Tag: Winnipeg

Categories
NHL (National Hockey League)

Jets primed for challenge against revamped Hurricanes in Winnipeg

Winnipeg Jets players celebrates after a goal

The Winnipeg Jets will host the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday night, with both teams aiming for a Stanley Cup run.

The Jets are on a six-game winning streak, including a thrilling 5-4 overtime win over the Eastern Conference-leading Washington Capitals on Saturday. Since a 5-2 loss to the Utah Hockey Club on January 20, head coach Scott Arniel’s team has outscored their opponents 28-13 in the past six games.

“At the end of the day, we’re all winners in here. We all have that competitive drive to win every game,” said Winnipeg forward Gabriel Vilardi. “Obviously, some nights you have it more than others depending on travel, sleep and whatnot, but we have a winner’s mindset, and I think that’s huge going down the stretch.”

The Jets’ success has come during a packed stretch in their schedule — Tuesday will mark their 11th game in 22 days. However, they’ll get some rest soon with just two games remaining before the league takes a two-week break for the 4 Nations Face-Off.

“We’ve done a good job. We’re ahead of teams when it comes to games played, and we’ve won those, which is a bonus,” said Arniel. “Carolina coming in here… so it’ll be a good test for us, so hopefully we can finish off on a good note.”

The Hurricanes are still adjusting to their two new high-profile players, Mikko Rantanen and Taylor Hall. These players were added to help Carolina make a push for the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 2006, but the team has only gone 2-1-1 since the trade. Rantanen has one goal and one assist, while Hall has an assist but is still searching for his first goal with Carolina.

The Hurricanes are looking to improve their defense after a 4-2 loss to the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday.

“I didn’t love the goals we gave,” said Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour. “Watch them. Can’t happen. Not in the NHL. Not against good teams, giving them breakaways and 2-on-1s out of nothing. That’s a big concern.”

Carolina Hurricanes (NHL)

Tuesday’s game in Winnipeg will be a big test for the Hurricanes, who have won six of their last eight games (6-1-1). Playing one of the hottest teams in the league will help the Hurricanes see how well their new players are adjusting and give Rantanen and Hall a chance to get more comfortable in their roles.

“We’re four games in with (Rantanen) now, and I feel like we’re building that chemistry a little bit,” said Hurricanes forward Jackson Blake. “… We’ve got to find a way. I think Rod expects us to pot some and we’ve got to find the net.”

Injury-wise, Carolina’s Andrei Svechnikov participated fully in Monday’s practice, but he is still considered day-to-day with an upper-body injury.

This will be the first of two regular-season meetings between the teams. They will play again on March 9 in Raleigh, N.C.

Categories
FEATURED

NHL roundup: Jets edge Capitals 5-4 in OT in top-tier matchup in Washington, D.C.

Winnipeg Jets and Washington Capitals

Defenseman Josh Morrissey scored 1:57 into overtime, completing a two-goal performance to give the Winnipeg Jets a 5-4 win over the Washington Capitals on Saturday in a matchup between the NHL’s top two teams.

Winnipeg’s Cole Perfetti and defenseman Dylan Samberg each had a goal and an assist, and Alex Iaffalo also scored. Vladislav Namestnikov and defenseman Neal Pionk each recorded two assists, and Connor Hellebuyck made 25 saves for the Jets (leading the Western Conference), who have now won six straight and nine of their last 11 games.

Washington’s captain Alex Ovechkin tied the game at 4-4 with a blast from the point, his 24th goal of the season and 877th career goal, putting him 18 away from breaking Wayne Gretzky’s NHL record. Pierre-Luc Dubois (former Jet), Tom Wilson, and Taylor Raddysh also scored for Washington.

Defenseman Matt Roy had three assists, and goalie Thompson made 25 saves for the Capitals, who had also lost a 5-4 overtime game to Ottawa on Thursday.

Islanders 3, Lightning 2 (OT)
Defenseman Tony DeAngelo scored 33 seconds into overtime to give the Islanders a 3-2 victory in Tampa Bay, extending their NHL-record seven-game winning streak. Adam Boqvist scored in his Islanders debut, and Kyle Palmieri added a goal. Goalie Ilya Sorokin made 28 saves. Jake Guentzel and Nikita Kucherov scored for the Lightning, with Andrei Vasilevskiy stopping 33 shots, as Tampa Bay struggled with a 2-4-1 record in their last seven games.

Maple Leafs 4, Oilers 3
Mitch Marner and Matthew Knies each recorded a goal and an assist to help the Leafs break their three-game losing streak with a 4-3 win over the Oilers in Edmonton. William Nylander and Bobby McMann also scored for Toronto, with Auston Matthews adding two assists.

Goaltender Joseph Woll made 45 saves. Marner’s third-period goal at 18 seconds put the Leafs up 4-1, but Edmonton responded with goals from Zach Hyman, Corey Perry, and Evan Bouchard, but ultimately fell short. Stuart Skinner made 24 saves.

Senators 6, Wild 0
Jake Sanderson scored a goal and three assists, and rookie Leevi Merilainen earned his third shutout of the season with only 16 shots faced, leading Ottawa to a 6-0 win over Minnesota. Tim Stutzle and Drake Batherson added a goal and two assists each, and Brady Tkachuk contributed one goal and one assist.

