Jets Slap Leash on Desert Dogs Scheifele Scores No. 100, Mason a Rock in Net
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Winnipeg Free Press https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/hockey/jets/jets-slap-leash-on-desert-dogs- 456955103.html Jets slap leash on desert dogs Scheifele scores No. 100, Mason a rock in net By: Mike McIntyre GLENDALE, Arizona — Steve Mason showed up from the start. The rest of the Winnipeg Jets, not so much. However, the team’s prize free-agent signing of the summer held down the crease long enough for his teammates to find enough fuel in their tank to fly home with a victory. Mason stopped 29 of 30 shots Saturday night as the Jets rallied for a 4-1 victory over the Arizona Coyotes at Gila River Arena. It’s the first win in a Winnipeg uniform for Mason, who got off to a bumpy start with his new team and then saw Connor Hellebuyck emerge as the No. 1 netminder. Mark Scheifele’s 100th goal of his career early in the third-period proved to be the difference, breaking a tie and putting the Jets ahead to stay. They improve to 9-4-3 on the season, including 2-1-0 on this road trip that began with a 4-1 win in Dallas Monday followed by a 5-2 defeat in Las Vegas Friday. Arizona has struggled mightily this year, off to a league-worst 2-14-3 start. But they certainly looked like the stronger team through the first two periods Saturday. Or at least the one with the fresher legs. The Coyotes threatened early in the opening frame, getting a couple good looks on a power play courtesy of a Blake Wheeler slashing penalty. But Mason stood tall to keep it scoreless. Scheifele had the first real chance for the Jets, breaking free on a partial breakaway about eight minutes into the game but was turned away by Arizona’s Antti Raanta. Winnipeg’s top line of Scheifele, Wheeler and Kyle Connor, which had a terrible game during Friday’s Las Vegas defeat, got caught on the ice for a two minute and six second shift later in the period but managed to survive unscathed. But the Jets continued to be a mess in their own end. You could feel it coming, and Arizona finally broke through with just over five minutes left in the period. Adam Lowry turned the puck over, and the Jets slid and flopped around before Rinaldo eventually deflected a shot past Mason. Despite only having two wins on the year, Arizona has now scored the opening goal 13 times in their 19 games, which is tops in the league. There was a scary moment in the period, as Josh Morrissey got tangled up with Arizona’s Christian Fischer. The Coyotes winger crashed face-first into the boards behind Winnipeg’s net. He was down for a few moments and cut on the play, but later returned to the game apparently none the worse for wear. Winnipeg didn’t look any sharper in the second and found themselves having to kill another couple penalties, to Lowry and then Jacob Trouba, that were again the result of positional breakdowns. The Jets finally got on the board just over 13 minutes into the middle frame, courtesy of a major break. Matt Hendricks was the beneficiary of a bad Arizona turnover, and the veteran centre’s shot from the slot hit one, possibly two Coyotes and wobbled its way past Raanta. It’s the first goal of the season for Hendricks, and it seemed to give the Jets some life. Connor nearly put his team ahead moments later, tipping a feed from Wheeler that Raanta stopped. Then came the breakthrough in the third period. With the Jets on the power play, Dustin Byfuglien made a fantastic play at the Arizona blue line, lunging at a puck to keep it from exiting the zone. The Jets then turned that around, with Patrik Laine feeding Wheeler who sauced it to Scheifele for his milestone goal. Scheifele then made a terrific pass to Connor a few minutes later, threading the puck through three Arizona defenders from behind the net. Connor buried it from the slot for his fourth of the season. Laine then sealed the deal with a no-look backhand shot from centre ice into an empty net with 16 seconds left in the game. It’s Laine’s ninth of the season, and the fifth straight game he’s scored. Saturday’s win may have come at a cost. Tyler Myers went down near the midway point of the third period after appearing to twist his leg during a scramble around the net. He was in considerable pain and had to be helped off by trainers, going directly to the dressing room. He did return to