Take a breath. Three overtime elimination games in the Olympic quarterfinals? What a day of hockey it was and a couple of Jets were at the center of the action. Just two of the four Winnipeg players in Milan were in action yesterday and one of them is on his way home. After all the dust settled we have our four semi-finalists. Josh Morrissey and Canada will take on Finland, and Connor Hellebuyck, Kyle Connor, and team USA will square off with Slovakia. Here's a look at the latest on the Jets in Milan.
Nino Niederreiter got his goal… and a ticket back to Winnipeg
The Swiss had a good tournament. They weren't a medal favourite but were a tough out and had a 2-0 lead on Finland going into the third period in the quarterfinals. Late in the first period, Nino Niederreiter flew into the zone and one-timed a rocket past Finnish goaltender Juuse Saros. It was a feel good moment for Nino and it gave his team a confidence boost going into the first intermission. The Finns would go on to win in overtime, however. Nino didn't light up the stat sheet in Milan but he was a spark for the team and was close to having a couple more goals. He'll join his Jets teammates back in Winnipeg to prepare for the final stretch of the season.
Josh Morrissey eyeing a return to the semifinals
Team Canada is still the gold medal favourite, but they got all they could handle from Czechia in the quarterfinals. It didn't help matters that captain Sidney Crosby went down with a leg injury in the second period. While they might lose Sid for the semifinal matchup with Finland, momentum seems to be building for Josh Morrissey to make his return on Friday. It would be a boost to the Canadian blue line and a huge relief for Morrissey and Jets fans back home. While the Jets are out of the playoff hunt, having Morrissey in the lineup to mentor Elias Salomonsson could pay dividends next season.
Connor Hellebuyck comes up big for team USA
Much like team Canada's overtime victory over Czechia, it was a white knuckle affair for the Amerians against Sweden. Connor Hellebuyck made 28 saves to help team USA fend off the Swedes and earn a semifinal matchup with Slovakia. Helle looked confident throughout the game and nearly pitched a shut out. With the elimination rounds playing tighter he will have to keep up this level of play to maintain the American's gold medal hopes. He'll be in net against a hot Slovakia team, lead by Habs forward Juraj Slafkovsky, coming off of a 6-2 victory over Germany.
Kyle Connor sits again
It looks like Kyle Connor's tournament might be over with head coach Mike Sullivan scratching him in consecutive pivotal games. Connor is a high quality sniper and plays a great transitional game but his skillset isn't what Sullivan is looking for out of his bottom six in the 2 remaining games. It's disappointing for Kyle, but it might add another level of motivation to his game when he returns to Winnipeg and the Jets look to retool for next year.
Just four games remain for the teams in Milan before your Jets are back in action against Vancouver on February 25th.