Hellebuyck was huge in the first period and then the Jets offense finally kicked into gear as they routed the Philadelphia Flyers.

The Flyers played a mere 24 hours earlier and had to travel from Buffalo to Winnipeg and yet they came out with more jump to start the first period which was helped by an early Jets penalty. The Flyers first power play had six shots and Connor Hellebuyck had to be stellar early.

The Jets started to find their legs after the penalty kill though and pushed back a little bit. Because the Flyers played Michal Neuvirth, pucks started going into the net.

The Jets got a power play soon after that and even with the Flyers getting a couple of good chances with the first unit on the ice, it was the Jets second power play unit that helped increase the lead thanks to a returning Josh Morrissey.

It’s Morrissey’s fourth game in the last six he’s played and third of the season. It also came as the Jets were in the middle of being out-shot by a 2-1 margin. The Jets good fortune in the period didn’t last the entire 20 minutes though as Voracek scored off a bit of a deflection and scramble.

The Jets end up being out-shot 17-6 and the Flyers had 28 shot attempts in the period and were quite fortunate to get out of the period with a lead let alone not tied or trailing.

A much better period for the Jets as they tightened up defensively and continued to throw pucks at the Flyers net. Their fourth shot in the period ended up getting past Michal Neuvirth and chased him from the game with three goals allowed on ten shots.

There is so much to love about Brandon Tanev’s  hustle and it was on full display as he skates up ice, makes a nice entry into the zone, dumps it back to Morrissey and then heads directly to the front of the net to cash in the Morrissey blast.

That was the end of Neuvirth’s day and in came Anthony Stolarz who didn’t fare much better as the Jets special teams took over.

Byfuglien’s third goal of the season that put the Jets up three seemed like a very innocent looking dump in on goal that maybe Byfuglien didn’t expect to score on at all. Maybe the non-celly was because after all the cannon blasts he’s unleashed over the years, something as harmless as a fluttering shot that skipped a couple of times on the ice before beating the Flyers goalie doesn’t seem like a very fair result.

Nevertheless the Jets continued to press with the penalty kill getting into the act after another nice hustle goal from Blake Wheeler.

While the speed and hands of Wheeler were a sight to behold, it overlooks the careless slash that Shayne Gostisbehere commits at the legs of Wheeler. If the NHL had an sense at all, it would suspend that kind of play – or at the very least fine it – as it’s not a hockey play at all and there clearly wasn’t an attempt to make a play at the puck.

The rough stuff seemed to continue late into the period as the Flyers went into full Flyera mode and decided to try to goon their way back into the game.

Thankfully Connor skated away relatively unharmed and the Jets ended up with a handful of power play time which in hindsight makes one question the Flyers strategy even more.

Shots were 19-10 for the Jets in the second and while the Flyers still held a lead in that area of the game after 40 minutes, it was becoming clear who the better team was.

1:41 into the third, the Jets put away any doubts that we’d possibly see a third period collapse in this one as Bryan Little finished off a nice passing play.

Six minutes later the Jets iced things as Patrik Laine showed off his under-appreciated passing skills.

Buffalo fans likely still laugh when Jets fans see plays like this and wonder if Myers wouldn’t be better off as a forward (spoiler: he wouldn’t) but credit to Tyler for with a nice hesitation deke and flip of the puck.

The Jets took their foot off the gas pedal a bit after that. Power plays handed to the Jets saw Paul Maurice throw players on the bottom six forward group onto the ice. Mason Appleton had a bit of a breakaway chance that in a closer game he would have put the afterburners on, only instead he took a shot from just in front of the blue line.

The Flyers for their part also seemed to settle down as well and play out the rest of the game, although a particularly hard hit from Radko Gudas did leave Mathieu Perreault shaken up.

For Philadelphia: Jakub Voracek – This is one of those “you have to pick someone” type cases and I suppose Voracek with his goal and four shots qualifies.

For Winnipeg: Connor Hellebuyck – Ok, yes picking a goalie as the player of the game in a contest where the team in front of him scores seven goals is a bit odd, but that first period was really not a good one at all for the Jets and without Hellebuyck’s heroics in the first 20 minutes., this may have been a very different contest. Plus, it’s nice to see him posting up save percentages north of .925