*Photo from Reuters*
The stars of a team frequently lead the way. Kyle Connor had a 3 point game, Mark Scheifele had a goal and an assist, and the Winnipeg Jets defeated the Florida Panthers with a 6-4 victory on Saturday afternoon in Winnipeg.
After losing the first game of the season, the Jets entered the win column for the first time in 2023-2024, dispatching the Panthers in what proved to be a high scoring affair. Connor led the way with two goals and an assist, while Scheifele had a Gordie Howe hat trick and a two point game.
Jets head coach Rick Bowness said of Scheifele's game that "You look at his face-offs tonight, he’s dialed right in there. Gordie Howe Hat Trick, we never thought we’d associate that with Mark but good for him. He’s playing hard, he’s playing with a lot of emotion, and when you do that you get involved in the game physically, which he’s been engaged both games. He’s been outstanding with and without the puck."
It was Scheifele who got the scoring started in the game. He gave the Jets a 1-0 lead 3:30 into the game on the power play, assisted by Connor and Josh Morrisey on his second goal of the season. With the Panthers on the power play, Sam Reinhart scored at the 17:03 mark of the first, tying the game 1-1 with assists from Matthew Tkachuk and Evan Rodrigues.
Just 25 seconds into the second period, Rodrigues scored to give the Panthers a 2-1 lead. 10 seconds later, Connor tied the game 2-2 on his second goal of the season. Morgan Barron scored at the 8:20 mark of the period to make it 3-2 Jets before Dylan DeMelo added a goal of his own, making it 4-2 Jets after two periods.
Mason Appleton resumed the scoring in the 3rd period with a shorthanded goal to give the Jets a 5-2 lead. Carter Verhaeghe scored his first goal of the season for the Panthers to cut it to 5-3 before Rodrigues scored his second goal of the game to make it 5-4. Connor sealed the win for the Jets with an empty net goal.
Scheifele said of the win that "Home opener, you’re back in front of your home fans, you’ve got to be a little fired up. You're playing against a team that went to the Stanley Cup Finals last year. A lot of reasons to be excited for it. Being back in front of the fans and excited we're back playing hockey."
Getting the start for the Jets was Connor Hellebuyck, who picked up his first win of the season in goal. Hellebuyck stopped 29 of the 33 shots he was tested with by the Panthers, good for a .879 save percentage.
Starting opposite Hellebuyck was Sergei Bobrovsky for the Panthers, who dropped to 0-2-0 to open the year. Bobrovsky turned aside 29 out of the 34 shots on goal the Jets had, giving him a .853 save percentage in the loss.
Rodrigues said after the game that "It’s nice to know we’re not just going to roll over and give up games. I thought we played really well in Minnesota and I thought maybe as a team we thought it was going to be easy today. I think to be successful we have to play like we did against Minnesota. I don’t think we did today."
The Jets get back in action on Tuesday with a home game against the Winnipeg Jets, with Hellebuyck likely to get the start. Bobrovsky is the projected starter for the Panthers when they take on the New Jersey Devils on Monday night.
Comments
Post a Comment