Winnipeg Free Press https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/hockey/jets/secondary-scoring-power-play-help-jets- overwhelm-canucks-in-5-1-win-463536243.html

Secondary scoring, power play help Jets overwhelm Canucks in 5-1 win

By: Mike McIntyre

He may not be playing much these days, relegated to fourth-line duty because a wealth of high- end talent is crowding things at the top. But Mathieu Perreault continues to make an impact regardless of how much ice time he gets.

Take Monday night as Exhibit A. Held to barely three minutes of action in the opening period — the lowest among all 18 Jets skaters at that — Perreault still managed to end up being the difference-maker as Winnipeg beat the Canucks 5-1 at Bell MTS Place.

Perreault scored the game-winning early in the second, set up an insurance tally a few minutes later and capped off his night with another goal in the final minute — the 100th of his NHL career — as the Jets snapped a three-game winless skid and improved to 18-8-5. And he did it while playing less than 12 minutes on the night, second-fewest on the team next to Matt Hendricks.

"That road trip wasn't good for us, but we've already forgot about it. (Monday) we came out to play a solid game and we did that," said Perreault.

Head coach said following the game the usage of Perreault is both a non-issue and a good problem to have for his team right now.

"I’m not worried about Matty’s minutes. Like he’s going to get enough. He would be at his highest point-per-game production in his career, I would assume. He’s close to a point a game. And he’s able to play with some players that he can create some offence with. So I don’t spend a lot of time worried about those minutes. He’s been impactful and that’s what’s important," said Maurice. "You can play maybe down a role or down minutes if you’re playing on a hot power- play unit. You can stay comfortable and confident, you’re putting up points, you feel like you’re earning your pay. And he’s gonna get out more times than not against players that probably aren’t used to playing against a player like Matty."

Winnipeg was looking for a quick start Monday after last week's rough ride through Detroit, Florida and Tampa, and they certainly got it as defenceman Dmitry Kulikov's seemingly harmless wrist found its way through the pads of Vancouver goalie Jacob Markstrom just 1:28 into the game.

But the early goal didn't appear to generate any momentum, as the Canucks carried the majority of play through the opening 20 minutes. Vancouver tied it up just more than five minutes later following some sloppy play by the Jets in their own end. Patrik Laine whiffed on two clearing attempts, and made a costly giveaway the Canucks capitalized on.

Twins Henrik and Daniel Sedin cycled the puck, then dished it to rookie sensation Brock Boeser, who ripped home a shot from the slot for his team-leading 16th goal. The former University of North Dakota star is making the transition to the pro game look pretty easy these days.

Winnipeg was held to just four shots in the opening frame, including one in the final 13:04 of play.

"You come to the rink hopeful every day and optimistic, but those are the games you’re worried about, especially with that schedule, coming back off the east," Maurice said of the start. His fears were compounded when captain Blake Wheeler was sick all day along, and other players showed symptoms as well.

"We had some guys with not a lot in the tank. So no part of our game was easy. What is difficult to do is what they did, they got better in the second period. We survived the first. There are times in the you need to survive, and we did that, and then got better and stronger," said Maurice. "So I’m not necessarily keeping the video for structure or for things like that, but that’s a darn good NHL win."

The second period was indeed a different story — thanks mainly to Perreault. After some good pressure on the power play, Joel Armia made a nice pass to Perreault, who buried the feed just as Sam Gagner was stepping out of the box.

Perreault showed no signs of slowing down after the goal. On his next shift, he picked the pocket of a Canucks defender and earned himself a partial breakaway that he couldn't convert on.

With Vancouver in trouble again a few minutes later, a patient Perreault set up blue-liner Tyler Myers for a booming slapper that was kicked out by Markstrom — right on to the stick of Ehlers, who converted the juicy rebound. It was yet another goal for the league's fourth-best power play.

Andrew Copp and Adam Lowry set up the fourth goal midway through the third, showing off some nifty passing that ended with defenceman Josh Morrissey scoring on a three-on-one rush.

Perreault then iced the victory in the final minute of play, tipping in a Hendricks shot off a Markstrom giveaway.

"It's definitely a good one. It's kind of a reaction play. It was going in his empty net and I just got my stick on it. I could have tipped it out of the way, so lucky enough it went in," Perreault said of the milestone goal. He got the puck from Hendricks as a souvenir.

Connor Hellebuyck stopped 25 shots to improve to 16-3-4.

The Canucks (14-13-4) have dropped three straight games as they deal with injury issues. , their second-leading scorer, and Sven Baertschi, their third-leading scorer, are out of the lineup. The Jets continue to enjoy home cooking, having won seven straight games at home and going 10-0-1 in their last 11.

"Coming home and playing in front of this crowd every night is pretty amazing. Seeing it now with three games away with three losses, we needed the extra energy and the crowd gave us a boost. We came with the right mindset in the second and third period and we're pretty happy with that," said Ehlers.

Winnipeg will now enjoy two days without a game for the first time in a month, as Monday wrapped up a gruelling stretch of 15 games in 28 days. They went 9-4-2 over that period.

The Jets return to action on Thursday night when they host the division-rival . https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/hockey/jets/diving-in-at-every-opportunity- 463563933.html

Diving in at every opportunity Rookie Poolman back in Jets lineup after Byfuglien injury

By: Mike McIntyre

Tucker Poolman had been chomping at the bit to get back into an NHL game. His coach was hoping to find a way to make it happen. Just not like this.

Poolman was back on the ’ blue line Monday night for the first time in almost two months, the result of an injury to Dustin Byfuglien that is expected to keep the star defencemen out at least two weeks. Byfuglien left Saturday’s game in Tampa in the third period and never returned. The exact nature of his ailment hasn’t been disclosed.

"It’s the way it is. That’s the way this always happens. Somebody gets nicked up and you get your chance," Jets head coach Paul Maurice said Monday. "Lower body. Week-to-week. Some time just after Christmas is what we’re shooting for."

It’s a big loss to a defensive corps already missing Toby Enstrom, who has been out for three weeks and is expected to miss at least five more. Byfuglien has no goals in 28 games this season despite scoring 70 over the past four seasons with the Jets.