the bench late in the period and took a spin on the ice during a commercial break. Josh Morrissey was good to go Saturday, despite leaving the game against the Golden Knights midway through the third period after blocking a shot. There were no other lineup changes, meaning Brendan Lemieux, Marko Dano and Ben Chiarot were all healthy scratches. Winnipeg now returns home and will kick-off off three straight games at Bell MTS Place when they host the very same Coyotes on Tuesday night. Winnipeg Sun http://winnipegsun.com/sports/hockey/scheifele-wheeler-lead-way-in-jets-comeback-road-trip- finishes-with-four-of-six-points Scheifele, Wheeler lead way in Jets comeback: Road trip finishes with four of six points By Ken Wiebe GLENDALE — Nobody was more disappointed about a rare off night than Blake Wheeler and Mark Scheifele. And after carrying the offensive load for a good chunk of this season, it was not a surprise to see the dynamic duo combine to produce the go-ahead goal and eventual game-winner in the Winnipeg Jets’ 4-1 victory over the Arizona Coyotes on Saturday at Gila River Arena. Jets defenceman Dustin Byfuglien — who also struggled in Friday’s 5-2 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights — didn’t get a point on the goal by Scheifele, but the goal doesn’t happen without him keeping the puck in at the blue line. Byfuglien’s deft play led to Wheeler finding Scheifele for his 100th NHL goal in his 322nd game. Scheifele wasn’t done there, finding Kyle Connor in the slot for a one-timer that gave the Jets a bit of breathing room. For the majority of the games this season, the Jets top line — and specifically Wheeler and Scheifele — have not only carried the mail offensively, they’ve also set their pace with their hard work and determination. “All three of our captains had great bounce-back games,” said Jets head coach Paul Maurice. “They were the guys that you have such a high level of expectation for their play. Those guys didn’t score and they got scored against, so they need to come back and play the way they did tonight. And they did.” The Jets, who finished the road trip with four of a possible six points, improved to 9-4-3 on the season and are back in action on Tuesday, when they face the Coyotes in a rematch to open a three-game homestand at Bell MTS Place. One of the common threads in the outright losses the Jets have suffered since the 0-2 start was an inability to use the surplus of speed to their advantage. In fact, the losses to the Columbus Blue Jackets and Golden Knights saw the Jets get both out- skated and out-worked — which is generally a poor combination. Off nights are going to happen over the course of an 82-schedule, that’s a harsh reality. “No matter how good a team you are, you’re going to have games like that. The key is how are you going to come back from that,” Wheeler said. “That’s the biggest growth from our team. You got rid of the bad ones and come ready to play the next game.” For the second time in as many days, the Jets gave up the first goal of the contest. During a goalmouth scramble, Derek Stepan found defenceman Alex Goligoski in front and his shot caromed in off Zac Rinaldo at 14:33 of the first period. Although the Jets had a bit more jump than they showed against the Golden Knights, they didn’t really have their skating legs and were unable to generate much offensively — directing only 10 shots on goal through more than 33 minutes of play. But the Jets caught a break at 14:04 of the second period when fourth-line centre Matt Hendricks found a puck in the slot and his shot changed direction off the stick of Coyotes forward Brendan Perlini and fooled goalie Antti Raanta. It was a rare goal from the fourth line and the first of the season for Hendricks. “It was good timing in terms of scoring it,” said Hendricks. Jets sniper Patrik Laine put the game on ice by scoring an empty-netter with 16.5 seconds to go. It was the ninth goal of the season and gave him a goal in each of the past five games. Jets goalie Steve Mason was making his first start in seven games and put forth a solid effort, finishing with 29 saves as he recorded his first victory of the season in his sixth appearance and fifth start. “You know what, when you don’t play a lot, sometimes it’s tough to keep that motivation but I’ve been doing a pretty good job of staying positive and having fun with the guys,” said Mason.