JETS EARN FIRST PLAYOFF WIN
Minnesota put scare into fans in third, but home team prevailed, writes Ken Wiebe.
Talk about a valuable insurance policy.
When Winnipeg Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff closed a deal with the Montreal Canadiens to pick up Joe Morrow prior to the NHL trade deadline, the thought was he’d be a depth defenceman — a player you could call on in case of injury or if head coach Paul Maurice needed to shake things up.
Turns out Morrow has been much more than insurance, especially with veteran blueliners Toby Enstrom and Dmitry Kulikov sidelined with injuries.
After suiting up in 18 games during the regular season, Morrow opened the Stanley Cup playoffs on the second pairing and made a key contribution on Wednesday night, delivering the game-winning goal in a 3-2 victory over the Minnesota Wild.
Morrow’s point shot changed direction off the stick of Wild forward Charlie Coyle with 12:47 and gave the Jets a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
Playing in front of 15,000-plus fans wearing white, the Jets earned the first playoff victory since the team returned to Winnipeg.
Game 2 is Friday night before the series shifts to Minnesota for Games 3 and 4.
With the Jets on their second power play of the contest late in the second period, Blake Wheeler made a slick pass into the slot and Mark Scheifele took care of the rest, ripping home a one-timer for his first career playoff goal.
The power play was a big weapon for the Jets during the regular season, finishing fifth overall and producing five man-advantage markers against the Wild in the four-game season series.
Although the Wild made a concerted effort to try to take away the one-timer from the top of the circle for Patrik Laine, that left open other options.
Wheeler has been a man on a mission all year. Not only did the Jets captain tie for the league lead in assists, he produced a career-high 91 points.
The Wild scored a pair of goals early in the third period to take the lead. Zach Parise converted a pass from Mikael Granlund on an odd-man rush after Jets defenceman Dustin Byfuglien got caught up the ice to make it 2-1.
Patrik Laine evened the score at 4:51, ripping home a high shot after Paul Stastny took a hit from Matt Dumba to make the play and create some time and space for the Jets sniper.
The Jets were forced to finish the game with 11 forwards after Mathieu Perreault left the contest in the second period with what appeared to be an upperbody injury.
Perreault was on the receiving end of a punishing open-ice hit from Wild centre Mikko Koivu and then was tackled to the ice by defenceman Nate Prosser a few shifts later.
If Perreault is unable to play in Game 2, look for rookie forward Jack Roslovic to make his playoff debut.
Although the Wild are without top defenceman Ryan Suter, the team got a boost from the return of Jared Spurgeon. Spurgeon, who missed the final 12 games of the regular season with a hamstring issue, was paired with Carson Soucy.
Maurice cautioned going into the series that the loss of Suter wouldn’t necessarily be a crippling blow for the Wild.
I’ve had very young teams that have done really good and I’ve had really experienced teams that have sort of failed in the first round.
“He’s a really important player for their team,” said Maurice. “It would be like when Dustin (Byfuglien), when he went out. Taking one player out doesn’t have the impact that maybe you think it does in the game. He’s an important piece, for sure, but the quality of (the Wild) game after the injury was just as good. They’ve played very, very well. There’s an impact on their team, without a doubt. He’s the kind of guy you’re going to miss, but that doesn’t necessarily have an effect on the team game.”
Going into the series, the Wild held a decisive edge in terms of post-season experience (748 to 265), with eight members of the Jets getting their first taste of the Stanley Cup playoffs on Wednesday.
Whether or not that inexperience is a factor in this best-ofseven series remains to be seen.
“It’s going to be interesting to see,” Wild head coach Bruce Boudreau said. “I’ve had very young teams that have done really good and I’ve had really experienced teams that have sort of failed in the first round. To me it’s whoever plays the best and has the best game plan going in and gets the better goaltending is going to win.”
Wild goalie Devan Dubnyk did his part, finishing with 37 saves, but it was Connor Hellebuyck who earned his first playoff victory after making 18 saves.