But he has chipped in with 15 assists and is a big part of a power play that currently ranks fourth in the NHL.

He also leads the Jets in ice time.

"A real physicality, too. He’s really brought that part of his game. He’s worked real hard this year of not being in on every rush. That’s a challenge for him. He’s scaled that back, so I think that’s why his goal numbers are where they’re at," Maurice said. "That’s a big-minute guy that moves the puck, creates a lot of offence with some of those passes. So yeah, there’s a big hole."

Poolman, 24, will attempt to help fill it while the other five defencemen — Jacob Trouba, Josh Morrissey, Tyler Myers, Dmitry Kulikov and Ben Chiarot — are likely to see big jumps in their ice time.

"The other guys on the blue line, every one of them has been looking for a few more minutes. They’ve all felt that window of 22-25 is where their game will excel. So we’ve got lots of guys excited about the chance to play," Maurice said of the depth he believes will allow his squad to whether the storm.

One player who will definitely play a bigger role is Trouba, who took Byfuglien’s spot on the No. 1 power-play unit.

"Now he gets a chance with what a lot of people consider the A unit. It’s something he’s always wanted. Again, with these injuries there’s three or four guys, maybe five guys on our blue line looking at this as a real good chance to show what they can do," Maurice said.

Poolman appeared in his first three NHL games in early October, then played seven with the Manitoba Moose after being sent down for some seasoning.

The rookie was recalled by the team after Enstrom got hurt, but Monday marked his first game action in more than three weeks as he’d been a healthy scratch.

"Way more comfortable. For me, knowing your teammates and getting along with them with an inside joke here and there helps you play better," Poolman said of this most recent stint with the Jets.

"For a guy like me being in my first year, it’s great to be on the road and hang out with the guys and get to know guys better. The better you know guys, the more comfortable you are on the ice, I think."

Poolman said dressing for only 10 games with the Jets and Moose prior to Monday night is easier to handle considering he got used to a lighter game schedule while playing hockey at the University of North Dakota the past three seasons.

"I think that’s helped with these kinds of situations for me because you get four or five days off. It’s just mentally staying sharp and something about the college schedule you can work on," he said. The reduced workload has also allowed him to ease back into action following off-season double shoulder surgery.

"I feel good and stuff, but having extra time for rehab and not have to push my body to a limit right away is always great when you’re coming off of two surgeries like that, for sure," he said.

Winnipeg is expected to call up another defenceman from the Moose as insurance, given that they currently have no extras on their roster right now.

There was some good news on the injury front Monday, as goalie Steve Mason was activated off injured reserve.

He missed seven games with a concussion suffered after taking a puck to the mask. Eric Comrie, who played one game with the Jets this season, was returned to the Moose.

Mason backed up Connor Hellebuyck in Monday night’s game against the . He could get a start in the near future, with the Jets set to play four games in six days starting Thursday, all within the Central Division. https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/hockey/jets/poolman-in-tonight-byfuglien-out-at- least-two-weeks-463446403.html

Poolman in tonight; Byfuglien out at least two weeks

By: Mike McIntyre

Veteran Winnipeg Jets defenceman Dustin Byfuglien is expected to be out of the lineup until after Christmas with a lower-body injury suffered Saturday night in Tampa.

Byfuglien left the game in the third period and didn't return. Coach Paul Maurice said this morning that Byfuglien is considered "week-to-week" at this point.

Tucker Poolman will take his spot in the lineup tonight as the Jets (17-8-5) look to snap a three- game winless streak (0-2-1) when they host the Vancouver Canucks (14-12-4) at Bell MTS Place. Poolman, 24, has only three NHL games under his belt and has been a healthy scratch for the past three weeks. Maurice had spoken just last week about wanting to get Poolman some game action soon — although not in this kind of scenario.

"It’s the way it is. That’s the way this always happens. Somebody gets nicked up and you get your chance. The other guys on the blue line, every one of them has been looking for a few more minutes. They’ve all felt that window of 22-25 is where their game will excel. So we’ve got lots of guys excited about the chance to play," Maurice said this morning.

Winnipeg is expected to call up another defenceman from the Manitoba Moose as insurance, with Byfuglien joining Toby Enstrom on the injured list. Enstrom has missed more than three weeks of what is expected to be a two-month absence.

Maurice said they feel they have the depth to survive the absence of both Byfuglien and Enstrom at the same time, with Jacob Trouba, Josh Morrissey, Tyler Myers and Dmitry Kulikov all taking on bigger roles.

There is some good news on the injury front, as goalie Steve Mason could be activated off injured reserve as early as this afternoon. He has missed the past seven games with a concussion. Eric Comrie, who has played one game with the Jets this season, will be returned to the Moose when Mason is ready.

"Real close. So he’s passed that last kind of hurdle. We’ll get him through, get his heart rate down. We just want to really make sure if we’re taking him off IR, we know he’s ready to roll and can go in and back up tonight. So we’re just going to give it a couple hours here and make sure he is where we think he is," said Maurice.

Connor Hellebuyck gets the start in goal tonight for the Jets, who face a Canucks team that has dropped two straight games and is also dealing with their own injury issues. Bo Horvat, their second-leading scorer, and Sven Baertschi, their third-leading scorer, are both out of the lineup.

Winnipeg Sun http://winnipegsun.com/sports/hockey/nhl/winnipeg-jets/rough-start-predictable-finish-for-jets

Rough start, predictable finish for Jets

By Paul Friesen

No Dustin Byfuglien? No problem.

The Winnipeg Jets announced Monday morning they’d be without their big defenceman through at least Christmas, then went out and handed the injury-riddled Vancouver Canucks an early lump of coal at night.

The 5-1 victory wasn’t exactly a work of art, but beggars, as they say, can’t be choosey.

When you’re on a three-game losing streak, a win is a win is a win.

If the Canucks had a little more firepower, the Jets might have paid a higher price for a dreadful first period in which they were not only out-shot, 10-4, but out-everythinged.

