Jets have teeth that creak their teeth

All it took was a reversal of the schedule, a great deal of adversity, and an encounter with an old sworn enemy to shake the Winnipeg Jets out of prolonged sleep.

March sailed like a lion Friday night at Bell MTS Place, as the Jets beat their 2-0 deficit to defeat the Nashville Predators by a score of 5-3. It was a big win on a number of levels, including the fact that Winnipeg reignited Nashville to first place in the Central Division.

But more than that, it was as close to a full 60-minute effort that the Jets have produced over the past few weeks, to the detriment of a quality opponent.

"The positivity here is really contagious, I think they know how good they are, and when things do not go as planned, they stick to their structure. This just shows what kind of team we are in. Good fun, good players on every line. Fun to be part of, "said newcomer Kevin Hayes, who scored two goals in his second match with the Jets after being acquired from the New York Rangers at the trading deadline.

"It was a tough match, it's a big rival, and for us, playing in this second part is exciting, we're in the final stretch where we have to figure out what kind of team we're going to form." said Hayes.

Winnipeg, which started the night with just three wins in 11 games (3-6-2), started a two-game losing streak and improved to 38-22-4. Nashville is now 37-25-5.

<img src = "https://media.winnipegfreepress.com/images/NEP5549269.jpg" alt = "Brandon Tanev of Winnipeg takes on Kyle Turris in a highly successful physics game (John Woods / The Canadian Press) )

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"It's a good sign." The end of February was tough for us – it was amazing to show that we had confidence in our willingness to stay with our game plan, even if it was not happening. not as expected, "said Jets captain Blake Wheeler. broke the 2-2 tie with just under six minutes in the third period. He also had two assists in the game.

"It's just not been easy for us, I think Nashville brings out the best of us, they bring that level of excitement because you can not take free time." shift, five minutes, even if you're three or four goals, they come back on the teams.You just can not lose your foot.I think it's a very good team for we play now. "

Goalkeeper Laurent Brossoit was not to be overshadowed. Connor Hellebuyck took an unexpected departure for the flu. Brossoit made 35 saves, including a handful that earned him standing ovations and repeated songs bearing his name.

"It's huge, it's those games that you really want to play, a great opportunity for me, you never want to see a sick teammate, but it gave me an opportunity and it was really nice to come back in the column win.I thought everyone came to play, "said Brossoit.

Brossoit took a very hot start with the Jets, scoring 10-0-1 in his first 11 starts, but he had struggled in the previous four, beating the score 0-3-1 with an average of 3.75 and a .882 save the percentage. Like all his teammates Friday night, he had a good time to get back on the track after winning his first victory since January 15th.

"A win is always a win, but against a team like that, and in this way, the standings look even better," said Brossoit.

There was a sense of urgency in the air right out of the gate, including a much louder pre-game singing "Go Jets Go" from a crowd that seemed to recognize that the Local guys would need an extra boost. And there was a real physical advantage, as we had expected since their epic playoff series of the second round last spring.

Patrik Laine finished a quick check on P.K. Subban, shooting a big roar. Matt Irwin narrowly missed what could have been a devastating blow on Jack Roslovic, Brandon Tanev crushed Kyle Turris at once, and then comrade Adam Lowry tried to get Mikael Granlund through the boards a few seconds later.

Cameras have even surprised new Nashville winger Wayne Simmond saying something like, "I'll (explain) what I'm going to find you," Tanev or Lowry, or maybe both.

Difficult start

Nashville opened the scoring with just under five minutes to go in the first period, thanks to a huge gift from Jacob Trouba. Viktor Arvidsson jumped the ball into the slot to pass the ball past Brossoit. This is the kind of mistake that a somewhat fragile team can not afford, especially when two of Dustin Byfuglien and Josh Morrissey's best defenders are injured.

Winnipeg seemed to have tied the match a few minutes later. Trouba redeemed his mistake, stole a puck from Filip Forsberg and shot Pekka Rinne, who gave up a juicy rebound Kyle Connor had buried. But Nashville disputed the fact that the Jets were offside, and reruns confirmed that Trouba had taken him away illegally.

Nashville raised the score to 2-0 halfway through the second on the power play. Mathieu Perreault launched Subban in the offensive zone and Subban quickly forced the Jets to pay by throwing a shot in the crowd just 11 seconds later.

Anything that could have gone wrong looked bad for the Jets, who scored two goals despite a solid match at this point. Then comes the rally, which could be the biggest of the season so far.

Mark Scheifele started scoring the power play goals as he had just over four minutes remaining in the second period, equaling his career high with his 32nd goal of the season. Then Connor scored a goal that had 99 seconds to play in the period, while he had done a good job of keeping a puck alive in the neutral zone and then buried a pass from Nikolaj Ehlers.

As time was running out in the third period and the match was still deadlocked, Wheeler scored his best goal of the year at 14:09 to give the Jets an edge. for the first time. The captain had a big party and notably rubbed the ice and jumped into the glass while he was assailed by his teammates.

"We are nearing the end of the year, it is time to give a little more enthusiasm, it is good to have a little fun when you are on the ice. Things are not going according to plan.This state of mind, to try to go out and take advantage of what we are doing and to arouse that enthusiasm, pass some of that energy on the ice, "said Wheeler.

Tyler Myers apparently slipped the goal at 18:14 with an empty line that took him to 4-2, but his goal became the winner of the match when Mattias Ekholm's shot went through a screen with exactly one minute to play. Hayes then really sealed the shot as he scored his first as Jet in another empty net at 19:28.

The Jets are now on the road for a four-game swing east that begins Sunday in Columbus and will include stops in Tampa Bay, Carolina and Washington.

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Twitter: @mikemcintyrewpg