The Jets hosted the Tampa Bay Lightning on Sunday, November 3rd, defeating the Lightning 7-4, giving them their second straight loss after a three-game win streak they had that ended on Friday against the Minnesota Wild. This is Winnipeg’s third straight victory after the Toronto Maple Leafs put an end to their season-opening eight-game win streak. Nikolaj Ehlers, Vladislav Namestnikov, Cole Perfetti, Mark Scheifele, Alex Iafallo, Dylan Samberg, and Logan Stanley all scored the seven goals for the Jets, and Nikita Kucherov, Mitchell Chaffee, Brandon Hagel, and Brayden Point scored the four goals for the Lightning. The Jets head back home to Winnipeg on Tuesday to host the Utah Hockey Club, and the Lightning will continue their road trip, heading to St. Louis to take on the Blues.
Winnipeg Jets Lineup:
Connor – Scheifele – Vilardi
Perfetti – Namestnikov – Ehlers
Niederreiter – Lowry – Appleton
Barron – Kupari – Iafallo
Morrissey – DeMelo
Samberg – Pionk
Stanley – Miller
Hellebuyck
Comrie
Tampa Bay Lightning Lineup:
Guentzel – Point – Kucherov
Hagel – Cirelli – Geekie
Eyssimont – Paul – Chaffee
Girgensons – Glendening – Atkinson
Hedman – Raddysh
McDonagh – Cernak
Moser – Perbix
Johansson
Vasilevskiy
At 13:11 of the first period, giving Tampa Bay a 1-0 lead – Brandon Hagel scored his seventh goal of the season when the puck slipped out of a net-front scramble, Hagel found the loose puck, and scored. Winnipeg’s coach, Scott Arniel, challenged for goaltender interference on the play… however, the goal was upheld following the video review, and the Jets were penalized for delay of game for the failed challenge. Brayden Point made it a 2-0 lead for Tampa Bay on the power play when he sent a one-timer past Connor Hellebuyck from the slot soon after Hagel’s goal with 11:58 remaining in the opening frame. Vladislav Namestnikov struck his third of the season to cut it to 2-1 at 7:38 when he redirected a cross-slot pass from Josh Morrissey under Jonas Johansson.
In a span of 1:47 in the middle frame, the Jets scored two goals – Logan Stanley had tied it to 2-2 with 14:11 on the clock when he fired a wrister past Jonas Johansson after receiving a pass from Nikolaj Ehlers, who skated with the puck behind the net before heading out and sending it to Stanley… Giving the Jets their first lead of the game – Mark Scheifele finished a give-and-go with Gabriel Vilardi for his seventh goal of the season during a 2-on-1 rush to make it a 3-2 lead for Winnipeg at 12:25 of the second. Mitchell Chaffee tied it back up at 3-3 on the rush with his fourth of the season from above the face-off dot at 11:21.
Alex Iafallo put the Jets back in the lead at 4-3 of the third period early at 15:57 on a one-timer from the slot after he received a pass from Nino Niederreiter, who had been behind the net. At 13:09, Nikita Kucherov tied it back up at 4-4 for his 10th goal of the season when he poke-checked Vladislav Namestnikov as he had carried the puck in front of an unattended Winnipeg net before Connor Hellebuyck was able to regain position following a clearing attempt. Dylan Samberg scored at 12:22 and broke the tie, making it 5-4 for the Jets on a point shot with his third goal of the season. Extending the lead to 6-4 – Nikolaj Ehlers recorded his 474th career point when he struck Tampa Bay’s empty net… Cole Perfetti also scored an empty-net goal soon after Ehlers’ with his fourth of the season for a 7-4 final.
Logan Stanley on the power play, his goal, and everybody chipping in: “The power play has been great all year, and again, tonight, that was a big goal for us, obviously. So, it’s nice that we can capitalize on those and help get a big win – I just made sure he heard me calling for it. I thought there was a little bit of open ice there, he got it to me, and it went in,” – “It’s nice to have everybody chip in. Obviously, it takes 25 guys to win throughout the course of the season. So, contributions from everyone is huge and we’re just going to keep rolling.”
Notes:
– Connor Hellebuyck made a total of 26 saves for Winnipeg.
– Mark Scheifele, Nikolaj Ehlers, Vladislav Namestnikov, and Cole Perfetti each picked up a goal and an assist. Josh Morrissey recorded two assists.
– Nikita Kucherov recorded a goal and an assist.
– Jonas Johansson made a total of 27 saves for Tampa Bay.
– Nikolaj Ehlers has 474 NHL career points (209 goals, 265 assists) in 617 games, which moves him past Frans Nielsen, who held the record of 473 career points (167 goals, 306 assists) in 925 games, which had been the most among Danish-born players in NHL history.
– Kyle Connor picked up an assist, extending his franchise-record season-opening point streak to 12 games (19 points: nine goals, 10 assists). Connor is the second U.S.-born player in NHL history with a run of that length… he follows Kevin Stevens (13 games in 1992-93). Connor had also become the second Jets/Atlanta Thrashers player to record a 12-game point streak at any time in a season… he joins Patrik Laine (15 games from Feb. 16 to March 18, 2018).
– Victor Hedman recorded his 582nd NHL career assist when he factored on Brayden Point’s goal. He ties former teammate and captain, Steven Stamkos, for second place on Tampa Bay’s all-time list behind Martin St. Louis (588).