As it was, they emerged knotted at one, thanks to a softie from the point by Dmitry Kulikov.

After what we presume was some first-intermission paint-peeling by head coach Paul Maurice, the Jets came out and took care of business.

That they ended their streak against the Canucks is not something to hang a hat on.

Central Division games against Chicago here, Thursday, then a back-to-back with the Blues on the weekend will be much more telling.

A DIFFERENT BYFUGLIEN Byfuglien suffered the dreaded “lower-body” ailment in Saturday’s overtime loss in Tampa.

What the Jets lose without Byfuglien is a little different than it would have been in previous seasons, as he has yet to score his first goal.

“He’s worked real hard this year of not being in on every rush,” Maurice said. “That’s a challenge for him. He’s scaled that back so that’s why his goal numbers are where they’re at. That’s a big-minute guy that moves the puck, creates a lot of offence with some of those passes. So yeah, there’s a big hole.”

With Byfuglien out, rookie Tucker Poolman saw his first game action since Nov. 17, when he was with the AHL Manitoba Moose.

Poolman had been a healthy scratch the last 11 games.

The popular thinking is the Jets are better equipped than most teams to deal with the loss of a duo like Byfuglien and Toby Enstrom.

We’ll see over the next two to three weeks.

LITTLE ARGUMENT Before Monday’s game, veteran centre Bryan Little was talking about his team’s ability to bounce back from bad games and not let them turn into losing streaks, like they have in the past.

“We’d go four or five games not playing very well and losing, win a couple, then go on the same thing,” he said.

I asked him if the three-game skid they were on was a relapse into the old ways, and Little, perhaps slightly miffed, slammed that notion into the boards.

“No,” he said. “No team’s perfect. You’re not going to go through the entire season unscathed, without going through two or three losses. We played well against Tampa. They’re the league’s best team and we were right with them and had a good chance to win.”

The Jets closed out Little’s argument with the win over the Canucks.

THOUGHTS FROM THE BENCH Defenceman Ben Chiarot was coming off a forgettable night in Tampa, where he found himself planted to the bench for most of the third period and change.

Going into Monday’s game, I asked Chiarot if players know why they’re sitting in those situations.

I was surprised to hear they often don’t.

“As the time goes on you figure out he’s not really liking what you’re doing,” Chiarot said. “Sometimes you don’t (know) at all. Sometimes it’s on a player to go and find out. I’m not really one to go and ask questions or complain. But it is important to know what the coach is thinking and what he sees, especially if you’re not sure, if you feel like you’re playing well.”

Chiarot says he eventually had conversations with Maurice and assistant coach Charlie Huddy, and learned he needs to play to his strengths more, winning battles and being strong in his own zone.

I assumed it had been especially frustrating for Chiarot in Tampa when Byfuglien went down and Maurice went mostly with four defencemen instead of putting him into the rotation.

Not necessarily so, he said.

“Sometimes when you get sitting for a long period of time, it’s almost better to leave a guy off. Because he’s been sitting there for 45 minutes, an hour — he’s ice-cold. The game moves pretty fast when you’re sitting there.

“It’s kind of like jumping on a moving train.”

THE BURMI PUZZLE Another season, another version of the puzzle that is Alex Burmistrov.

Burmistrov couldn’t figure out why he didn’t land an offensive role with the Jets, and he’s wondering the same thing in Vancouver.

The 26-year-old has been scratched more often than not, of late, although injuries got him into the lineup against the Jets, Monday.

“Confused,” is how he described himself to Vancouver reporters, recently. “The frustrating thing is you know you can play at this level … then you walk into the dressing room and you’re not playing and you’re thinking, ‘What is it going to be like tomorrow?’

“I’m trying to work hard but this is hard.”

GOALIE SHUFFLE Goalie Steve Mason came off the injury list, Monday, after missing the last seven games, and two-plus weeks, with a concussion.

That meant Eric Comrie was headed back to the Moose with the not-so-sweet taste of a five- goal performance in Florida in his mouth. http://winnipegsun.com/sports/hockey/nhl/winnipeg-jets/five-keys-to-jets-vs-canucks

Jets win first game without Byfuglien: Three-game losing streak snapped

By Taylor Allen

The Winnipeg Jets haven’t lost four games in a row this season and on Monday night they were determined to keep it that way.

Despite not playing their best hockey in the opening period, the Jets prevailed 5-1 over the Vancouver Canucks at Bell MTS Place.

“There are times in the National Hockey League you need to survive, and we did that. And then got better and stronger. But there wasn’t anything about that game that was easy for us,” said Jets head coach Paul Maurice on Monday’s victory over Vancouver.

“We had to fight hard to make any kind of pass, we had some difficult reads. So that was a hard, hard game, with our schedule, with some illnesses in here. So I’m not necessarily keeping the video for structure or for things like that, but that’s a darn good NHL win.”

The game ended the Jets’ recent marathon of games, as the club has played 15 games in 28 days. The team was able to survive the tough stretch, as they finished with a 9-4-2 record.

The team might be in for another tough stretch moving forward with veteran defenceman Dustin Byfuglien being out until after Christmas with a lower body injury. But on Monday night, the Jets were able to get the win without Buff, and Maurice was pleased with how his defencemen played without one of their players. Rookie defenceman Tucker Poolman suited up for the Jets on Monday night for the first time since Oct. 17.

“You can’t replace (Byfuglien), obviously, and that’s not what we are going to try and do as a back end,” said Jets defenceman Josh Morrissey, who scored a third period goal.

“We all want to pick up some of those minutes. I thought, as a whole, (Poolman) came in and played awesome, and that’s one of those things where you try to pick up those minutes. Everyone has to try and do a little bit more and help collectively as a back end.”

It appeared home cooking was exactly what the Jets needed to end their losing streak. Their recent three game road trip did not go to plan, as they were only able to pick up one out of a potential six points. The lone point came in a tough overtime loss to the on Saturday — the first place team in the NHL.

The win over the Canucks got the Jets back in the win column and improved their home record to 11-2-1 on the year. Bell MTS Place continues to be kind to the Jets, as they haven’t lost a game in regulation at home since Oct. 17 versus Columbus.

