The Winnipeg Jets hosted the San Jose Sharks at the Canada Life Centre last night. This matchup was the third and final time that the Jets and Sharks would be meeting during this regular season and up till last night, Winnipeg had yet to beat San Jose.
For the second game in a row, Paul Stastny was ruled out due to injury. Paul Maurice and the Jets coaching staff dressed a lineup that consisted of twelve forwards and six defensemen, while Connor Hellebuyck started in net for the Jets.
Coming into this game, the Sharks made some lineup changes from their win on Thursday and gave James Reimer the start in goal.
A full team Effort from the Winnipeg Jets propels them to a dominant 4-1 win over the San Jose Sharks
Oddly enough it was the Sharks who struck first in this game, courtesy of an Andrew Cogliano goal just over six minutes into the first period to give the Sharks a 1-0 lead, but the Jets answered just over five minutes later when Kyle Connor scored to tie the game.
The game entered the second period tied and the teams were at a standstill at the start of that frame. Things started to go Winnipeg’s way after Adam Lowry fought Jonah Gadjovich.
After the fight, there were a couple of minor penalties in the ensuing action, but when the play returned to even strength, Nate Schmidt was able to score his first goal as a member of the Winnipeg Jets to give the Jets a 2-1 lead.
The Jets controlled the play the rest of the second and were rewarded in the final minute of the period when Jasen Harkins scored on a two-on-one to give the Jets a two-goal lead heading into the final frame.
This goal was fantastic to watch to start to finish. Andrew Copp made a nice play in the neutral zone by taking a hit but shuffling the puck forward to Lowry who was skating towards the offensive zone with a full head of speed.
As the Jets entered the zone on an odd-man rush, Lowry looked like he was going to shoot and waited for Harkins to beat the defenseman who was covering him to the backdoor. Lowry then slid a perfect pass to Harkins, who redirected the puck into the wide-open net.
The Jets played well in the third with the lead. They outshot the Sharks 11-9 in the final period and did not give them a chance to comeback.
Pierre-Luc Dubois scored an empty-net goal in the final minute of regulation to seal the 4-1 victory for the Jets.
3 Winners
Adam Lowry: 1 Fight, 1 Assist, +1
Nate Schmidt: 1 Goal (First as a Winnipeg Jet)
Connor Hellebuyck: Made 26 saves on 27 shots faced
This win snapped a two-game losing streak for the Jets. They will look for back-to-back wins when they are back in action on Saturday night against the Los Angeles Kings. Stay tuned to our site on Saturday for our game preview of the Jets vs. Kings game.
Winnipeg Jets Fans: What did you think of the Winnipeg Jets performance yesterday? Leave your comments below!
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