Josh Norris netted his second straight short-handed goal, and Michael Amadio also scored. Filip Gustavsson made 46 saves for the Wild, who were outplayed despite entering with an NHL-best 20-5-3 road record.

Bruins 6, Rangers 3
David Pastrnak recorded his first hat trick of the season, and added an assist to lead Boston to a 6-3 win over the Rangers in Boston. The Bruins took control after Pastrnak’s go-ahead goal in the first period. Pavel Zacha also had a goal and an assist, while Charlie McAvoy, Charlie Coyle, Brad Marchand, and Matt Poitras all contributed.

Rangers eye playoff position after earning points in seven of last eight games

Jeremy Swayman made 22 saves. J.T. Miller scored twice for New York after a trade with Vancouver, while Jonny Brodzinski added another goal. Igor Shesterkin had 19 saves as the Rangers lost for the third straight game.

Penguins 3, Predators 0
Alex Nedeljkovic stopped 25 shots for his first shutout of the season as the Penguins beat Nashville 3-0 at home. Sidney Crosby scored and had an assist, while Philip Tomasino and Bryan Rust added goals. Erik Karlsson and Rickard Rakell each had two assists. Juuse Saros made 33 saves for the Predators, who lost their fourth consecutive game.

Panthers 5, Blackhawks 1
Sam Reinhart scored his 30th goal of the season and added two assists to help Florida beat Chicago 5-1 in Sunrise, Florida. Carter Verhaeghe contributed a goal and an assist, while Jonah Gadjovich, Matthew Tkachuk, and Evan Rodrigues also scored. Aleksander Barkov had two assists, and Sergei Bobrovsky made 24 saves. Chicago’s Landon Slaggert scored the fastest goal in franchise history at 7 seconds, but the Blackhawks lost their fifth game in six.

Kings 4, Hurricanes 2
Kevin Fiala scored twice to lead the Los Angeles Kings to a 4-2 win in Raleigh, North Carolina, snapping a four-game losing streak. Phillip Danault added a goal and an assist, and Trevor Moore also scored.

Quinton Byfield had two assists, and Darcy Kuemper made 26 saves. Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Eric Robinson scored for the Hurricanes, who saw their seven-game point streak end. Frederik Andersen made 22 saves, and defenseman Brent Burns reached his 900th career point with an assist.

Categories
FEATURED

The Jets and Capitals’ midseason clash in Washington lived up to the hype as a battle between the NHL’s top teams

Winnipeg Jets players celebrates after the win

The top two teams in the NHL faced off in front of a packed crowd of over 18,500 fans in Washington, D.C., on a Saturday night in early February, and it lived up to the hype.

The Washington Capitals and Winnipeg Jets played a thrilling midseason game with a total of nine goals, including the 877th career goal of Alex Ovechkin, bringing him 18 goals away from breaking Wayne Gretzky’s record. The game was tied after Ovechkin’s goal, but the Jets won 5-4 in overtime, making it an exciting match for everyone involved.

“We knew how we were both sitting in the standings and both having real good years,” said Winnipeg coach Scott Arniel after his team secured their sixth consecutive win. “You know you’re going against some elite players on the opposite side, and we’ve been watching what they’ve been doing.

You’re following them in the standings, watching them on the highlights and when you have a game like that, exciting for the fans, not so much for the coaches.”

The goalies, Connor Hellebuyck and Logan Thompson, each made 25 saves during the game, keeping it from turning into a blowout, even with all the goals. Without their big saves, the score could have been much higher.

“Both teams obviously have a goalie — goalies — that every time they’re playing you expect to win, they give you a chance to win,” said Capitals winger Tom Wilson, who scored his 21st goal of the season. “The caliber of hockey tonight was high, and they were all over us.”

Tom Wilson and Dylan Strome celebrate in the 3rd period

Washington came back from a two-goal deficit in the third period when Ovechkin scored with 7:39 left in the game, sparking chants of “Ovi! Ovi!” from the crowd. It was one of the loudest moments at Capital One Arena this season.

“Two best teams playing, and it was a battle,” Ovechkin said. “It was a hard game at both ends.”

Arniel, who had coached Ovechkin for four years as an assistant from 2018-2022, recognized the power of that shot. “That came off in a hurry,” Arniel said. “And obviously ‘Helley’ didn’t have time to react to that one.”

Hellebuyck, a two-time Vezina Trophy winner, and Thompson, who joined the Capitals in a trade from Vegas last summer and earned a new six-year contract worth $35.1 million, both gave strong performances, but this game was all about the fast-paced action.

“It was a crazy game,” said Jets defenseman Josh Morrissey, who scored twice, including the overtime winner. “There was a lot of weird stuff going on, a lot of goals. Obviously both teams are known for scoring, but also their defensive game.

So I think both teams would probably want to clean some of those things up. But for just one game, a lot of swings. Great energy in the arena, and it was nice to be able to stick it out and get the two points.”

If Washington can make it through the Eastern Conference playoffs and Winnipeg can do the same in the West, this game could be a preview of an exciting Stanley Cup Final. These two teams will meet again in March in Canada, but a potential best-of-seven series in June could be an electric matchup.

“Both teams have a lot of pride and want to show that they’re the better team,” Morrissey said. “We found a way to be resilient in the game, and definitely you can see why they’re such a great team.”