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Five things we learned about Jets in exhibition win over Canucks – Sportsnet.ca

Published

4 years ago

July 30, 2020

WINNIPEG — Say so long to the dress rehearsal. From this point and on, the stakes will be considerably higher.

Some elements of rust were inevitable as the Winnipeg Jets played an actual hockey game for the first time since March 11, and while it’s essential to remember this was merely an exhibition game, there were some themes that stood out after a 4-1 victory over the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday night.

It’s impossible for goaltending to not be a storyline as the Jets get set to face the Calgary Flames in the best-of-five, play-in round.

In the red corner, Flames interim head coach Geoff Ward may know he’s going to be between the pipes in Game 1, but he’s still not ready to share the information publicly whether it will be Cam Talbot or David Rittich.

In the blue corner, the Jets have no such debate.

Hellebuyck in Vezina form

Connor Hellebuyck is the Vezina Trophy front-runner and for good reason.

If there was any concern that Hellebuyck might need a bit of additional time to find his form, that should be alleviated after Wednesday’s performance as he finished with 37 saves.

The Jets were making life a bit more difficult than it needed to be during the first period as they struggled with puck management and turned the puck over far too often, but Hellebuyck was there to bail his teammates out.

That’s a phrase that’s been typed on multiple occasions this season, but it had to be reassuring for the Jets to basically see Hellebuyck in mid-season form.

“Connor was outstanding,” said Jets captain Blake Wheeler. “He looks like he hasn’t missed a beat.”

Whether it was stopping Bo Horvat on a rebound chance, being in perfect position to stop a Tanner Pearson redirection, or denying Brock Boeser on a breakaway, Hellebuyck served notice that he’s going to be tough to beat when the real games begin.

“I thought it was great, being able to get to that playoff battle mentality and that battle level,” said Hellebuyck. “So this game was not just an exhibition for me, it was getting that battle intensity up.”

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Naturally, the Jets will spend some time over the next few days focusing on the importance of taking better care of the puck.

One thing they won’t be the least bit worried about is whether their elite goalie will be ready to answer the bell.

Ehlers gets going

Only Pierre-Edouard Bellemare of the Colorado Avalanche (31) and Carter Rowney (26) of the Anaheim Ducks have a longer active playoff drought than Jets winger Nikolaj Ehlers, who has seven assists in 21 career post-season games.

As I’ve stated before, while this is a fact, it’s not an indictment of Ehlers’ ability, and any suggestion he doesn’t have what it takes to perform on the big stage is nothing but a hot-air narrative.

While Ehlers has downplayed the significance of that statistic when asked about it, you can be sure he’s looking forward to getting rid of that goose egg in the goal column.

His second-period goal Wednesday won’t count on that front, but it came on the type of play that is likely to lead to Ehlers scoring multiple goals when the games matter most.

After defenceman Josh Morrissey started the play with a smart outlet pass, Ehlers drove to the far post in transition and was quick to pounce on a rebound after a hard, low shot from linemate Patrik Laine.

This is the type of thing Ehlers has done all year long, using his speed and going to the hard areas. That’s why Jets head coach Paul Maurice is expecting Ehlers to break through.

“It’s a five-game series, so there’s not a lot of time to do it. But his game has changed this year,” said Maurice. “He’s harder on pucks, he drives the net, he’s competing at a different level than he ever has before, so I think he’s a goal scorer in the playoffs for sure.”

There was an element of concern when Ehlers left practice early last week and then spent time with the second group the day after, but if he was dealing with a minor ailment, he had shown no signs of any lingering effects.

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However, just before the mid-way point of the third period, Ehlers got tangled up with Canucks forward Adam Gaudette and he went down the tunnel.

Maurice made sure to say his departure was “100 per cent precautionary” and that he expected Ehlers to be a full participant in the Jets’ practice on Friday after the team uses Thursday as a day off.

Jack is jumping

Jets forward Jack Roslovic was noticeable for the right reasons Wednesday and that could be a sign of things to come.

Roslovic chipped in an assist with a beautiful no-look, backhand pass to Dmitry Kulikov when it looked like he might have a clear path to the net.

The 2015 first-rounder also showcased his speed and skill on several other shifts throughout the contest, and after setting career-bests for goals (12), assists (17) and points (29), Roslovic could be primed for a productive playoff.

The duo of Adam Lowry and Andrew Copp is known for being able to generate plenty of time in the offensive zone on the cycle, and Roslovic has the potential to be a strong finisher on that unit, to go along with his playmaking.

Secondary scoring is a must for teams to go deep, and given the responsibility the trio will have on the defensive side of the equation, chipping in some additional offence would help take some of the pressure off the top two lines.

