The Winnipeg Jets are trying to turn one wild night in Montreal into something sturdier, and Thursday at Canada Life Centre looked like a pretty good place to start.
Coming off Tuesday’s four-goal comeback against the Canadiens, Winnipeg came home and kept the pressure on, jumping out fast and never letting the Vancouver Canucks settle in. The Jets scored three times in the opening period and rolled to a 6-2 win, a result that gave their three-game homestand an immediate lift.
Dawson Mercer marked his first goal as a Jet with a two-point night, while Kyle Connor added two assists. Mark Scheifele also inched closer to a major franchise milestone, moving to within five goals of passing Dale Hawerchuk for the all-time record. In net, Stuart Skinner stopped 24 shots and picked up his second straight victory as Winnipeg improved to 6-8-3.
“I thought all the lines, the D, everybody was ready to go. We got out in front real quick. So now all of a sudden you have the opposition on their heels and that’s what we were hoping for,” said head coach Scott Arniel.
“And like we said, it’s building, stringing things together, but you got to play the right way to do it. I thought we’ve done that a couple games in row now.”
The Jets set the tone almost immediately, cashing in on their first power play of the night. At 3:49, Haydn Fleury fired a shot from the point, Alex Iafallo got a piece of it, and the puck changed direction enough to beat Leevi Meriläinen for Iafallo’s fourth goal of the season and a 1-0 Winnipeg lead.
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