“Coming home and playing in front of this crowd every night is pretty amazing. Seeing it now with three games away with three loses, we needed the extra energy and the crowd gave us a boost today,” said Jets forward Nikolaj Ehlers. “We came with the right mindset in the second and third period and we’re pretty happy with that.”

The key to the Jets win was getting their power play rolling again. In the past three games, the Jets were only able to score twice on 14 power play attempts. On Monday night, the Jets were one for three on the power play, but on they were only one second away from being two for three. Mathieu Perreault’s second period goal came just as Canucks forward Sam Gagner came out of the penalty box for his holding penalty. Ehlers fired home a power play goal later in the second to increase the team’s lead to 3-1. Perreault scored the final goal of the game with 44 seconds left, deflecting a Matt Hendricks shot after a terrible turnover by Markstrom that left the net empty. It was the 100th career goal for Perreault.

The Jets did not look like a team eager to put an end to a three-game losing streak in the first period. Canucks goaltender Jacob Markstrom gifted the Jets an early lead by letting a Dmitry Kulikov wrist shot from the point squeak between the pads just over a minute into the game.

After the Kulikov goal, the Jets looked flat. Vancouver was able to regroup from the weak goal, as they outplayed the Jets for the rest of the period. The Jets were only able to register four shots on Markstrom in the first. It was the lowest amount of shots the Jets have had in a period at home since the second period of their Nov. 4 loss to the .

Maurice said he was hopeful the team would start strong, but with their hectic schedule he feared the team would be in tough on Monday. He said captain Blake Wheeler played through an illness and that the team has a lot of players who don’t have “a lot in the tank” right now.

“We knew the first period wasn’t going to be super pretty, which it wasn’t, but we found a way to grind and started to get our game going and sort of got better as the game went on,” said Morrissey. “It’s a big win for us.”

The Jets are back in action against the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday night at Bell MTS Place.

Canadian Press https://www.chrisd.ca/2017/12/11/perreault-scores-two-jets-halt-losing-slide-win- canucks/#.WjAQDlWnFhE

Perreault Scores Two, Jets Halt Losing Slide with Win Over Canucks

By Judy Owen, The Canadian Press

WINNIPEG – Mathieu Perreault viewed his 100th NHL career goal as a lucky tap rather than a highlight-reel milestone.

The Jets forward scored two goals and added an assist to help Winnipeg halt a three-game losing streak with a 5-1 victory over the Vancouver Canucks on Monday.

His second goal with 44 seconds left in the game was even initially awarded to linemate Matt Hendricks before it was changed. Canucks goalie Jacob Markstrom was behind the net with the puck and shot it straight to Hendricks in the slot. Hendricks fired the puck and Perreault lifted his stick up and deflected it in.

“It’s kind of a reaction play,” Perreault said “It was going in his empty net and I just got my stick on it. I could have tipped it out of the way so lucky enough it went in.”

The win was the Jets’ seventh straight victory at home. They have points in their last 11 games (10-0-1) at Bell MTS Place.

Defencemen Dmitry Kulikov and Josh Morrissey and forward Nikolaj Ehlers also scored for Winnipeg (18-8-5). Ehlers’ 14th of the season was on the power play and gave him goals in three straight games.

“Coming home and playing in front of this crowd every night is pretty amazing,” Ehlers said.

“Seeing it now with three games away with three losses, we needed the extra energy and the crowd gave us a boost today.”

Brock Boeser scored his team-leading 16th goal for the Canucks. He also extended his goal- scoring streak to three games.

Connor Hellebuyck made 25 saves for Winnipeg.

Markstrom stopped 19 shots for Vancouver (14-13-4).

“They had three guys up on the forecheck,” Markstrom said of Perreault’s second goal. “I don’t know how, but it was a poor decision by me and I wasn’t good today and I take full responsibility.”

Markstrom also let in a surprising goal 88 seconds into the first period, squeezing his pads on Kulikov’s point shot, but the puck slid into the net behind him.

The Canucks have lost three straight in regulation for the first time this season.

Vancouver was missing top-line forwards Bo Horvat (broken foot) and Sven Baertschi (fractured jaw), but players weren’t using that as an excuse.

“Every team has injuries,” said forward Thomas Vanek, who had four shots on goal. “When I have the scoring chances that I had tonight, I’ve got to put them away.

“It doesn’t matter who’s in and who’s out, I’ve got to find a better job of putting one of those in there and get some momentum back.”

Winnipeg was without defenceman Dustin Byfuglien, who was put on injured reserve with a lower-body injury suffered in last Saturday’s 4-3 overtime loss to Tampa Bay. Head coach Paul Maurice said he didn’t expect him back on the ice until after Christmas. Rookie Tucker Poolman took his roster spot.

Jacob Trouba got Byfuglien’s spot on the power play.

The teams were tied 1-1 after the first period and Winnipeg led 3-1 after two

Winnipeg got its second power play at 2:55 of the middle period after Sam Gagner was called for holding and Perreault fired in his goal from the slot exactly two minutes later.

The Jets capitalized on their next power play when, 37 seconds after Nic Dowd went off for hooking, Tyler Myers’ blast produced a long rebound to Ehlers at the top of the circle that made it 3-1 at 14:09.

Morrissey scored his fourth goal of the season with a redirection on a 3-on-1 with Adam Lowry and Andrew Copp at 11:38 and Perreault finished it off with the 100th of his nine-year career.

Vancouver was 0 for 2 on the power play and Winnipeg 1 for 3.

The Canucks host Nashville on Wednesday, while Winnipeg is home to Chicago on Thursday.

NHL.com https://www.nhl.com/news/vancouver-canucks-winnipeg-jets-game-recap/c-293919744

Perreault's three-point night lifts Jets past Canucks Has two goals, assist to help Winnipeg end losing streak at three by Scott Billeck / NHL.com Correspondent

WINNIPEG -- Mathieu Perreault had two goals and an assist to help the Winnipeg Jets end a three-game losing streak with a 5-1 win against the Vancouver Canucks at Bell MTS Place on Monday.

