Winnipeg Jets were ruthless last night against the Ottawa Senators, as they posted a 5-1 victory at the Canadian Tire Center. This is an important triumph for Paul Maurice’s guys, which places them in a solid position before the finals stage of the battle for the playoffs.
The fans had a chance to see one intense and pretty physical match, with lots of penalties and hard hits. At certain moments the situation on the ice was about to escalate, but nothing happened eventually.
During the final period, we saw five unsportsmanlike conducts, and even though the final outcome had been decided a long time ago, the tension was very high. Brady Tkachuk and Jean-Gabriel Pageau were frustrated with the result, and they started being overaggressive. But the referees settled down everything momentarily.
About the game, Mark Scheifele was the hero, scoring three goals, and snapping a 12-game goalless drought. Interestingly all his goals came during power-plays.
“He’s earned it,” Maurice said. “He’s certainly played well for us.”
But the match started with Ottawa netting first. Nick Paul beat Laurent Brossoit with 11:50 inside the game, after a wrist shot. Shortly after that came Scheifele’s two scores in the span of a bit more than a minute. The first one took place with 3:25 before the end of the opening frame, and the second was delivered 71 seconds later.
“We knew what they were going to do and we capitalized when we had the chance,” Scheifele revealed that he and the teammates studied the defense of the Sens when facing the power-play situation.
Kyle Connor delivered the third goal for the guests at 4:52 of the second period, which was his 30th of the campaign. A minute afterward, it was 4-1 with Nikolaj Ehlers adding his name on the scoresheet.
Eventually, Scheifele put an end on this contest with 1:33 left until the buzzer. He had a bit of luck with this goal, because it deflected off Andreas Englund and finished behind Marcus Hogberg, who had 29 shots saved.
A possible reason why Jets knew the strategy of the hosts in power-plays, is because they might have some help from Dylan DeMelo, who was acquired this Tuesday via trade from none other than the Senators. DeMelo didn’t even go to Winnipeg, but decided to await them in the capital of Canada.
“I think we’ve got a really good group of guys in here,” DeMelo said, following the game, stating that he found the rhythm of the team pretty quickly. Coach Maurice spoke highly of his latest addition, emphasizing the fact that he had a very good debut.
“His stick so many times knocked things down, his passes were on the tape,” said Maurice.
Up next, the Jets (32-25-5) visit Philadelphia Flyers already today, and are meeting with Buffalo Sabres on the road this Sunday.
The Senators (21-29-11) meet the Montreal Canadiens on Friday night, also at home, before traveling to Columbus to face the Blue Jackets on Monday. After that, they head for Nashville.
