After dominating the Flames in Winnipeg Wednesday night, the Jets doubled down with a 5-3 win in Calgary Friday night to cap off their preseason schedule on a high note.
Kyle Connor had a goal and two assists, while Pierre-Luc Dubois had two goals.
Both teams iced lineups that will look very similar to their season-opening rosters and Jets defenceman Nate Schmidt said it was nice to get a taste of the real thing.
“I think it was fun to see a full lineup,” Schmidt said. “It was fun to test yourself and get yourself ready for next week, there’s no way to replicate it in practice.
There’s nothing like playing top guys in those situations.”
The visitors continued where they left off from Wednesday’s win when Dubois opened the scoring just over four minutes in, redirecting a Dylan DeMelo point shot past Jacob Markstrom.
Just over four minutes after that, Nikolaj Ehlers tracked down a puck that bounced off the boards near the net and banked it in off of Markstrom to make it 2-0.
Tyler Toffoli cut the lead to one at the 15:05 mark when he finished off a great passing play from Elias Lindholm and Jonathan Huberdeau, a tantalizing taste for Flames fans of that line’s offensive potential this season.
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But Dubois would strike again for the Jets on the power play as he buried one from point-blank range, giving Winnipeg a 3-1 lead after one, though Dubois was done for the game after 20 minutes with what the team called a lower-body injury.
Calgary outshot the Jets 15-6 in the opening frame and continued that shot advantage in the second, bringing the margin back to one at the five minute mark when Blake Coleman beat Connor Hellebuyck from in close.
The Flames seemed to be building momentum for a tying goal before Connor struck with a quick release that beat Markstrom to make it 4-2. It was only Winnipeg’s eighth shot of the game.
Connor would then connect with Scheifele on a short-handed rush late in the period to make it 5-2 after 40 minutes, despite the Flames holding a 29-11 advantage in shots on goal.
Calgary was able to cut the lead to two in the third thanks to a Nazem Kadri marker with less than four minutes left but what will be remembered most from the final frame was some questionable hits made by the Flames that resulted in post-whistle skirmishes.
First it was Cole Perfetti who, for the second game in a row, was the victim of a hit from behind, this time from Coleman. Coleman was not penalized for the hit and Calgary got a power play because of retaliation penalties to Winnipeg.
Then in the final moments, Huberdeau cross-checked Dominic Toninato close to the boards, crumpling the Jets forward and setting off another fracas. If you’re curious about any carryover into later meetings, the two sides meet for the first time in the regular season Nov. 12.
READ MORE: Second period surge powers Jets to 5-0 preseason win over Calgary
Calgary wound up outshooting the Jets 38-16 as Hellebuyck made 35 saves for the win.
Winnipeg finishes the preseason with a 4-1-1 record but will need to wait a week until they open the regular season Oct. 14 against the New York Rangers at Canada Life Centre. Pregame show will begin on 680 CJOB at 5 p.m. with the puck dropping shortly after 7 p.m.
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