“I don’t look at that as just a shutdown line, they can do it because they’re built to do it. But there’s some offence — for sure — to be had,” said Jets head coach Paul Maurice. “You can use them to check and you can play them against the heavy line too. That frees your other guys from having to do that. It’s a very versatile group.”

Don’t worry about the D

Yes, there were some shaky moments early — including a pair of turnovers by Neal Pionk on his first shift — but again, it’s the first real game action for this group since early March.

While the Jets struggled defensively for a chunk of the season, they did a better job as the season moved along and this unheralded bunch is eager to attack the narrative that the D-corps could be viewed as a weak link.

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The Jets lost a lot of offence and some considerable bite with the overhaul of the blue line, but they got a pair of goals on Wednesday from Tucker Poolman and Kulikov.

They also got some physical play from Nathan Beaulieu, who leveled Zack MacEwen in the first period.

The top pairing of Morrissey and Dylan DeMelo are going to need to log plenty of important minutes in a shutdown role, but as Maurice said during training camp, he feels a lot better about the group than he did on the first day of training camp.

And for good reason.

Fourth-line ferocity

One of the criticisms of Maurice during his tenure with the Jets is that he’s often leaned too heavily on his top guns and hasn’t used his fourth line enough.

Some of that is related to personnel, but he’s got confidence in the line of Nick Shore, Mathieu Perreault and Mason Appleton, and on Wednesday it showed — as all three players were above 11:26 in ice time and combined for four shots on goal and three hits.

Of course, building a four-goal cushion helped on that front, but it won’t be a surprise to see those players routinely at (or at least near) double digits, especially since Perreault is on the second power-play unit and both Shore and Appleton are used on the penalty kill.

Perreault was limited to 49 games this season because of injury, but he looks like he’s energized, while Appleton is an emerging player who has shown he can also play up the lineup when called upon.

This line will be asked to do more than just tread water and not get scored on. They could also chip in offensively and create some momentum by creating some chaos on the forecheck.

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NHL roundup: Hurricanes beat Flyers 6-4 for seventh straight win

Published

13 hours ago

November 6, 2024

Anne Joseph

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Martin Necas scored a go-ahead goal with 29 seconds left and the Carolina Hurricanes beat the Philadelphia Flyers 6-4 on Tuesday night.

It was the seventh straight win for the Hurricanes, who also got goals from Jack Roslovic, Jordan Martinook, Eric Robinson and Jackson Blake. Seth Jarvis added an empty-net goal in the final seconds.

Necas typically saves his game-winners for overtime, with nine in his career, but he was able to take care of business in regulation with his team-best seventh goal of the season.

Travis Konecny scored two goals and had two assists for the Flyers. Morgan Frost and Owen Tippett also scored for Philadelphia.

Aleksei Kolosov made 28 saves for the Flyers, who trailed 2-1, 3-1 and 4-3 but kept coming back. Carolina’s Pyotr Kochetkov struggled in net allowing four goals on just 16 shots.

Elsewhere in the NHL on Tuesday:

—

SABRES 5 SENATORS 1

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Bowen Byram and Tage Thompson scored 16 seconds apart to open the third period, and Buffalo snapped a three-game skid with a win over Ottawa.

Byram scored twice, JJ Peterka had two goals and an assist and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 37 saves.

Ridly Greig converted his own rebound in cutting Buffalo’s lead to 2-1 with 7:31 left in the second period. Linus Ullmark made 29 saves in dropping to 1-4 in his past five starts.

Buffalo went up 3-1 on Byram’s second goal 21 seconds into the third period. The defenceman’s shot from inside the blue line sneaked through Ullmark, with the puck rolling down the goalie’s pad, dropping into the crease and trickling across the line. Thompson scored when he crashed the net, was knocked over by defender Jake Sanderson and was lying in the crease when Alex Tuch’s shot went in off his shoulder.

—

MAPLE LEAFS 4 BRUINS 0

TORONTO (AP) — Anthony Stolarz made 29 saves for his first shutout of the season in Toronto’s 4-0 victory over Boston.

Morgan Rielly had a goal and two assists as Toronto connected three times on the power play. William Nylander and Matthew Knies added a goal and an assist each. Mitch Marner had two assists of his own. Steven Lorentz rounded out the scoring into the empty net.

The Leafs played without captain Auston Matthews, who is listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury.

Jeremy Swayman made 23 stops for Boston, which was coming off consecutive weekend shutouts of the Philadelphia Flyers and Seattle Kraken.

Toronto’s porous 31st-ranked power play scored for the second time in as many games at 8:44 of the second period when Rielly fired through a screen. Nylander banked in his team-leading 10th goal of the season on another man advantage 1:14 later for a 2-0 lead.

