Penguins get Byuck’d, Jets win 1-0!

It seems like ages since the Winnipeg Jets shut out an opponent at home. Make that four years.

Connor Hellebuyck earned his first career shutout, stopping all 30 Pittsburgh shots, with two huge saves from Tyler Myers in the final minutes to keep the feat intact.

The Jets have not shutout a team 1-0 at home since their inaugral season at the MTS Centre. Doing it against the Pittsburgh Penguins team with star forward Mark Scheifele on injury reserve was a huge momentum boost for the struggling Jets squad.

“[Hellebuyck] was outstanding,” said Jets center Bryan Little, whose penalty shot provided the game’s only goal. “Every time he needed to make a big save, he made one for us and kept us in the game. He did everything he needed to do for us to win.”

The Jets were in serious need of a win to start off the second half of the season, as they have played far below their potential during November and December hockey.

The lone Jets goal came on the stick of goal-scoring leader Brian Little, who went glove-high on Pens’ goaltender Jeff Zatkoff scoring a clutch penalty shot goal.

This game will forever be in the hockey stats lore, as according to the Elias Bureau, they are only the third team to win a 1-0 game via a penalty-shot game winning goal.

Little’s goal was the first penalty-shot goal for the Winnipeg/Atlanta Thrashers franchise since Oct. 8, 2010.

Little drew the rare penalty-shot attempt by forcing Pens’ defenceman Ben lovejoy to hook him to avoid a breakaway opportunity against Zatkoff.

“I didn’t know a lot about this goalie, but I knew I was going to shoot glove-side pretty much before I went,” said Little, who has a four game scoring streak going.

Tyler Myers continues to prove his worth each and every night, and this game was no exception. Myers led the Jets with over 23 minutes in icetime, and sacrificed his body twice in the final moments to deny Evgeni Malkin on two back-to-back shots on a wide open cage.

“I think I owe him something after that one,” said Hellebuyck in the post game media scrum.

Connor Hellebuyck should be taking defenceman Tyler Myers out for dinner, and a movie, how about the new Star Wars? After all, it was number 57’s face that helped preserve Hellebuyck’s first NHL shutout.

SCORING SUMMARY

1ST PERIOD
14:46	WPG	PS – Bryan Little (14) ASST: NONE	1 – 0 WPG
2ND PERIOD
NONE
3RD PERIOD
NONE

Game Highlights

Crosby-Kessel-Hornqvist get donuts

• Crosby, Kessel and Hornqvist each had four shots on Connor but were each denied
• Amazing work by the Jets shutting down the talented Pens squad, limiting their team to only 30 shots in this game

Myers stands tall

• Myers deserves a saves percentage and G.A.A. stat after his impressive face and shoulder save in the late periods
• Despite not getting onto the scoresheet tonight is the best game that I have seen Myers play this year. After the Byf-Ladd contract talks come to a decision, Myers is my candidate for captaincy if Ladd walks as a free agent

Hellebuyck continues to dazzle

• Hellebuyck is the first Jets’ goaltender to record a shutout on the year, and it was an important victory for the Jets, who stopped a 2 game losing streak.
• Connor now has a 6-3 record with a 2.13 G.A.A. and .927sv%

 

Three Stars

1. Connor Hellebuyck
2. Brian Little
3. Tyler Myers

Top Scheif: Schiefele, Jets edge Caps 2-1 in overtime

Mark Scheifele was the hero of the hour.

Mark Scheifele scored with 19.9 seconds remaining in overtime to help the Winnipeg Jets to a 2-1 win against the Washington Capitals in front of their home crowd at MTS Centre on Saturday.

Scheifele broke loose from his defensive coverage skating into the left circle and snapping a perfectly placed shot past Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby. Scheifele’s 10th goal of the season ended Washington’s six-game winning streak.

“We stuck with them through a full 60 minutes, and I think that shows [well] for our team, and hopefully we can take this into Sunday [against the Chicago Blackhawks],” Scheifele said. “For the most part, we stuck with it. We didn’t get rattled, and it showed. Getting the win is huge.”

Andrew Ladd also had a solid night on the ice, scoring the Jets’ first goal on the powerplay, continuing his three game points streak.

Backstrom tied the game up, with the lone second period goal, forcing the game to overtime.

Connor Hellebuyck once again proved himself, coming up with 37 saves in his third NHL game, including six in an overtime. The 22-year-old goaltender has started 3-0-0 with a 0.97 goals-against average and a .967 save percentage.

“Tonight was the first game [Hellebuyck] saw some big shooters,” Jets coach Paul Maurice said. “He consistently looks big in the net. He has had a good progression here to this game. We like what we’ve seen with Connor. We’re going to do everything we can to keep him in that groove.”

The Jets are off to a great December, moving on from the woeful November schedule. The Jets have won three out of their past four games. Their confidence has to be flying high after limiting the mighty Washington team to a single goal.

