The Winnipeg Jets have improved to 31-14-5 with a 2-1 home win over the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Sometimes, all it takes is a change of scenery - or in the case of the Winnipeg Jets, a change of colour.
On Saturday evening, the Jets pulled out their old navy blue heritage sweaters and kicked their five-game losing streak to the curb with a 2-1 victory over the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins.
Mark Scheifele and Nino Niederreiter both scored for Winnipeg, which picked up its first win since January 21 and improved its record to 31-14-5 on the season.
“It’s huge," Niederreiter said of snapping the losing streak. "It’s all about winning hockey games right now. Obviously, when you go towards making a push and putting yourself in a great playoff spot, you need to make sure you win close hockey games... It’s up to us to make sure we bear down on what we do.”
The Jets got things going midway through the opening frame, as two prominent players broke out of scoring slumps with authority as the period wore on.
First it was Scheifele, who hammered home his 15th of the season, potting his first marker since January 7th. Nikolaj Ehlers started the play and worked the puck up the ice on a three-on-one. He dished it to his linemate, who made no mistake blasting it home with 9:40 to go.
Five minutes later, Niederreiter scored his first goal in 16 games, banking home a Nate Schmidt shot that found its way to the goalmouth after hitting the end boards.
It was the Swiss forward's 13th tally of the season, to which defenceman Logan Stanley actually drew his first point of the season on the secondary assist.
“It was huge to come out the way we did," Ehlers said of his team's start. "I think we played really well in that first period. We skated, we worked hard. I think we shot the puck and made it hard for them to get anything into our zone.
"But obviously the second period wasn’t good enough. Third period, we came back and got the two point, which is huge. There’s always things we can clean up, but overall we deserve to get the two points tonight."
Connor Hellebuyck's biggest stop of the frame was on former teammate Jansen Harkins, who intercepted a Dylan DeMelo cross-ice pass and took the puck end-to-end, only to see his former backstop slam shut the door as the seconds ticked down in the frame.
Winnipeg led 2-0 heading into the middle stanza, while maintaining a 13-8 shot lead.
Moments after the officiating crew missed a blatant trip as the Jets moved the puck up-ice, the referees called Stanley for his second minor of the frame. But the league's 26th-ranked penalty kill got the job done twice.
Pittsburgh got one back late in the second, as Bryan Rust perfectly deflected a long-range Erik Karlsson point shot past Hellebuyck, cutting the Jets' lead in half.
Hoping to make in impression on the home crowd, Stanley worked his way onto the stat book each and every time something was recorded. He was on the ice for every goal scored, while taking both penalties.
Winnipeg surrendered its shot lead in the frame, as the visitors stormed out to 16 shots in the period, pulling ahead 24-20 through 40 minutes.
Tristan Jarry kept it a one-goal game with sensational stops on both Scheifele and Ehlers through the middle stages of the third.
Newcomer Sean Monahan hit the post on a shorthanded breakaway midway through Winnipeg's third penalty kill of the game, failing to capitalize on what would have been a dagger.
The Jets got their first man advantage of the game with five minutes to play, but couldn't buy a goal.
Pittsburgh called a timeout with 1:15 to play and pulled its netminder for the extra attacker, but couldn't find a way to beat the jets' backstop.
“He was terrific; he’s our backbone," Niederreiter said of Hellebuyck. "He helps us win hockey games each and every night and gives us a great chance. Like I said, we’re happy we got that win.”
Hellebuyck finished the night with 35 stops on the 36 Pittsburgh shots he faced, while Jarry made 29 saves on the 31 pucks fired his way by the Jets.
"I’ve said this a million times now," Ehlers laughed. "We’ve got two pretty good goalies, and they’re top class. We’re pretty fortunate with that.”
Next up for Winnipeg is the second test of the miniature homestand on Wednesday, as the San Jose Sharks make their way to Canada Life Centre for a Valentine's Day showdown. The game also marks the first match for Winnipeg against a Western Conference team in 10 games.
