After securing their playoff spot on Tuesday, followed by their 50th win of the season on Friday, the Jets were looking to end their 4 game home stand with yet another win. The visiting Vancouver Canucks entered Canada Life Centre desperate for a win, looking to work back into a Western Conference wild card spot. The Jets next goal is securing 1st place in the Central Division, and with a win this afternoon they would also continue to be 1st in the NHL league standings. After a pretty evenly matched 1st period, the Jets scored 3 unanswered goals, securing win number 51 on this Sunday afternoon. Here’s how the Jets final game in March unfolded.

The first few minutes of the game played out as expected, with both teams getting a few solid chances. Soon after, the Jets powerplay got a golden opportunity to open the scoring. A minute after Aatu Raty was called for slashing on Vladislav Namestnikov, Teddy Blueger high sticked Mark Scheifele, giving the Jets top powerplay a 5 on 3. Some good puck movement ensued, but the Jets weren’t able to open the scoring.

Both teams looked evenly matched in the 1st, but it was the Canucks who opened the scoring with 1 minute left in the period. Jake Debrusk passed one to Tyler Myers, who entered the Jets zone. Myers found Pius Suter unmarked, who walked in and wristed one past Hellebuyck to give the Canucks a 1-0 lead. The play was challenged for offside, and it looked like a very close call upon review. Unfortunately for the Jets, the goal stood, and the Jets were assessed a bench penalty for “delay of game” from an unsuccessful challenge. Shots in the 1st period ended 9-6 in favour of the Jets.

The Jets started the 2nd period on the penalty kill, but were able to continue their recent trend of being perfect on shutting down the opposing team’s powerplay. Midway through the 2nd, elite goal scorer Kyle Connor tied this game at 1. Colin Miller sent a nice breakout pass to Mark Scheifele, who passed one near centre ice to Connor. After entering the Canucks zone, Connor fired one up past Thatcher Demko for his 38th of the season.

The game tying goal gave some momentum to the Jets, who began to look like the better team for that point on. Luke Schenn took an interference call on Pius Suter with 3 minutes to play, but just like the other 2 penalty kills (for a Stanley high stick + bench minor in the 1st), the Canucks couldn’t get anything past Connor Hellebuyck. The Jets finished the night a perfect 3 for 3 on the penalty kill. Shots in the 2nd were 11-7 for the Canucks.

A careful approach was taken by both teams for the first 5 minutes of the 3rd, with big points on the line late in this regular season. After a good stretch in the Canucks zone, Nikolaj Ehlers dropped one back to Adam Lowry, who redirected one across to Mason Appleton. Right in front of the crease, Appleton made a nice effort to get the puck past Demko for his 10th of the season, giving the Jets a 2-1 lead.

Minutes later, Kiefer Sherwood high sticked Colin Miller, giving the Jets a chance to go up by 2 goals. The usual red hot powerplay at home just wasn’t clicking tonight, and after a later powerplay in the final minute, the Jets would finish o for 4 on the man advantage. The unsuccessful powerplay didn’t seem to discourage the Jets, as with 8 minutes to play, the Jets would make it 3-1. A nice breakout play by Kyle Connor and Vladislav Namestnikov found Cole Perfetti at centre ice. After completely deking out Derek Forbort through his legs, Perfetti was in alone and fired one past Demko while falling down for a highlight reel goal.

After this goal, the Jets went more into “shutdown” mode, not letting the Canucks get back in this game. Canucks pulled the goalie with just under 5 minutes to play, but were unable to get another puck past Hellebuyck. Final shots on goal in the 3rd period finished 11-7 for the Jets, and overall 27-24 for the Jets. The final horn went, and the Jets secured win number 51 on the season with a 3-1 victory at home.

Kyle Connor led the way with a goal and an assist. Connor now needs 10 points in the final 8 games to be the 1st Jets 2.0 player to reach 100 points in a season. Credit also goes to Appleton and Perfetti for good efforts, especially to Perfetti for one of the nicest Jets goals of the season. Hellebuyck played very well as he almost always has this season, marking another game for him with 2 or less goals allowed.

With a 8-5 loss by the Capitals shortly after the Jets game, the Jets are now 3 points ahead of the Capitals for 1st in the league standings, with 1 more game played. Up next for the Jets is a 3 game Western road trip, beginning in LA against the Kings on Tuesday night. Puck drop will be at 9:30 pm CT, but make sure to check back here prior to the game for a preview on that matchup.