Jets record spirited win to pull even with Flames
You won’t see many more gutsy efforts than the one recorded on Monday by a team many people were writing off after just one game of the NHL playoffs.
On a day when the Winnipeg Jets were missing two of their biggest stars and three regular forwards in total, two players stepped up to score their first NHL playoff goals en route to an inspiring, series tying 3-2 win over the Calgary Flames.
Rookie Jansen Harkins, inserted into the lineup with centre Mark Scheifele and wingers Patrik Laine and Mason Appleton all injured, opened the scoring on a first-period breakaway in his first career playoff appearance.
And winger Nikolaj Ehlers, in his 23rd playoff game, finally got the proverbial monkey off his back by scoring the game winner on a power play with 9:36 left in the third period.
The best-of-five qualifying round series, being played at Edmonton’s Rogers Place because of the COVID-19 pandemic, is now tied 1-1. Game 3 goes Tuesday at 6:45 p.m. ET.
“It’s right up there near the top,” Jets coach Paul Maurice said, when asked where this game ranks among gutsy performances put in by his team.
“With the loss that we took (in Game 1) and the players that were out. Those are key players who are so important to everything we do in our game.”
Scheifele, who tied for the Jets’ scoring lead in the regular season, Laine and Appleton were all injured in a Game 1 loss to the Flames on Saturday. Originally thought to be possibly season ending, Scheifele’s injury is now believed to be not too serious and he could be back in this series.
But the Jets got by without him on Monday, outplaying the Flames for most of the afternoon.
Centre Adam Lowry scored 5:43 into the second period to give the Jets a 2-0 lead and they looked to be cruising until a bad mistake and a bad bounce allowed the Flames to tie it.
Ehlers made a poor decision to pass the puck into the middle of the Jets’ zone and Flames winger Elias Lindholm made him pay by firing a shot past Winnipeg goalie Connor Hellebuyck for an unassisted marker. Then, before the second period was over, Calgary’s Sam Bennett tried a wraparound that went off the skate of Jets defenceman Nathan Beaulieu and into the net.
Ehlers almost wore the double goat horns when he took an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty in the third period, but the Jets killed it off — in fact the Flames went 0-for-6 on the power play — and then Ehlers made up for both gaffes by deflecting a Neal Pionk point shot past Calgary goalie Cam Talbot for the game winner.
“It felt great,” Ehlers said. “I keep saying the same thing, and I’m going to say it again, but you want to score goals. You want to be a difference maker.”
As huge as it was for Ehlers to get the game winner, the Harkins goal was also inspiring. Having a player come into the lineup, essentially replacing Scheifele, and score a beautiful opening goal was uplifting for the Jets.
“It was a huge goal, for a young kid to gain some confidence in this type of situation, and obviously for our team to get a boost to pick ourselves off the floor from last game,” Jets captain Blake Wheeler said.
“You need guys to step up. It’s not a great situation when you’re filling in for Mark Scheifele and Patrik Laine. I think those guys who came in, they came in with a ton of excitement.”
Harkins has played just 29 NHL games, but he’s got great speed and hands.
“You obviously want to make a difference,” he said. “A lot of nerves and just excitement to get in there today. The last thing you want to see is guys on your team go down, some of our top guys.
“But I just tried to step in and do my job out there and just tried to help the team any way I could.”
Veteran wingers Gabriel Bourque and Logan Shaw also were in the lineup as the Jets ran four completely different lines from Game 1.
Hellebuyck made 28 saves to earn the win and defenceman Dylan Demelo, acquired near the trade deadline from the Ottawa Senators, helped the Jets kill off six Calgary power plays.