If the Winnipeg Jets’ top line is going to look like this for the rest of the season, local hockey fans are going to be in line for some tremendous entertainment.
The trio of Kyle Connor, Pierre-Luc Dubois and Nikolaj Ehlers put on an offensive show Sunday afternoon as the Jets thumped the Vancouver Canucks 7-4 to run their season-long winning streak to five games.
Connor scored three goals to hit the 20-mark for the sixth straight season, while Ehlers had a goal and two assists and Dubois had a career-high four helpers.
“I thought we were reading off each other really well tonight,” said Connor, who had his fourth career hat trick and second of the season. “Obviously a lot of potential, with that line. We all think the same way in a lot of senses, coming into the offensive zone. That’s what gives us the ability to read off of each other.
“It’s just a lot of fun right now and hopefully we just continue to grow. This is Nik’s second game back and he’s only going to get better, our chemistry is only getting better, and hopefully the sky’s the limit.”
Third-liner Morgan Barron, fourth-liner Axel Jonsson-Fjallby and defenceman Dylan DeMelo also scored for the Jets, who improved to 26-13-1 on the season and remain one point behind the Dallas Stars (who beat Florida 5-1 Sunday) in the race for first place in the Central Division.
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Jonsson-FJallby’s late second period goal stood as the game-winner, while DeMelo’s second of the season came with the Jets playing shorthanded in the third.
“You need those contributions,” Jets head coach Rick Bowness said. “It’s nice to see them score. We got five points from our defence tonight so we can talk about the third and fourth lines but we also need contributions from our defence and we got those as well.”
Ehlers, who is coming off a lengthy absence after having surgery for a sports hernia, looked much better than he did in Friday’s win over the Tampa Bay Lightning, which was his first game back.
He made a slick play to set up Connor for the opening goal of the game and scored a beauty of his own in the second period, holding on the puck as he went around the net and then pivoting out front and firing a high shot past Canucks goalie Collin Delia.
“Last game was definitely a tough one,” Ehlers said. “I think everybody could see that. So I did everything I could to make my legs and my body feel better for this game today. And I felt pretty good.
“(Our line) played well tonight. They are two guys that are pretty easy to play with. I told them I might need some help in the first couple games. And they did a good job with that. We read off each other as much as possible. I think that’s what makes this line a good line. And then as soon as we have a chance to get the puck, defensively or offensively, we’re going all out. So try to use our speed as much as possible.”
J.T.Miller, Jack Studnicka, Bo Horvat and Sheldon Dries scored for the Canucks, who got four shots past Jets backup goalie David Rittich, but were not able to beat him in the third period when they needed it most.
The Jets held 2-0 and 4-2 leads, but the Canucks tied it back up both times.
“I thought it was a little sloppy,” Connor said. “We realize that. We came in after the second, talking about it, realizing it, that we’ve just got to be stronger, win more battles, make better decisions in our zone.”
We made it too easy for them to play. When you get into the playoffs, you can’t play like the way we did today
Rick Bowness
Bowness thought it was more than just a “little sloppy” and he clearly wasn’t happy with the way his team defended, especially in the first two periods.
“We made it too easy for them to play,” Bowness said.
“When you get into the playoffs, you can’t play like the way we did today. It’s as simple as that. You can’t. We’ve got to get into the playoffs and we’ve got to learn before we get there that if you get a 2-0 lead, you keep playing the right way. You keep playing the same way and we didn’t.”
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Though it was just Jonsson-Fjallby’s third goal of the season, it was his second game-winner. He wasn’t exactly singing his own praises after the game, however.
“I’m on three goals against,” said Jonsson-Fjallby, who ripped a high shot past replacement goalie Spencer Martin for the winner. “That’s not good enough. We’ve got to play good defense. They’ve got to rely on us to play good PK. But you know, we end up winning, so it’s good.”
The 24-year-old Swede also made a nice play on DeMelo’s shortie, dropping a pass to the trailer instead of going across ice on a three-on-one.
“Actually the whole bench is yelling ‘three, like the third guy with us,” Jonsson-Fjallby said. “So that’s an assist on them.”
The Jets will now head out on the road and will play eight of the next nine games away from home. A three-gamer starts Tuesday in Detroit.
They’ll be looking to continue to build on the momentum they’ve created early in the New Year.
Bowness wants to see a much cleaner game from the Jets once they get out on the road.
“You saw two different teams out there today,” Bowness said. “You saw the team that we wanted to be in the first 11 minutes of the first period and that’s how we want to play. They only had a couple of shots on net.
“That’s how we want to play — and then we stopped playing that way for nine minutes and all of a sudden, they’re back in the game. Which you can’t do.”
Twitter.com/Ted_Wyman
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