Dmitry Kulikov, Nikolaj Ehlers and Josh Morrissey scored for the Jets (18-8-5), who are 10-0-1 in their past 11 games at home. Connor Hellebuyck made 25 saves for his 16th win.

"Somehow, we've been doing it at home," Perreault said. "I'm not so sure why, but it seems like in this building we feel very comfortable in our game and we've been playing some solid hockey here, so it was just another example of it."

Brock Boeser scored for Vancouver (14-13-4), which has lost three games in a row. Jacob Markstrom allowed five goals on 24 shots.

"I thought we played well, actually," Canucks forward Thomas Vanek said. "Five-on-5, we were right there, if not better, and that's an offensive team there, especially on the power play. In the second period, we lost the momentum a little bit with those penalty kills against, and before you know it, they scored a couple power-play goals and we were playing from behind, and that's a tough team to chase."

Kulikov gave the Jets a 1-0 lead with his second goal of the season at 1:28 of the first period.

Boeser increased his NHL rookie goal-scoring lead with his 16th at 6:53 to tie the game 1-1.

Perreault put Winnipeg ahead 2-1 at 4:55 of the second period when he scored as a holding penalty against Vancouver forward Sam Gagner expired.

Ehlers extended the Jets lead to 3-1 when he scored on the power play with a one-timer off the rebound of a Tyler Myers shot at 14:09.

"It hasn't been working the way we wanted it to these past couple of games," Ehlers said of the Jets power play. "Our mindset today was to just get pucks to the net and create chances off that, and we did that. We gave ourselves a chance to score on the power play."

Morrissey joined the rush and scored on a redirection at 11:38 of the third period to make it 4-1.

After Markstrom turned over the puck from behind his net to Matt Hendricks in the slot, Perreault redirected Hendricks' shot as it was about to cross the goal line to make it 5-1 with 44 seconds left.

"They had three guys up on the forecheck," Markstrom said. "I don't know how, but it was a poor decision by me and I wasn't good today and I take full responsibility. … That wasn't good. You've got to own it, and it's a new day tomorrow."

Goal of the game Perreault's goal at 4:55 of the second period.

Save of the game Hellebuyck stopping Vanek's slap shot at 6:57 of the third period.

Highlight of the game Ehlers' power-play goal at 14:09 of the second period.

They said it "That didn't feel like a 5-1 hockey game, that's for sure. I think 5-on-5 we gave up 17 shots, and we got to find a way to score a couple more goals." -- Canucks coach Travis Green

"You come to the rink hopeful every day and optimistic, but those are the games you're worried about, especially with that schedule, coming back off [three road games against Eastern Conference teams]. And we've got some guys, Blake Wheeler was quite ill today. He plays, he's played with just about everything. But we had some guys with not a lot in the tank. So no part of our game was easy." -- Jets coach Paul Maurice

Need to know Henrik Sedin and Daniel Sedin each had an assist on Boeser's goal. Henrik has 11 assists in his past 11 games, and Daniel has six points (one goal, five assists) in his past six. ... Canucks forward Sven Baertschi missed his first game since he broke his jaw in a 4-2 loss to the Flames on Saturday. He is out 4 to 6 weeks. … Perreault's second goal of the game was the 100th of his NHL career. … Jets defenseman Dustin Byfuglien missed his first game since sustaining a lower-body injury in a 4-3 overtime loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday. He has been ruled out until after Christmas.

What's next Canucks: Host the on Wednesday (10 p.m. ET; SN, FS-TN, NHL.TV) Jets: Host the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday (8 p.m. ET; TSN3, NBCSCH, NHL.TV)

Global Winnipeg https://globalnews.ca/news/3911046/winnipeg-jets-end-three-game-losing-streak-against- vancouver-canucks/

Winnipeg Jets end three game losing streak against Vancouver Canucks

By Russ Hobson Sports Anchor/Reporter

WINNIPEG – The Winnipeg Jets put an end to their longest losing streak of the season.

Mathieu Perreault had a three point night as the Jets ended a three game slide with a 5-1 win over the visiting Vancouver Canucks on Monday at Bell MTS Place.

After a shaky first period in which the Jets mustered only four shots, Winnipeg settled down in the second and only got stronger as the game wore on.

“I think the first period we gave them too much ice to play on.” Nikolaj Ehlers said.

“We weren’t playing hard enough, and they got some big chances. But I think the second and third period we shut them down pretty well, scored on our chances, and played the way we wanted to play.”

Perreault had two goals including the 100th of his career while Ehlers, Dmitry Kulikov, and Josh Morrissey each scored once in the victory.

“That’s a darn good NHL win.” head coach Paul Maurice said.

“No part of our game was easy. What is difficult to do is what they did, is they got better in the second period. So we survived the first and there are times in the National Hockey League you need to survive. We did that in the first, come out even and then we got better and stronger.”

With the victory the Jets have now won 11 of their 14 games on home ice this season including their last seven in a row.

“Somehow we’ve been doing it at home.” Perreault said. “I’m not so sure why, but it seems like in this building we feel very comfortable in our game, and we’ve been playing some solid hockey here.”

It was the second time the Jets beat the Canucks this season after winning in Vancouver back in early October.

“Sometimes it’s tough coming back home after a bit of a road trip, time change and that.” Morrissey said. “So we knew the first period wasn’t going to be super pretty which it wasn’t. But we found a way to grind and started to get our game going and sort of got better as the game went on.”

Brock Boeser scored the Canucks only goal as Connor Hellebuyck turned aside 25 shots to stay unbeaten in regulation on home ice this season.

The Jets got right down to business, scoring just 88 seconds into the contest. Kulikov squeezed a point shot between the legs of Jacob Markstrom. His second goal of the season was assisted by and Kyle Connor.

The Canucks then took the game over and answered back just a few minutes later. Henrik Sedin spotted a wide open Boeser in the slot and he ripped the shot past Hellebuyck for his 16th goal of the season. Daniel Sedin also had an assist on the Canucks’ first goal. It was tied after the opening period with the shots 10-4 in Vancouver’s favour.