The Bruins entered the game 8-0-0 in the regular season against their Atlantic Division rival dating back to Jan. 14, 2023.

—

FLAMES 3 CANADIENS 2 (OT)

MONTREAL (AP) — Matt Coronato scored twice as Calgary came back to defeat Montreal in overtime.

Coronato tied the game with 2:46 remaining in regulation when he cruised into the slot and went off the post and in. He then buried the winning goal seven seconds into the extra period.

Connor Zary also scored for Calgary, which won its second game in seven outings. Dustin Wolf stopped 21 shots.

Joel Armia — with a short-handed goal — and Brendan Gallagher scored for Montreal (4-7-2). Armia also provided an assist, while Sam Montembeault made 32 saves as the Canadiens’ losing streak extended to four games.

Zary opened the scoring with his third 4:20 into the second period when he pounced on a loose puck in the slot and fired a shot past Montembeault.

Gallagher then slipped the puck between Wolf’s pads at 16:23 to level the score with his fifth of the season.

—

BLUES 3 LIGHTNING 2

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Jordan Kyrou, Alexey Toropchenko and Oskar Sundqvist scored to help St. Louis beat Tampa Bay 3-2.

Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington made 21 saves for his 149th career win moving him past Jake Allen for second place in franchise history, just two wins behind Mike Liut’s 151.

Nick Perbix and Victor Hedman scored, and Andrei Vasilevskiy made 20 saves for the Lightning who have lost three straight games.

Kyrou scored his fourth goal of the season 8:51 into the third period to give St. Louis a 3-1 lead.

Toropchenko scored his first goal of the season with 1:35 remaining in the second period to put St. Louis ahead 2-1 after Sundqvist tied the game with his first of the season 7:47 into the period.

—

ISLANDERS 4 PENGUINS 3 (SO)

NEW YORK (AP) — Bo Horvat scored the only goal in a shootout and New York rallied past Pittsburgh 4-3.

New York goalie Ilya Sorokin denied Rickard Rakell, Sidney Crosby and Kris Letang in the shootout and finished with 32 saves. Kyle Palmieri had a goal and an assist for the Islanders, who trailed 3-1 midway through the third period.

Simon Holmstrom and Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored in the third for New York. Horvat had two assists.

Evgeni Malkin had a goal and an assist to lead Pittsburgh. Crosby got his 598th career goal, and Michael Bunting also scored. Rakell added two assists.

Alex Nedeljkovich stopped 23 shots for the Penguins, who have lost seven of nine. They won their previous two following a six-game skid.

—

KINGS 5 WILD 1

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Trevor Lewis scored twice, Kevin Fiala added another on the power play and Los Angeles beat Minnesota 5-1.

Warren Foegele and Quinton Byfield also scored for Los Angeles, which was playing the second night of a back-to-back after a 3-0 win in Nashville a night earlier. David Rittich made 23 saves for the Kings.

Fiala, who was traded to Los Angeles in 2022 by Minnesota for a first-round pick draft pick and defenceman Brock Faber, scored his seventh goal of the season. He now has three goals and six assists in his last seven games against the Wild.

Minnesota, which had won three in a row, opened the scoring in the second period on Zach Bogosian’s first goal of the season. Goaltender Filip Gustavsson stopped 23 shots for the Wild.

—

JETS 3 UTAH 0

WINNIPEG, Man. (AP) — Nino Niederreiter scored twice in his 900th NHL career game and Connor Hellebuyck made 21 saves to help Winnipeg defeat Utah 3-0.

It was Hellebuyck’s second shutout of the season and 39th of this career.

Gabriel Vilardi also scored for the Jets. Adam Lowry assisted on both goals by Niederreiter.

Utah ended a run of picking up points in three consecutive games (1-0-2).

Karel Vejmelka stopped 25 shots for Utah in its second stop on a four-game road trip.

Jets winger Kyle Connor had his franchise-record, season-opening points streak end at 12 games.

—

AVALANCHE 6 KRAKEN 3

DENVER (AP) — Arturri Lehkonen scored the go-ahead goal on a power play in his season debut and Nathan MacKinnon had five assists as Colorado beat Seattle 6-3.

Mikko Rantanen added two goals for the Avalanche, who snapped a three-game losing streak. Ivan Ivan, Nikolai Kovalenko and Chris Wagner also scored for Colorado.

Cale Makar had two assists but the star defenceman barely played in the second half of the game and appeared to be slowed by an apparent injury during a brief shift.

MacKinnon and Makar extended their season-opening point streaks to 13 games.

Lehkonen played for the first time since off-season shoulder surgery.

Jared McCann, Jaden Schwartz and Brandon Montour scored for the Kraken.

