In his first game in Winnipeg as a visiting player, Blake Wheeler was held off the scoresheet, but his new team got the last laugh as the New York Rangers downed the Jets 3-2 in overtime Monday night.
Winnipeg started the overtime period on a man advantage, but couldn’t capitalize, and with only 26 seconds left, Mika Zibanejad buried a one-timer to give the Rangers the win and the extra point.
The victory made it a perfect five-game road trip for the Rangers, while the Jets settled for a single point for the second game in a row to give them at least a point in five straight and are now 4-3-2 on the season.
Artemi Panarin was involved in all three Rangers’ markers, and had a goal and two assists on his birthday to give him a nine-game point streak to start the season.
David Gustafsson and Nikolaj Ehlers scored goals for the Jets in the loss, giving Ehlers two goals in his last three games after having what he calls an off night in Montreal on Saturday.
“I was pretty bad last game,” said Ehlers. “I’ve had a lot of bad games and I’m still going to have a lot of bad games. So, I just tried to get back out there and skate, and create something, and be better. I think I managed that pretty good.”
Ehlers’ third period goal marked his 400th career point. He also had a couple of other dangerous chances and finished the night with five shots on goal to match Kyle Connor for the team lead.
“For a guy that missed all of training camp he’s starting to get his game going,” said interim head coach Scott Arniel. “The biggest thing him and I talk about is holding onto pucks. When he holds onto pucks, he’s hard to play against, people can’t get it away from him, and he utilizes his speed, which is his best asset.
“We need him to be at his best like he is right now.”
Wheeler, the former Jets captain, had four shots on net, and was a minus-1 in 13:32 of ice time in his return to his old stomping grounds. He is now pointless in his first nine games with the Rangers.
The Jets power play came up empty again and finished the game 0-for-3 with the man advantage. The power play has failed connect on all of their last 17 chances going back more than four games.
Cole Perfetti was moved up to the Jets number one power play, swapping spots with Ehlers on the second unit.
“They got a good kill and they were just kinda packing the middle,” Perfetti said. “Would have been nice to contribute on it and get a goal for us or something, and get a little momentum.”
Perfetti had two assists in the loss.
The crowd showed great appreciation for Wheeler during the second media timeout of the opening period. A tribute video for the Jets’ former captain was drowned out by the cheering of the appreciative crowd as Wheeler raised his stick in the air and tapped his chest to acknowledge the fans.
The game stayed goalless late into the first before Panarin opened the scoring with 1:36 to go. The puck found its way to Jacob Trouba at the point, who sent a perfect feed to Panarin for a backdoor tap-in to open the scoring.
But Winnipeg wasted no time responding. Perfetti carried the puck into the Rangers’ zone, eluding multiple defenders before sliding a pass to Gustafsson by the faceoff dot.
He caught it with his skate, knocked it to his stick and beat Igor Shesterkin over the glove to tie the game 68 seconds after the Panarin tally.
The Rangers earned the first power play chance of the game early in the second period and were mere inches away from regaining the lead. Vincent Trocheck beat Connor Hellebuyck five-hole but the shot hit the post and came to a stop on the goal line.
As Zibanejad attempted to get a stick on the puck, Hellebuyck used his glove to keep the stick away, allowing Brenden Dillon to sweep the puck away to safety.
Winnipeg also had a couple of cracks with the man advantage in the second but failed on both attempts as their power play continues to struggle.
The game remained tied 1-1 through 40 minutes with the teams also even 19-19 in shots on goal.
Just over five minutes into the third, the Jets took their first lead of the game thanks to Nikolaj Ehlers.
The Dashing Dane led a 2-on-1 with Perfetti and tried to get it to Perfetti but the centering pass was broken up. The puck wound up behind the net where Ehlers picked it up and stuffed it through Shesterkin on the wraparound to put his team in front. It was also the 400th point of Ehlers’ NHL career.
New York got a great chance to even the score when Adam Lowry was sent to the box just shy of nine minutes into the third but the Jets’ penalty kill took care of business.
Given a second try a few minutes later, the Rangers power play delivered the game-tying goal.
With Dillon in the box for boarding, Chris Kreider parked himself in front of Hellebuyck and tipped home an Adam Fox point shot to level the game with 6:48 remaining.
The two sides would need overtime to settle things but before the end of the third, Mason Appleton carried the puck into the Rangers’ zone with a burst of speed. As he carried it into the corner, he lost an edge and went crashing into the boards, but New York’s Ryan Lindgren was assessed a tripping penalty on the play, amidst protests from several Rangers players.
Winnipeg started the overtime session with 1:42 of power play time but couldn’t cash in as the Jets have now had 17 consecutive unsuccessful power plays.
With 1:29 to go in OT, there was finally a whistle to make it three skaters per side and with 25.4 seconds to go, the Rangers ended the game.
Panarin carried the puck into the slot, drawing all three Jets defenders towards him. He fed an open Zibanejad by the faceoff dot, who blasted it through Hellebuyck for the winner.
Winnipeg wound up outshooting the Rangers 29-26 as New York finished a five-game Western Conference road swing with a 5-0 record.
The Jets will now head out on the road for a three-game swing starting in Las Vegas Thursday night to take on the Golden Knights. Pregame coverage starts at 6:30 p.m. on 680 CJOB with the puck dropping just after 9 p.m.
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