The Jets’ fourth line put them back out in front five minutes into the middle stanza. Joel Armia fed Perreault in the slot and he buried the one-timer for his eighth goal of the season. Bryan Little also drew an assist as the Jets went up 2-1.

Winnipeg added another goal on the powerplay later in the period. Tyler Myers sent a slapper on goal and Markstrom kicked the puck out right to Ehlers. He fired it in for his 14th goal of the season. Perreault had the secondary assist and it was a two goal Jets’ lead through two periods. Winnipeg outshot Vancouver 11-7 in the period.

The Jets added an insurance marker with just over eight minutes left in regulation. Racing in on the odd man rush Adam Lowry threw the puck out front and Morrissey shoveled the puck past Markstrom for the Jets fourth goal. Andrew Copp also had an assist on Morrissey’s fourth goal of the campaign.

In the final minute Markstrom sent the puck up the middle of the ice right to Matt Hendricks. He shot the puck towards the open goal and it went off Perreault’s stick and in. It was Perreault’s 100th career NHL goal as the Jets held on for the 5-1 triumph.

Steve Mason was taken off injured reserve earlier on Monday to dress as Hellebuyck’s backup. He missed the last two weeks with a concussion.

Dustin Byfuglien was scratched for the Jets after suffering a lower body injury that will keep him out of the lineup until after the Christmas break. Marko Dano and Shawn Matthias also sat out for Winnipeg.

The Jets are back in action on Thursday when they wrap up their mini two game homestand against Jonathan Toews and the Chicago Blackhawks.

Vancouver Province https://globalnews.ca/news/3907822/winnipeg-jets-settle-for-single-point-against-league- leading-lightning/

Jets 5 Canucks 1: Rough road trip ends with crash landing in Winnipeg

By Jason Botchford

WINNIPEG — There’s no shame in losing to the surging Winnipeg Jets. They may be the best team in the Western Conference.

Still, the Canucks looked like a shell of their former selves, and that’s mostly because they are.

Lacking a string of their best players, the Canucks were skated out of the rink. It was their third game without Bo Horvat and they’ve lost them all.

This one was a 5-1 death spiral, and it was the Jets’ supporting cast who did most of the damage as they registered their third consecutive win.

This is what we learned:

Brock Boeser can snipe The question is no longer which line should Boeser play on? It’s now: How many lines?

All of them? Is that possible? And both power-play units?

The Canucks are undermanned. That’s an understatement. Too much is required of Boeser at the moment.

It’s not like he isn’t coming through. He’s scoring at a rate no one thought possible. He started Monday on a line with the Sedins. It didn’t take long for them to find him open in the slot. He scored with such ferocity it seemed like given 100 chances to take that same shot, he would have scored 100 times.

Horvat has now missed three games. Boeser has scored in all of them. He needs some help.

Boeser has to earn his ice time It felt like head coach Travis Green was keeping expectations in check Monday. When asked about his star rookie, he said Boeser will have to earn ice time if he wants to play more.

Apparently, having 40 per cent more points than anyone else in the lineup isn’t enough.

Green probably didn’t really mean it. He’s been vocal in his desire to keep Boeser grounded. All those goals can tend to go to a player’s head.

Vancouver hockey fans collectively gasped when Boeser was hobbled Did your heart stop?

Many seemed to when Boeser blocked a slap shot from a few feet away. He collapsed to the ice, hobbled to the bench and then winced in pain for what felt like an eternity.

No, not Boeser too.

Hunched over at intermission, Boeser made his way to the locker-room. It did not look good.

But he returned for the final two periods.

He seemed to be fine. Vancouver really needs him to be fine.

Michael Chaput struggles in second game Green gushed about Chaput after the loss in Calgary. The next day, too. He said it surprised him that Chaput became his shutdown centre.

Things weren’t quite as glorious against the Winnipeg Jets. Shorthanded, Chaput lost a battle along the boards and then gave a puck away.

The mistakes led directly to a Winnipeg power-play goal.

There’s talk the Canucks would like to trade Alex Burmistrov It doesn’t really make sense. It’s not like Burmistrov hasn’t been a healthy scratch before.

He was a regular a year ago when he was with the Jets. He said all the same things then about not understanding his role.

At some point, you have to take some responsibility for what’s going on. Even if he’s not really working out for the Canucks, it doesn’t make much sense to trade him when the team has a rash of injuries to top forwards.

Monday was only his 19th game of the season. Give him some games in a row to breathe before moving on. It’s not clear the guys who would be playing ahead of him are any better.

It’s Nikolay Goldobin and Reid Boucher time So far, Green has sided with responsible two-way play over potential goal scoring.

But his entire offence is built around a rookie who has been scoring nearly one-third of all the Canucks’ goals during the past few weeks.

Boeser needs help. The Canucks have it, too. Both Boucher and Goldobin have played really well this season. And Goldobin has done his “playing well” in both Utica and with the Canucks. There’s not much more he could have done to prove he’s earned a run of games to show Green what he can do in the NHL.

But Goldobin has been with the Canucks for eight games. Monday was the fourth time he’s been a healthy scratch. He’s too good offensively to keep that up. And Boucher is too productive to keep in the minors.

Jacob Markstrom didn’t look right The topic at the crest of the Canucks’ injury wave has been offence.

Rightfully so. The Canucks are suddenly without their Nos. 2, 3 and 4 goal scorers.

But this only intensifies what happens in the crease. Canucks goalies can’t be spotting teams goals.

Unfortunately, that’s exactly what Markstrom did. Early in the first, a soft shot that looked like most dump-ins, leaked through the fiery, emotional goalie.

It’s the type of softy that haunted Markstrom earlier in the season. Back then the Canucks had the firepower to drag him out of the weeds.

Not anymore.

Sportsnet.ca http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/4-things-learned-nhl-jets-vying-crown-canadas-best/

4 things we learned in the NHL: Jets vying for crown as Canada’s best

By Sonny Sachdeva

It was the Cole Harbour Bowl in Pittsburgh, an offensive outburst in Winnipeg, and a night of nail-biting battles.

