*Photo from the San Diego Union Tribune*
This is a season that will determine many things up north, and they're playing like it. Sam Gagner scored, Mark Scheifele scored twice, and the Winnipeg Jets defeated the New York Rangers with a 4-1 victory on Friday night in Winnipeg.
Opening their season up at home, the Jets came out firing on all cylinders, with 3 different players scoring goals. It was enough for their first win of the season, and after the game, Scheifele was quick to credit his line for his own success.
Scheifele said of his line's play that "Ehlers was flying all night, made some great plays, and I don't think Connor gets the credit he deserved. He drove the net, opened everything up. Sometimes it's not always your turn to get the chance. That's what I think our line, we're going to be dangerous if we do that."
The first and only goal of the first period went to Scheifele, scoring 10:29 into the game to put the Jets ahead 1-0, with assists coming from Nikolaj Ehlers and Josh Morrisey. The second period went scoreless, and Dryden Hunt got the Rangers on the board 3:55 into the 3rd period, tying the game at a 1-1 score.
It remained 1-1 for a bit until later on in the 3rd. First up was Gagner, scoring 15:33 into the final period to give the Jets a 2-1 lead, eventually going down as the game winner. Scheifele was next with a power play goal, making it a 3-1 margin. With 20 seconds left and the net empty, Kyle Connor scored to ice the 4-1 win.
After the game, Scheifele said that "We had guys bailing each other out, I think that's the biggest thing. When a guy made a mistake, we had guys backing them up. Obviously, we'll have to fix that for the next one, but all in all, big win, and I'm happy with that one."
To no surprise, Connor Hellebuyck was in net to start the season for the Jets. Hellebuyck got the win with a strong performance. He turned away a whopping 40 of the 41 shots he was tasked with stopping for the Jets. That was good for a .976 save percentage in a stellar season debut for Hellebuyck and the Jets.
Backup goalie Jaroslav Halak got the start for the Rangers, making his team debut. Halak got the loss, saving 30 of 33 shots he was faced with on the night, recording a .909 save percentage as the Rangers fell to 2-1-0 this season.
Rangers head coach Gerard Gallant said of the loss that "We were not great in the first. I thought we played a real good second, and then in the third, I think we ran out of gas so we made a lot of mistakes in the defensive zone, which usually happens from mental mistakes and tired mistakes."
Up next, the Jets get back in action on Monday night with a road showdown against the Dallas Stars, with Hellebuyck to be in net. The Rangers play host to the Anaheim Ducks on Monday, with Igor Shesterkin the probable starter.
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