Upon further review, Jets earn clutch OT win
WINNIPEG — It’s not every day an NHL team gets a chance to celebrate a win three times in one afternoon.
The Winnipeg Jets did just that Saturday at MTS Centre after centre Mark Scheifele ended a thrilling game against the Washington Capitals by scoring with 20 seconds left in overtime.
Fans and players celebrated wildly, but Capitals coach Barry Trotz threw a damper on the party by challenging that Blake Wheeler was offside as the Jets brought the puck in the zone a few moments before the goal.
The officials reviewed the play and initially indicated it was a good goal, which set off the Jets goal horn and sent many fans toward the exits, feeling good about the victory.
But the officials decided to take a second look (Wheeler’s back skate may or may not have been off the ice as he crossed the line) and after a delay that took exactly nine minutes, finally announced the review was inconclusive and it was a good goal.
“First time we’ve celebrated a win three times,” Jets coach Paul Maurice said after the 2-1 win. “I’m not exactly sure what happened over on the other side. (Referee Dean Morton) seemed pretty sure, so we got to celebrate the second time and then I was a little surprised that we waited after that.
“At the end of the day, the whole idea of reviewing offside is to catch plays that are clearly offside. You know, the autopsy, you can’t figure out what the cause of death is, it doesn’t bring anybody back to life. If it’s that inconclusive, it’s probably within the spirit of the game and should be a good goal.”
The win improved the Jets’ record to 13-12-2 on the season and moved them at least temporarily to within two points of both the Blackhawks, who the Jets play Sunday in Chicago, and the Minnesota Wild in the Central Division.
It was the third straight win for rookie goalie Connor Hellebuyck, who made 37 saves (including six in overtime) in his best game as an NHLer. His best save came off of Washington’s T.J. Oshie in the third period. Oshie had the goalie down and out, but Hellebuyck got a stick on his backhand attempt to deflect it wide.
Hellebuyck has a ridiculous .965 save percentage and 0.97 goalsagainst average through his first three NHL games.
Nicklas Backstrom was the only player to beat Hellebuyck, scoring on a second-period power play. The NHL’s goal-scoring king, Alex Ovechkin, beat Hellebuyck with a wicked shot at one point, but it went off the crossbar and a post.
“I thought I got a piece of that one, so I’m gonna go to my grave with that,” Hellebuyck said. “I definitely got a piece of Oshie’s shot and it’s nice to have a little luck, too.”
Captain Andrew Ladd opened the scoring for the Jets with 6.3 seconds left in the first period. He converted a pass from Bryan Little on the Jets fourth power play of the period. Winnipeg outshot Washington 17-6 in the opening frame.
Ladd has scored in three straight games and has four goals in his last five after getting off to a slow start.
“He’s quicker, he feels better,” Maurice said. “I think the injury he had (sports hernia), the surgery that he had and missing most of camp set him back. He just looks quicker on the ice.”