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John Woods \/ THE CANADIAN PRESS<\/p>\n
The Winnipeg Jets top line of Gabe Vilardi, left, Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor each had three points in their 6-3 win over the Chicago Blackhawks, Thursday in Winnipeg.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought we played really well. Those two are going to do what they do. They\u2019re unreal to play with,\u201d said Vilardi, who didn\u2019t light the lamp in his first seven games but now has four in his past four. \u201cThat\u2019s what is expected of us. We\u2019ve got to keep doing that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Scheifele is now up to 18 points (9G, 9A) through 11 games which has him near the very top of the NHL scoring race. Connor (6G, 9A) and Vilardi (4G, 7A) are also putting up big early numbers.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey were unreal,\u201d said Jets defenceman Josh Morrissey, no slouch himself with a goal and an assist.<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t John Woods \/ THE CANADIAN PRESS<\/p>\n Kyle Connor celebrates his third period goal against the Chicago Blackhawks, Thursday.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u201cObviously three very talented guys that all complement each other kind of uniquely and really well. I saw it this morning. I saw Scheif and KC and Gabe. They were buzzing at morning skate, and kind of just knew that KC got that one the other night in overtime (against Minnesota on Tuesday). And goal scorers like that, I feel like they get one and you can\u2019t stop them. So it\u2019s gonna be fun to watch them here going forward.\u201d<\/p>\n The Jets improve to 8-3-0, while the Blackhawks fall to 5-4-2. The visitors came in hot, with just one regulation loss over the past seven games, but ran into a motivated Winnipeg club that put together arguably its most well-rounded effort of the young season.<\/p>\n \u201cThat was our most complete game,\u201d said Vilardi. \u201cWe did a good job through the neutral zone and kind of limited their speed. Those young guys, they can really turn and burn when you have those turnovers. It was a good game.\u201d<\/p>\n EMOTIONAL GAME: This was no ordinary night at the office for Jonathan Toews. The 37-year-old faced his former team for the first time, triggering plenty of emotions in the process.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t John Woods \/ THE CANADIAN PRESS<\/p>\n Jets centre Jonathan Toews, left, faced his former team, the Chicago Blackhawks, for the first time Thursday night.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s still a connection to the organization and the city of Chicago and I think there always will be. Chicago was my home for a long time and it\u2019s days like this that you get to stop for a second, reflect, look back,\u201d Toews said following the morning skate.<\/p>\n A few hours later he went and had another solid game for the Jets. Toews had a team-high six shots on goal, won 14-of-20 faceoffs and chipped in with an assist on Morrissey\u2019s third-period goal. He is now up to six points through his first 11 games (2G, 4A) while dominating in the dot, trailing only Ottawa Senators centre Tim Stutzle for best winning percentage.<\/p>\n Although his new team got the better of his old team on this night, Toews is happy to see things turning around in the Windy City \u2014 the place he spent his first 15 NHL seasons, winning three Stanley Cups \u2014 after several tough years languishing near the basement of the standings.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is good to see. I think ultimately the fans in Chicago are incredible and it\u2019s nice to see that they have something to cheer for and some great young talent that\u2019s really getting the United Center rocking again,\u201dhe said.<\/p>\n HOT START: Vlad Namestnikov spent the majority of last season as Winnipeg\u2019s second-line centre and scored 11 goals in 78 games. So how to explain the fact he\u2019s playing further down the lineup this year, yet already has five goals through his first 11 games?<\/p>\n Namestnikov\u2019s latest came just 102 seconds into Thursday\u2019s game as he finished off a great sequence with Gustav Nyquist and Nino Niederreiter with his team enjoying a very early power play.<\/p>\n It was the first shot of the game and got the Jets rolling.<\/p>\n Namestnikov is unlikely to keep scoring at this pace \u2014 his career-high of 22 goals came during the 2017-18 season \u2014 but the Jets will certainly take all the offence he can provide.<\/p>\n GHOULISH GOAL: Connor Hellebuyck has had some tough puck luck lately.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t John Woods \/ THE CANADIAN PRESS<\/p>\n Teuvo Teravainen had a wide-open net when the puck took a funny bounce and eluded Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n On Tuesday night in Minnesota, the Wild scored three times in rather unusual fashion, including one where Hellebuyck accidentally booted the puck into his own net.<\/p>\n The bad bounces continued in this one. Chicago defenceman Connor Murphy fired a shot around the glass into the Winnipeg zone, which Hellebuyck left his net to try and stop. Problem is, the puck hit a seam in the boards and went directly in front of the now wide-open net, where Blackhawks forward Teuvo Teravainen was waiting. He won\u2019t score any easier goals than that.<\/p>\n That tied the game near the midway mark of the opening frame.<\/p>\n It looked like that might be the only goal that would beat Hellebuyck, but Alex Vlasic and Andre Burakovsky \u2014 a ridiculous between-the-legs play that ended with a top corner shot \u2014 scored just over two minutes apart late in the third period to make this one a bit closer.<\/p>\n He finished with 21 saves on the night.<\/p>\n UNDER THE HOOD: The advanced numbers suggest this game was actually closer than the final score makes it appear.<\/p>\n According to the Natural Stat Trick website, the Jets generated 11 high-danger chances at five-on-five, with the Blackhawks getting 12. It was a different story on the power play, where Winnipeg had six chances (and one goal) to none for Chicago. Overall, the Jets had 3.87 expected goals in all situations, which tells you Blackhawks goaltender Spencer Knight (32 shots, 26 saves) wasn\u2019t at his best. The Blackhawks had 2.84 expected goals, so they essentially got what they deserved in that department.<\/p>\n KEY PLAY: Vilardi\u2019s second goal of the night midway through the second period gave the Jets a comfortable three-goal cushion at the time and ultimately proved to be the game-winner,<\/p>\n THREE STARS:<\/p>\n 1. Jets Gabe Vilardi: 2G, 1A<\/p>\n 2. Jets Kyle Connor: 1G, 2A<\/p>\n 3. Jets Mark Scheifele: 1G, 2A<\/p>\n \n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n \t\t\tThe Warm-Up<\/p>\n Winnipeg Jets Game Days<\/p>\n On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop.<\/p>\n \t\t\tSign up for The Warm-Up<\/a><\/p>\n \t\t EXTRA, EXTRA: The Jets did suffer a loss on the night, as Nyquist suffered an injury early in the first period and did not return. He appeared to tweak something off a faceoff, then slowly made his way down the tunnel after skating off the ice.<\/p>\n \u201cHe tweaked something there in the corner, so we\u2019ll look at it (Friday) and find out,\u201d said coach Scott Arniel.<\/p>\n A crowd of 13,682 took in the game.<\/p>\n Winnipeg went one-for-three on the power play, while Chicago went zero-for-three.<\/p>\n Forwards Brad Lambert and Nikita Chibrikov and defencemen Colin Miller were the healthy scratches for the Jets, who will close out this quick two-game homestand by hosting the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday afternoon.<\/p>\n mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca<\/p>\n X and Bluesky: @mikemcintyrewpg<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t Mike McIntyre Mike McIntyre is a sports reporter whose primary role is covering the Winnipeg Jets. After graduating from the Creative Communications program at Red River College in 1995, he spent two years gaining experience at the Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in 1997, where he served on the crime and justice beat until 2016. Read more about Mike<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Mike produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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