It was a long-awaited night of slump-busting for the Winnipeg Jets.
Several players broke long goalless streaks as the Jets pounded the Detroit Red Wings 6-2 Friday night, inching closer to a playoff spot that once seemed inevitable.
Amidst a stretch in which they had allowed the game’s first goal in 15 of 18 contests, the Jets came close to letting it happen again.
About four minutes in, the Red Wings put together a charge up the ice that led to a prime opportunity for Dominik Kubalik in close but Connor Hellebuyck stood tall, which proved to be the spark that Winnipeg needed to take over the game.
The Jets spent the majority of the rest of the period in the Detroit end as the team that had been starved for goals for weeks broke out in a big way.
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Kyle Connor got on the board at the 6:56 mark when he redirected a Brenden Dillon point shot past Marcus Hellberg to open the scoring, just his second goal in his last 15 games.
Just over five minutes later, Nikolaj Ehlers collected the puck just inside the Detroit blue line and sent a perfect pass to a hard-driving Blake Wheeler, who tapped it into the open net to make it 2-0 with his first marker since Valentine’s Day.
The onslaught continued less than two minutes later when a Neal Pionk point shot was blocked but the puck skittered right to Mark Scheifele at the side of the net, who banged it in for his first in ten games.
Winnipeg held an 11-4 edge in shots on goal and kept up the pressure in the second.
Just 1:20 into the middle frame, Dylan DeMelo sent a wrist shot on goal from the point and it found its way past Hellberg to make it 4-0. With the goal, DeMelo set a new career high in goals (5) and points (23).
Perhaps the biggest cheer of the night came not for a goal but for a defensive play.
Moments after Morgan Barron failed to score on a fairly open net, Matt Luff was sprung on a breakaway after blocking a point shot. But Neal Pionk sprinted back to knock the puck away from Luff just as he was closing in on Hellebuyck, prompting the Jets faithful to erupt in appreciation.
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The offence kept coming at the 13:42 mark when Nino Niederreiter made it 5-0. Mason Appleton tried to hit him with a pass as he drove to the net but it ended up in his body. It dropped behind the net before the Swiss winger collected it, made a move to the front of the net and tucked it through Hellberg for his first goal in eight games.
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With Detroit playing the night after a home win over Carolina, a comeback was not in the cards so the big question heading into the third was whether Hellebuyck could pick up his first shutout since November.
In the meantime, the Jets decided to grab another goal for good measure. Vladislav Namestnikov was denied on a net drive but the rebound found its way to Ehlers, who slammed it home for his 10th of the season at the 5:07 mark of the third.
Detroit broke up the shutout bid at the 10:41 mark while on the power play when David Perron’s point shot banked in off of Dylan Samberg, who was battling in front of the net.
Just 21 seconds later, the Wings scored again when Joe Veleno banged home a loose puck that eluded Hellebuyck after an initial chance.
That’s where the comeback attempt ended as the Jets got to the finish line to collect two valuable points, moving momentarily four points ahead of Calgary for the final playoff spot in the West before the Flames faced the Canucks later in the night.
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The victory was Winnipeg’s first win by multiple goals since a 7-5 triumph over Edmonton Mar. 4 and just their third since the All-Star break.
Winnipeg should face a stiffer test Sunday when they host the New Jersey Devils, a team fighting for first in the Metro division. Pregame coverage on 680 CJOB begins at 4 p.m. with the puck dropping just after 6 p.m.
