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Eighth Straight Win for Jets in 5-3 Victory in Calgary |
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The Winnipeg Jets concluded their three-game road trip last night with a 5-3 win over the Calgary Flames and remain unbeaten (8-0-0) for the year. Eric Comrie got the victory in his second start of the year in the Jets net.
First Period:
The Flames got the opening goal just under a minute into the game to get the home crowd on its feet. Mikael Backlund's sharp angle shot from Comrie's right found its way into the net. The Jets were quick to respond though. Under 90 seconds later, the Jets went on the PP and 5 seconds into it, Nikolaj Ehlers pass deflected off of the Flames defenceman and into the Flames net to square the game at 1. With the Jets on the PK with under 3 minutes left in the period, Adam Lowry started an odd man rush and got a pass over to Kyle Connor who put the puck past David Wolf to put the Jets up 2-1 heading into the first intermission. It was the Jets first short-handed goal of the season. The Jets carried the majority of the play in the 1st period.
Second Period:
The Flames came out more assertive and effective in the 2nd period. The ice was tilted in their favor for the large part of the period. Halfway through the 2nd period, the Flames received a lengthy 5 on 3 man advantage but failed to score. The only goal of the 2nd period came when a Jets turnover in their own zone allowed Rasmus Andersson to score another sharp angle goal on Comrie to tie the game at 2 heading into the 2nd intermission. The goal was almost the mirror image to the one Backlund scored in the first period.
Third Period:
The Jets quickly regained the lead just a minute into the final frame with a fortunate bounce. Dylan Samberg's point shot missed the net by a mile, bounced back off of the end glass, off the Flames netminder and into the net. It was Samberg's first goal of the season. The Flames tied the game shortly after that when Nazem Kadri scored off the rush just 3 minutes later. The Jets received a lengthy 5 on 3 of their own in the latter part of the period. Despite the sustained pressure and numerous shots, the Jets failed to get that 4th goal for the time being.
However, an offensive zone penalty by Kadri with 5 minutes left in regulation gave the best PP in the league another opportunity to take the lead. This time, it was successful as Cole Perfetti scored on the PP to give the Jets the 4-3 lead with under 4 minutes remaining in the game. Mason Appleton would add an empty net goal to give the Jets the 5-3 win.
Some takeaways from the game:
The Jets special teams continue to be special. They went 2 for 4 on the PP, and 4 for 4 on the PK. They even scored short-handed.
Kyle Connor scored his team leading 6th goal of the season when the Jets were short-handed. I think both Connor and Mark Scheifele getting minutes on the PK has made it more successful as opponents have to respect their ability to take the puck the other way.
The Jets are now 8-0 to start the year. They have won 16 straight regular season games dating back to last season. Eric Comrie is now 2-0 to start the year.
Next, the Jets return home for one game on Monday night against the Toronto Maple Leafs before hitting the road again.
Thanks for reading. Go Jets Go!