—

CANUCKS 5 DUCKS 1

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Brock Boeser, Danton Heinen and Kiefer Sherwood had a goal and an assist apiece, and Quinn Hughes recorded his 300th career assist in Vancouver’s victory over Anaheim.

Jake DeBrusk and Elias Pettersson also scored and Hughes had three assists for the Canucks, who have won six of eight. Kevin Lankinen made 21 saves in Vancouver’s sixth consecutive win over the Ducks.

Olen Zellweger scored a power-play goal early in the first period for Anaheim, which has lost seven of nine. Lukas Dostal stopped 31 shots.

Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko took shots from teammates again after the morning skate, and he could return to practice this week. The Southern California native and 2023-24 Vezina Trophy finalist hasn’t played this season due to a knee injury incurred late last season.

—

SHARKS 2 BLUE JACKETS 1 (OT)

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Alex Wennberg scored 3:11 into overtime and San Jose celebrated the return of No. 1 overall draft pick Macklin Celebrini with a win over Columbus.

Defenceman Jack Thompson scored his first career goal for the Sharks (4-8-2), who entered the night with the worst record in the NHL. San Jose has won four of five.

Celebrini, the top pick in the 2024 NHL draft, missed 12 games with a hip injury he sustained in the season opener Oct. 10 — an injury first incurred during the pre-season. Celebrini didn’t score and missed a shot early in overtime.

San Jose goalie Vitek Vanacek was fantastic in net, making 49 saves.

Blue Jackets right wing Kirill Marchenko scored for the second consecutive game. Columbus (5-6-1) has lost three straight.

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Canada’s Dabrowski and New Zealand’s Routliffe pick up second win at WTA Finals

Published

2 days ago

November 5, 2024

Anne Joseph

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Canada’s Gabriela Dabrowski and New Zealand’s Erin Routliffe remain undefeated in women’s doubles at the WTA Finals.

The 2023 U.S. Open champions, seeded second at the event, secured a 1-6, 7-6 (1), (11-9) super-tiebreak win over fourth-seeded Italians Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini in round-robin play on Tuesday.

The season-ending tournament features the WTA Tour’s top eight women’s doubles teams.

Dabrowski and Routliffe lost the first set in 22 minutes but levelled the match by breaking Errani’s serve three times in the second, including at 6-5. They clinched victory with Routliffe saving a match point on her serve and Dabrowski ending Errani’s final serve-and-volley attempt.

Dabrowski and Routliffe will next face fifth-seeded Americans Caroline Dolehide and Desirae Krawczyk on Thursday, where a win would secure a spot in the semifinals.

The final is scheduled for Saturday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Nov. 5, 2024.

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Allen nets shutout as Devils burn Oilers 3-0

Published

2 days ago

November 4, 2024

Anne Joseph

EDMONTON – Jake Allen made 31 saves for his second shutout of the season and 26th of his career as the New Jersey Devils closed out their Western Canadian road trip with a 3-0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Monday.

Jesper Bratt had a goal and an assist and Stefan Noesen and Timo Meier also scored for the Devils (8-5-2) who have won three of their last four on the heels on a four-game losing skid.

The Oilers (6-6-1) had their modest two-game winning streak snapped.

Calvin Pickard made 13 stops between the pipes for Edmonton.

TAKEAWAYS

Devils: In addition to his goal, Bratt picked up his 12th assist of the young season to give him nine points in his last eight games and now 15 points overall. Nico Hischier remains in the team lead, picking up an assist of his own to give him 16 points for the campaign. He has a point in all but four games this season.

Oilers: Forward Leon Draisaitl was held pointless after recording six points in his previous two games and nine points in his previous four. Draisaitl usually has strong showings against the Devils, coming into the contest with an eight-game point streak against New Jersey and 11 goals in 17 games.

KEY MOMENT

New Jersey took a 2-0 lead on the power play with 3:26 remaining in the second period as Hischier made a nice feed into the slot to Bratt, who wired his third of the season past Pickard.

KEY RETURN?

Oilers star forward and captain Connor McDavid took part in the optional morning skate for the Oilers, leading to hopes that he may be back sooner rather than later. McDavid has been expected to be out for two to three weeks with an ankle injury suffered during the first shift of last Monday’s loss in Columbus.

OILERS DEAL FOR D-MAN

The Oilers have acquired defenceman Ronnie Attard from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for defenceman Ben Gleason.

The 6-foot-3 Attard has spent the past three season in the Flyers organization seeing action in 29 career games. The 25-year-old right-shot defender and Western Michigan University grad was originally selected by Philadelphia in the third round of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. Attard will report to the Oilers’ AHL affiliate in Bakersfield.

UP NEXT

Devils: Host the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday.

Oilers: Host the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 4, 2024.

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