Here are a few things we learned in the NHL on Monday night.

Jets quietly vying for the crown of Canada’s best

While everyone’s been chatting about a certain Canadian club who should be scoring at will but isn’t, the Winnipeg Jets have been quietly rolling through the league on the back of their offensive dominance.

The Jets entered Monday night’s tilt against the Vancouver Canucks with the fourth-best offence in the league, rolling along at a steady clip of 3.36 goals per game. They upped that average just a little bit against their fellow Canadian squad, putting up a five-spot on Vancouver to take the win.

The fact that Winnipeg managed to score in bunches against a team allowing the sixth-most goals per game among all NHL clubs isn’t the impressive feat here. It’s how they did it.

On a night that saw the Jets put five goals on the board, the low-key contender saw two of their top three offensive talents—Blake Wheeler and Patrik Laine—held off the board. In fact, Wheeler, Laine, and Brandon Tanev were the only ones left with goose eggs on Monday, as the rest of Winnipeg’s 12 forwards all registered at least one point in the win.

With their depth shining, the Jets now sit with the third-best record in the Western Conference and, with 41 points to their name, tied with the Maple Leafs for the crown of Canada’s best. http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/canucks-no-chance-roaring-jets/

Takeaways: Canucks had no chance against roaring Jets

By Iain MacIntyre

Make that three straight regulation losses. And counting.

The Vancouver Canucks ran into the buzz saw that is the Winnipeg Jets on Monday. Unfortunately, they did so while figuratively strapped to a piece of timber that was split into a lot of little pieces by National Hockey League’s highest-scoring home team.

The Jets won easily, 5-1, to extend their home streak to 10-0-1. They have buried opponents in goals – 56 of them in those 11 games – while scoring like the 1980s Oilers. Pokey Reddick could still play goal for the Jets with that kind of run support.

The Canucks never had a chance. OK, the Canucks had one chance: super rookie Brock Boeser could have scored five times to get Vancouver to overtime and win a million bucks for a viewer on Sportsnet. Boeser, alas, could only produce one goal, which was one more than the rest of the roster contributed.

As we said after Saturday’s blown lead and 4-2 loss to the , things are going to get worse for the Canucks. And that was before we learned before that first-line winger Sven Baertschi (broken jaw) had followed first-line centre Bo Horvat (broken foot) out of the lineup for up to the next six weeks.

The Canucks open a four-game homestand Wednesday against the powerful Nashville Predators, who will have been off since Friday. Hey, maybe they’ll be stale or hungover.

For the Canucks to beat anyone in the next couple of weeks, they’ll need two things: exceptional goaltending and near flawless execution. They had neither against the Jets.

Vancouver starter Jacob Markstrom surrendered a ghastly goal to Dmitry Kulikov just 88 seconds into the game and ended his night by passing into the slot from behind his net to set up a gimme that was credited to the Jets’ Mathieu Perreault.

Perreault scored the winning goal at 4:55 of the second period after Michael Chaput’s unforced turnover while shorthanded, which followed Sam Gagner’s offensive-zone holding penalty.

There is no margin for error these days for the Canucks, and they made a bunch of mistakes against the Jets to undermine the good things they did.

Here are some takeaways from the game.

BETTER, BOESER, BEST The most satisfying moment (by far) for the Canucks was seeing Calder Trophy candidate and boy wonder Boeser skate out for the second period after getting drilled in the leg by Blake Wheeler’s shot late in the first. They may as well close Rogers Arena for the next while if Boeser suffers a serious injury.

At 6:53 of the first period, Boeser had used his goal-scorer’s instincts and world-class release to tie the game 1-1 with a wrist shot from the slot after excellent play by linemates Daniel and Henrik Sedin.

It was the rookie’s 16th goal in 28 games this season. Last year, Winnipeg rookie Patrik Laine was drawing comparisons to Mike Bossy by the time he scored his 16th goal in his 27th NHL game. Laine had 23 points at that stage and had already endured a four-game pointless streak twice.

Boeser has 28 points in his 28 games and, remarkably, hasn’t gone more than two without getting on the scoresheet.

We’re not saying Boeser is better than Laine, but considering the teams and the talent around each player, we’re saying Boeser’s rookie season has started even better than Laine’s.

SOARING JETS We must admit we were wrong (so far) about those pre-season contract extensions for Winnipeg coach Paul Maurice and general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff. Viewed from afar, the Jets underperformed the last two seasons and re-upping the GM and, especially, the coach with a dismal record of making the playoffs, was only going to entrench mediocrity.

But the Jets are now 18-8-5 with a goal differential of plus-20. They have a good defence behind all that firepower and goalie Connor Hellebuyck has been excellent.

The Jets look as good this year as the did last year.

BAERTSCHI’S BREAK When the Canucks announced last week Horvat’s broken foot would keep him out of the lineup up to six weeks, there could have been three days of official mourning on the West Coast.

Word that Baertschi, his regular linemate, will now miss 4-6 weeks after suffering a broken jaw on Saturday was seen as just more bad news. It didn’t generate the same visceral dread for the Canucks’ short-term future as Horvat’s injury.

It may surprise some people that despite slumping into his injury, Baertschi’s 18 points are only two fewer than Horvat’s total.

We all understand how important Horvat is on the penalty kill and faceoffs and in head-to-head matchups against the opposition’s top lines and best centres, but from a purely offensive standpoint, losing Baertschi is nearly as damaging to the Canucks as losing Horvat.

WHERE ART THOU GOLDY? There are a lot of reasons Canucks coach Travis Green may have had for choosing centre Alex Burmistrov over winger prospect Nikolay Goldobin to replace Baertschi in Monday’s lineup.

Maybe Green was hoping for an inspired night from Burmistrov, who spent most of his NHL career with the Jets before getting waived last January. Maybe Green wanted another centre in the lineup so Gagner, badly beaten on the Flames’ winning goal in Calgary, could go back to the wing.

With Baertschi and Horvat missing from the attack, the only way to win in Winnipeg was for the Canucks to grind through a 2-1 game, and Green knows Goldobin, for all his scoring potential, is still learning to play on the defensive side of the puck.

