After some mixed results on a four-game road swing, a return home proved to be just what the doctor ordered for the Winnipeg Jets.
It wasn’t always pretty but the Jets got the job done Tuesday night against the Rangers, edging New York 2-1 for their 45th win of the season.
The game got off to a clunky start with seven whistles in the first 3:27, so it was fitting that an odd goal opened the scoring.
Nikolaj Ehlers carried the puck across the Rangers’ blue line before dropping it to Cole Perfetti. He made a nice move, drawing Igor Shesterkin out of position before sending a pass to the front of the net that Vlad Namestnikov got a piece of before it ricocheted off the body of Sam Carrick and into the open net at the 5:18 mark of the first.
The tally snapped a 12-game goalless drought for Namestnikov and ended an eight-game run without a point. The assist also gave Perfetti 39 points on the season, a new career-high for him.
New York drew level with exactly nine minutes to go in the first as the Rangers cashed in on the power play.
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Artemi Panarin sent a cross-ice pass to J.T. Miller that Miller mishandled but the puck bounced off his stick right to Mika Zibanejad in the slot and he roofed it past Connor Hellebuyck to tie the game.
Penalties were the story of the second period as Winnipeg’s top-ranked power play was able to restore their lead.
Matt Rempe started the parade to the penalty box at the 3:11 mark and less than a minute later, Ehlers and Miller were assessed offsetting minors which moved Perfetti up to the top PP unit.
After the Jets got set up in the New York end, Josh Morrissey sent the puck low to Perfetti who nearly lost the handle on it before he slid a backhand pass to Gabriel Vilardi in the slot. With Shesterkin overcommitted to Perfetti after the near stumble, Vilardi had a yawning cage to score into for his 27th goal of the season.
The Rangers had a chance to equalize on the power play thanks to a Brandon Tanev penalty but were unsuccessful, as were the Jets after Miller picked up a cross-checking penalty just shy of the midway point of the period.
Each team had other chances to score with Namestnikov and Adam Lowry being stonewalled on breakaways by Shesterkin while the Rangers rang one off the iron, their second of the game from a dangerous area of the ice.
The Jets’ fourth power play of the game began with 1:43 to go in the second when Brennan Othmann was called for high-sticking but it was perhaps Winnipeg’s worst power play of the night as the game stayed 2-1 heading into the third period.
Just over three minutes into the third, Dylan DeMelo blasted a one-timer past Shesterkin to make it 3-1 but the Rangers challenged the play, believing that Morgan Barron interfered with Shesterkin in the crease. The control room agreed with the Rangers and took the goal off the board, much to the chagrin of the Winnipeg fans.
Less than three minutes later, DeMelo went to the box for high-sticking but his teammates, including Luke Schenn in his Jets debut, got the kill to keep it a one-goal game.
Shesterkin went to the bench for an extra attacker with just over two minutes left and New York had a couple of good looks before the Jets were able to run out the clock.
Hellebuyck made 21 saves to earn his 38th victory of the season.
The Jets will return to action Friday when the Stars visit for a massive Central division tilt.
