The Winnipeg Jets have improved to 2-2-1 through five games of NHL pre-season play on Wednesday.
Following a few nights off to recover from a lopsided loss in Minnesota, the Winnipeg Jets returned to pre-season action on Wednesday night from Canada Life Centre.
Nino Niederreiter scored twice, Nikolaj Ehlers had a goal and an assist, while Gabriel Vilardi had three helpers as the Jets picked up a 5-2 victory over the Calgary Flames in their final home test of the exhibition season.
The game was actually the first leg of a home-and-home with the Flames, to which the two teams will renew acquaintances on Friday night in Calgary.
A back-and-forth opening period set the stage for what ended up being yet another strong finish.
Winnipeg came out of the gates a little sleepy, giving up the game's first goal after a lengthy stretch of Flames zone control. Martin Frk redirected a Jake Bean point shot from the high slot, giving the Flames a 1-0 lead.
"Yeah, I think our whole team was kind of sleepy for two periods," head coach Scott Arniel reflected post-game. "It was a little bit sloppy there at times. I thought the whole group got better as the game got on..."
But with Anthony Mantha in the box for hooking a few minutes later, Winnipeg wasted little time knotting things back up at ones.
It was Nikolaj Ehlers whose second of the preseason was the result of a pretty passing play. Taking just 51 seconds to bulge the twine, Ehlers brought life to what had otherwise been a rather sleepy opening period.
“We’ve been working on it and obviously, there’s still some things that we need to figure out," Ehlers said of the Jets' power play. "Overall, we created a lot of chances today and when we lost (the puck), we’re doing everything we could to get it back. That was very positive.”
Then, just a minute-and-a-half later, it was Ehlers who got the puck to a wide-open Nino Niederreiter, who patiently outwaited Dustin Wolfe and tucked the puck past the flailing netminder on a strong backhander.
“We have a lot of options and that’s what we want, with an attacking mindset - and I think we have that. It’s going to be exciting," Ehlers added.
But with Winnipeg sitting back on its heels as the period wound down, the Flames took advantage of a loose puck in the crease, with Justin Kirkland jamming home a rebound.
After being lit up for eight goals on 29 shots in two periods of play in his first pre-season action, Connor Hellebuyck gave up another two goals on 10 shots in the first period, as the teams entered the middle stanza tied at twos.
The second period really didn't equate to all that much, as neither team managed a goal in the frame, with Winnipeg outshooting Calgary 16-14 through 40 minutes.
But the third was a different story.
Winnipeg came out firing once again, resulting in three more goals.
A strong Vilardi rush up-ice led to a group effort on Niederreiter's second of the game off a setup from Adam Lowry.
Defenceman Simon Lundmark put another one into the cage on a perfectly placed wrist shot from the point. Brad Lambert collected the lone helper on the play.
“It was great. Great pass from Lambo, so I was just trying to hit the net, and luckily enough it went in," Lundmark said.
Then, as the minutes ticked off the clock, Kyle Connor hammered home Winnipeg's fifth goal of the game, sealing the victory with the cherry on top off a setup from Mark Scheifele.
The 5-2 victory was highlighted by 17 saves by Hellebuyck, who bounced back with two scoreless periods after giving up two goals in the first and eight in his first game.
Next up for Winnipeg is the second half of the home-and-home with the Flames, as the Jets make their way to Calgary for a Friday night affair. It will be the final game of the pre-season, as Winnipeg will then look to finalize its roster in advance of opening night of the 2024-25 regular season.
