Jets Maintain Playoff Chances, Take Care of Kraken 6-2 in Must-Win Affair

Another day, another set of games with massive playoff implications on the line.

On Monday night, the Winnipeg Jets and Seattle Kraken squared off from Canada Life Centre, while the Nashville Predators and Los Angeles Kings did battle in California, and just up the road, the San Jose Sharks and Chicago Blackhawks hit the ice in another Western Conference wild card showdown.

Winnipeg, which entered the night three points out of the final postseason spot, will need to win its way into the playoffs, while the Kraken will need a miracle.

Nashville, Los Angeles and San Jose all entered the night ahead of Winnipeg, with just the Sharks close enough for the Jets to overtake.

Winnipeg, which will need to win its way into the postseason, took care of business on the night, and sat back to watch the late night contests following the conclusion of the Jets' 6-2 win.

"It is huge," Brad Lambert said post-game. "As mentioned many times it is our playoffs right now. We have to win every game and it shows in our room and it shows in our game, the intensity we have and I think we have full belief in ourselves."

Josh Morrissey, Mark Scheifele, Gabe Vilardi, Kyle Connor and Jonathan Toews each had multi-point outings, while Winnipeg's power play went a perfect 3/3 on the night in a critical win for the Jets' playoff chase. 

“We got a little lucky, but sometimes, there’s other games where we've had a lot of good looks and haven't gotten a goal," Scheifele reflected. "So, you know, we just got rewarded for sticking with it.”

Seattle opened the scoring 9:17 into the frame, off a goalmouth scramble that resulted in captain Jordan Eberle finding his 25th goal of the season. The defensive miscue saw the visitors take the 1-0 lead.

But that lead didn't last long. With Berkly Catton in the box for holding Nino Niederreiter's stick, recently elevated centreman Jonathan Toews banked home his 10th of the season on a strong display of hand-eye coordination. That goal came just 1:56 after Eberle's go-ahead marker. 

Despite some difficult moments in their defensive zone, the Jets hung on for the 1-1 draw after 20 minutes. Seattle took control of the shot chart, pulling ahead 13-7 through one period of play.

Other than the power play strike, Winnipeg's best chance came off the stick of Mark Scheifele, who was denied twice on a breakaway opportunity in the first period. He was then stymied by Philipp Grubauer again early on a second period rush up ice.

The middle stanza saw the Jets fully wake up. They did so to the tune of 13 shots and two goals - both of which came on power plays.

Having scored their first period marker on the man advantage, Winnipeg added two more strikes from its first power play unit.

FIrst, it was Gabe Vilardi, who ripped home a Toews offering 38 seconds into an Adam Larsson high-sticking minor. Then it was Kyle Connor, whose slap shot deflected past Grubauer off a Kraken defender.

On the goal, Scheifele picked up his 900th career NHL point.

“You know, it means a lot," he said post-game.

"I’m obviously very honoured and humbled by it. So, it's pretty cool to cool to think about. It’ll probably take a little bit to sink in. But it’s very cool in my mind.” 

Grubauer's night came to an early end due to an undisclosed injury late in the second period. Joey Daccord came in in relief. 

The teams exchanged goals early on in the third period, with Seattle scoring first.

An unlucky third line turnover led to the Kraken's second goal of the game. Jared McCann fired home a long range shot, but Brad Lambert restored the Jets' two-goal lead. He did so with the prettiest tally of his young career, right in front of Uncle Lane on the Kraken bench.

Connor then got his 38th of the season as the third period ticked down. With Daccord on the bench for the extra attacker, Vlad Namestnkov put it away into the empty net, sealing the deal on the 6-2 victory, pushing the Jets two points closer to the postseason. 

Hellebuyck made 22 stops on the 24 pucks fired his way, while the tandem of Grubauer and Daccord allowed five goals on 31 Jets shots. 

Next up for Winnipeg is a one-off Thursday night road affair in St. Louis with another postseason hopeful. The Jets then return home for one game against Philadelphia on Saturday night.