“I think we’re close to a really good understanding of how we want to play and how it’s supposed to look,” Maurice said. “As soon as we get comfortable that there is going to be angst through 82 games and come out with a really clear focus of the game we want to play, we’ll be in good shape, and I think we’re closer to that now.”

SCORING SUMMARY

1ST PERIOD
19:53	WPG	PPG – Andrew Ladd (8) ASST: Bryan Little (12), Dustin Byfuglien (10)	1 – 0 WPG
2ND PERIOD
14:25	WSH	PPG – Nicklas Backstrom (9) ASST: John Carlson (15), Andre Burakovsky (5)	1 – 1 Tie
3RD PERIOD
NONE
OT PERIOD
04:40	WPG	Mark Scheifele (10) ASST: Jacob Trouba (5), Blake Wheeler (18)	2 – 1 WPG

Game Highlights

Hellebuyck continues to amaze

• Connor Hellebyuck is making it look easy in net, swatting pucks away like a fly-swatter
• When/if Pavelec returns from injury, Connor’s solid play will make Coach Maurice’s decision difficult between chosing who stays at the big league level
• In his three starts, Hellebuyck has gone 3-0-0 with a 0.97 goals-against average and a .967 save percentage

Leading Ladd

• Andrew Ladd, like his teanmmates, struggled in November. He now has a three point streak going, scoring three important goals in the Jets’ last three games
• In a contract year, Ladd is definitely proving that he still has plenty of heart for his team

Powerplay Clicking

• The Jets went 1-for-5 on the powerplay facing a Capitals team that ranks 6th in penalty killing
• Winnipeg

1. Connor Hellebuyck (37 saves, 1GA)

2. Mark Scheifele (GWG)

3. Braden Holtby (34 saves, 2GA)

Rookie Supremacy: Jets’ Helleyuck faces Leafs’ Sparks in net tonight

Connor Hellebyuck will be called upon for a second time to help the Jets’ rebound from losing efforts.

The 22-year old Hellebyuck stood tall stopping fourteen of fifteen shots against, earning his first career NHL win against the Minnesota Wild last Sunday.

Hellebyuck will be facing off against the Leafs’ own 22-year old rookie goaltender, who also hails from south of the Canadian border.

The Maple Leafs will start Garret Sparks, who shut out the Edmonton Oilers 3-0 in his NHL debut Monday.

Both the Jets and the Leafs teams will be facing relatively unknown goaltenders, as each has only one career NHL game under their belt.

Sparks was a seventh round pick in the 2011 draft, Hellebyuck was a fifth round draft pick the following year in 2012. Both the Leafs and Jets are hoping that their late picks will turn into solid NHL goaltenders.

“[Hellebuyck] has played a game in the NHL,” Jets coach Paul Maurice said. “He deserved that game based on [having] a very good training camp, an excellent [2014-15] season, he went down and played very well [with the Moose in Manitoba]. He’s big, calm. The puck went where I think he wants it to go off shots. He has nice rebound control.”

Leafs coach Babcock, is looking for another good start out of the young Sparks.

“I think winning makes [everybody] feel better,” Babcock said. “Any time that you get to play your first [NHL] game, and it goes well, I think it’s a positive for the organization, for yourself, for your family, for the work that you put in.

“We all know that one game doesn’t make your career, but you’ve got to start with one and get going from there. So he gets another opportunity. Good for him.”

Winnipeg is welcoming the Leafs with open arms, hoping to achieve the same success they had when they beat the lowly Leafs 4-2 on November 4. Since that time the Jets have been suffering from the losing bug (apparently the Leafs’ losing ways were contagious), as the Jets have gone 3-8-1 since playing Toronto.

Jets’ keys to the game

We need a Little, Wheeler

• Bryan Little and Blake Wheeler lead the Jets with 25 (for Wheeler) and 20 points (for Little) so far in this year’s campaign
• Little has een less consistent, only earning two points in five games, so the Jets need more from him in order to snap this streak
• Wheeler has been the engine keeping the Jets going. He is off to his best career start, so the Jets will be continuing to ride his hot hands

Chiarot and Byfuglien chemistry

• Defenseman Ben Chiarot will return to the lineup after seven games as a healthy scratch. He will replace Adam Pardy on a pairing with Dustin Byfuglien
• Chiarot has struggled when being called up to the big club, only scoring 10 points in 54 career games with a 0+/-
• Byfuglien and Chiarot will be on the top pairing tonight so it is imperative that the pair communicate effectively and play well together

Keep the powerplay going

• The Jets’ powerplay has been productive in the past few games, scoring a goal versus Minnesota and Colorado. The Jets will need to continue their productivity to increase their current 15% production rate
• Luckily for Winnipeg, Toronto also has penalty taking problems, so the Jets will need to capitalize on their chances