WINNIPEG – Jacob Trouba’s first multi-goal game in nearly two years helped push the Winnipeg Jets (17-17-2) over the Detroit Red Wings (18-12-7) 4-1. The victory not only brings the Jets’ record back to .500 but also gives them their first win streak since the beginning of December.
Trouba opened the scoring 4:27 into the game by placing a short-handed goal top shelf on Red Wings’ goalie Jimmy Howard. The Jets spent six of the first seven minutes of the period with a player in the penalty box. Drew Stafford and Mark Stuart both picked up assists on Trouba’s third goal of the season.
“We really didn’t force the offence, we let it come to us,” said Trouba. “We bared down and buried some of our chances. In the previous games, we had chances and let them slip away. To get back into this thing we have to get rolling and get on a streak.”
Captain Andrew Ladd added some insurance mid-frame by scoring on a two-man advantage. The Jets led 2-0 at the first intermission despite being outshot 12-7 by the Red Wings.
“Getting that early lead is huge and we set the pace from there,” said Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck. “The penalty kills off the start were huge. We blocked a lot of shots and you could tell the guys were willing to pay the price tonight.”
Alexander Burmistrov continued the rout in the second period by snapping a 22-game goalless drought. Burmistrov sniped his third of the season blocker side on Howard to put the Jets up 3-0. Trouba later chased Howard from the crease with his second goal of the night 11:43 into the frame. The last time Trouba scored two or more goals in a single game was on January 18, 2014 against the Edmonton Oilers.
Manitoban Darren Helm nearly put Detroit on the board with a breakaway with less than four minutes to play in the period. The St. Andrews-born gave the puck a couple of whacks but couldn’t beat Hellebuyck. Helm finished the game with three shots, three hits and 13:11 of ice time.
The Red Wings had to instead wait until the third period to break Hellebuyck’s shutout bid. Pavel Datsyuk used a screen to score his fifth of the season on the power play 1:52 into the frame.
“I thing for the most part, we’re doing the right things,” said Jets forward Blake Wheeler. “I think defensively we’ve been stronger recently. If there’s been a problem, Hellebuyck is back in net to stop them. Those are the keys. That’s how you win. You can’t win giving up the types of goals we’ve been giving up and the amount of goals we’ve been given up. You have to rely on being good defensively. You give up one goal in the last two games, that’s a good start.”
On top of Trouba, three other members of the Jets had a multi-point night. Stafford along with Wheeler both had two assists while Bryan Little had three assists in the win.
Hellebuyck made a total of 33 saves for his seventh victory of the season. By getting the nod against the Red Wings, the rookie has now started seven of the Jets’ last eight games.
The Jets takeoff for a five-game roadtrip starting New Year’s Eve in Arizona with a match against the Coyotes. Winnipeg will face a Central Division team in two of the five games before returning home to take on the Buffalo Sabres on January 10, 2016.
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