panic mode and try to score next shift. We got our game plan and dug, and dug, and dug."

Soon, the Jets found their legs after a rare, five-day break between games, and after closing the gap on the shot clock, they leveled the score with a devious one at 9:26. After Bryan Little won the offensive-zone faceoff clean back to the point, Josh Morrissey floated one through and got a friendly tip off the stick of Kris Letang, beating Pittsburgh goalie Matt Murray high over the glove.

At the other end, Hellebuyck kept it a 1-1 game with a couple of key stops down the stretch, including a beautiful glove save off the five-time 30-goal scorer, Phil Kessel, with 6:45 to play.

Shots on goal favoured the home side 11-10, but it was a good road period for the Jets after a long layoff.

The Jets nearly took a 2-1 lead midway through the second when Patrik Laine made a gorgeous diagonal feed to a streaking Nikolaj Ehlers in tight, but Murray came up with a world-class blocker save to keep the game knotted at one.

Kyle Connor, meanwhile, was a beast for the Jets all night, playing more than 18 minutes and getting involved on a number of high-quality scoring chances and just didn't go.

As he has been in each of his last seven starts, Murray has been at the top of his game.

"We go to play another great team in Columbus (on Friday)," Hendricks said. "If we come out with the same mentality and the same detailed game tomorrow night, I think we're going to have some success."

- Ryan Dittrick, WinnipegJets.com https://www.nhl.com/jets/video/post-game--jetstv-road-report/t-277437442/c-53914303

POST GAME | JetsTV Road Report

JetsTV's Jamie Thomas breaks down Winnipeg's 2-1 OT loss to Pittsburgh https://www.nhl.com/jets/video/post-game--paul-maurice/t-277437442/c-53912603

POST GAME | Paul Maurice

Head coach Paul Maurice spoke to the media following a 2-1 OT loss to the Penguins https://www.nhl.com/jets/video/post-game--matt-hendricks/t-277437442/c-53912003

POST GAME | Matt Hendricks

Jet forward Matt Hendricks spoke to the media following his first regular season game with Winnipeg https://www.nhl.com/jets/video/post-game--connor-hellebuyck/t-277437442/c-53912103

POST GAME | Connor Hellebuyck

Jets netminder Connor Hellebuyck on his team's game tonight in Pittsburgh https://www.nhl.com/jets/video/post-game--blake-wheeler/t-277437442/c-53911603

POST GAME | Blake Wheeler

Captain Blake Wheeler breaks down tonight's 2-1 OT loss in Pittsburgh