Jets down Leafs, 3-1, in battle of Canada’s two playoff teams
TORONTO — The Winnipeg Jets weren’t worried about performing in front of a national television audience on a Saturday night against the only other Canadian team heading to the National Hockey League playoffs. Jets games are televised often.
An embarrassing home loss to open the season nearly six months ago coupled with a poor effort last time out provided more than enough fuel.
Josh Morrissey and Dustin Byfuglien scored 1:10 apart in the second period, Connor Hellebuyck was solid in making 28 saves, and Winnipeg defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-1.
Andrew Copp had the other goal for the Jets, who had their doors blown off by the Leafs 7-2 back on Oct. 4. The Jets were coming off Thursday’s disappointing 6-2 setback in Chicago that snapped a six-game winning streak.
Talk of Winnipeg or Toronto assuming the unofficial moniker of “Canada’s Team” when the post-season begins in less than two weeks can wait for another day.
“We kind of owed them one,” Morrissey said. “We didn’t like the way the last meeting went at the start of the year ... and with the way we played in Chicago the other night we really wanted to rebound.
“We had a lot of motivating factors.”
Patrick Marleau replied for the Leafs, who got 26 stops from Curtis McElhinney. Toronto was playing its third game in four nights, including the second of a back-toback following Friday’s 5-4 victory in New York over the Islanders.
“I’m disappointed,” Leafs head coach Mike Babcock said. “When you don’t have quite as much juice, you’re not quite as good.
“It was tight. In the end, they were better.”
Winnipeg was eager to get back to playing a physical, defensively sound game after Thursday’s showing.
“We were on the puck much better,” Jets captain Blake Wheeler said. “That’s a (Toronto) group that wants time, wants space, wants to be creative.”
The Leafs are all but assured of finishing third in the Atlantic Division, while the Jets look just as certain to wind up second in the Central.
But both teams are hoping to use these final few outings as playoff tune-ups.
“It just shows you’ve got to be sharp each and every night, and sometimes the details of the game is the difference — most of the time it’s the difference,” Marleau said. “Tonight was no different.”
Toronto’s only blemish at home in more than two months coming into Saturday was Monday’s 3-2 defeat to Buffalo.