Or maybe Green was just bored and figured he’d go trolling social media by scratching Goldobin, a move guaranteed to enrage the segment of the Canucks’ highly-excitable market who think anyone under 23 should be played ahead of everyone over 27.

But, really, nothing Green could say, except Goldobin awaiting an organ transplant, would satisfactorily explain why under desperate offensive circumstances he would choose a player who is on his third team in a year and clinging to NHL employment, over a promising prospect who has scored four times in 16 games of limited ice time for the Canucks.

It looks like Green just overthought things and played the wrong Russian. Because, really, we’re sure Goldobin would have scored a hat trick to make it close against the Jets.

By the way, Burmistrov led the Canucks with an even-strength Corsi of 73.7 per cent.

TSN.ca https://www.tsn.ca/nhl/video/jets-puck-pursuit-pays-off-against-canucks~1280399 (VIDEO LINK)

Jets' puck pursuit pays off against Canucks

Craig Button joins SportsCentre to examine the Jets' pursuit of the puck and how their determination paid off against the Canucks. He also touches on the contributions of Mathieu Perreault and his ability to fill in throughout the lineup. https://www.tsn.ca/nhl/video/playing-for-the-sixth-time-in-11-days-is-fatigue-starting-to-set-in-for- the-jets~1281882

Playing for the sixth time in 11 days, is fatigue starting to set in for the Jets?

Riding a three-game losing streak and getting set to play their sixth game in 11 nights, is fatigue starting to set in for the Jets? How will Dustin Byfuglien's injury change Paul Maurice's lineup? Sara Orlesky weighs in ahead of tonight's game against the Canucks. www.winnipegjets.com https://www.nhl.com/jets/news/perreault-scores-100th-career-goal-in-jets-win-over-canucks/c- 293923874

Perreault scores 100th career goal in Jets win over Canucks Jets snap three-game winless skid with win on home ice by Mitchell Clinton

WINNIPEG - Home sweet home.

The Winnipeg Jets snapped a three-game winless skid with a 5-1 win over the Vancouver Canucks (14-13-4) tonight, improving their record to 10-0-1 in their last 11 games at Bell MTS Place.

The 11-game home point streak, and seven game win streak on home ice, matched the franchise mark. But it wasn't the only milestone on this night.

Mathieu Perreault scored twice - with Dmitry Kulikov, Nikolaj Ehlers, and Josh Morrissey adding singles - with the second of Perreault's goals earning him the 100th of his NHL career.

"It's definitely a good one. It's kind of a reaction play," Perreault said. "It was going in his empty net and I just got my stick on it. I could have tipped it out of the way, so lucky enough it went in."

Perreault finished the night with three points to pull him into a tie with Bryan Little for sixth on the team in points with 18.

"He would be at his highest point-per-game production of his career, I would assume," said head coach Paul Maurice of Perreault, who has 15 of his points in the 14 games he's played since returning from injury.

"He's able to play with some players that he can create some offence with… He's been impactful and that's what's important."

Kulikov's second of the season opened the scoring for the Jets (18-8-5). Jacob Markstrom got a piece of the Russian's wrist shot from the point, but not enough, as it slid through the five hole to make it 1-0.

Brock Boeser would even things up, when the Jets were hemmed in their own end, Henrik Sedin sent a pass from behind the goal line to Boeser in the slot, where the UND alum had found open space, and fired a wrist shot past Hellebuyck's stick side.

"You come to the rink hopeful every day and optimistic, those are the games you're worried about. Especially with that schedule, then coming back off the East," said Maurice.

"What is difficult to do, is what they did. They got better in the second period. We survived the first. There are times in the National Hockey League when you need to survive. We did that in the first. Come out even, and then get better and stronger.

"There wasn't anything about that game that was easy for us."

The Jets would get the lead back nearly five minutes into the second. Just as Sam Gagner's holding the stick penalty expired, Bryan Little sent a pass from the left face off dot down to Joel Armia at the goal line, who sent a one touch pass to Perreault in the slot for his first of the night.

Later in the period, Ehlers used his speed to draw a hooking penalty on Nic Dowd, then made sure to make it count on the scoreboard, when he buried his third goal in three games off a rebound from a Tyler Myers slap shot on the power play.

It was the ninth time in the last six games the Jets had scored on the man advantage.

"One of the things that's been good, and going back to November, is that if one unit couldn't find it, then the other one did. And (Bryan Little's) group got us going there in November. That instilled lots of confidence," said Maurice. "The first goal, it's a power play goal, and the end a de facto power play goal, just a puck to the net. It got us going. And those guys got the power play going a month and a half ago."

Morrissey's fourth of the season would also be the fourth goal the Jets would get, as the defenceman joined the rush on the left wing and put away a crisp crossing pass from Adam Lowry with 8:22 to go in regulation.

"(He) made a great pass there and it was nice to bury that one. More importantly, it's a big win for our team," said Morrissey, who was one of three defencemen to register a point in the win.

"As a back end we're always pretty happy when the d-men are getting involved… We want to have our d-men involved in our offence when it's the right time. We saw a little bit of a reward tonight, which is nice for the back end."

Perreault would add his second of the game with 44 seconds to go to make it 5-1.

"We're looking ahead at what's coming," said Perreault. "That road trip wasn't good for us. But we've already forgot about it. Tonight we came out to play a solid game, and we did that. Now we're looking forward to our next game."

ICE CHIPS Despite being "quite ill" and missing the morning skate, Blake Wheeler played 18:54 in tonight's win, including 2:23 on the power play.

"We had a lot of guys with not very much in the tank," said Maurice, after his team completed a stretch of 15 games in 28 days tonight. "So no part of our game was easy."

Tucker Poolman played 13:33 in his first NHL action since Oct. 17, and his first game action of any sort since his recall on Nov. 19. https://www.nhl.com/jets/video/postgame--paul-maurice/t-277437442/c-55642103

POSTGAME | Paul Maurice

Head Coach Paul Maurice addresses the media post-game at Bell MTS Place