Hockey was back at the Canada Life Centre tonight, as the Winnipeg Jets took on the Calgary Flames. The Jets were still looking for their first win of the pre-season, following two 3-2 losses at home and most recently last night a 4-0 loss in Edmonton. After tonight’s game at home, the Jets play in Minnesota on Tuesday and in Calgary on Friday, so it was the last chance for the Jets to give the fans a win at home during the pre-season. Tonight’s Jets lineup was as close to their “A” team as you will probably see in the pre-season.

Last night’s game had the projected bottom 6 playing as the top 6, and tonight the projected top 6 were the top 6 forwards. On defence, the projected top 4 defencemen were in their familiar pairings, that being Josh Morrissey with Dylan DeMelo and Dylan Samberg with Neal Pionk. Eric Comrie got the start in goal, playing the full 60 minutes. Prior to the game, head coach Scott Arniel confirmed that Connor Hellebuyck is scheduled to start in goal for the final two Jets pre-season games. Tonight’s game was a better all-around effort from the Jets, as they held on late to win their first game of the pre-season.

The first 5 minutes of this game went like every other pre-season game up until this point, with both teams just managing a couple shots on goal. Just 12 seconds after the 5 minute mark, Walker Duehr opened the scoring, giving the Jets an early 1-0 lead. Neal Pionk collected the puck in the Jets zone and sent a pass across near centre ice for Duehr to collect. Duehr came down the wing with speed and sent one towards the goal, and a fortunate redirection led the puck into the back of the net.

The Jets continued to play at a good pace even after taking the lead. Just under 7 minutes later, the Jets doubled their lead. Dylan Samberg found Brayden Yager in the slot, and he soon found Nikita Chibrikov in prime shooting position, and he snapped one perfectly past Devin Cooley.

30 seconds after the goal, Jaret Anderson-Dolan was called for holding, sending the Flames to the powerplay. After quickly getting set up on the man advantage, Rory Kerins and Morgan Frost found Zayne Parekh at the point, and his wrist shot found its way past Comrie to make this a 2-1 game.

The Jets didn’t let that goal shift the momentum, and just over 4 minutes later the Jets regained their 2 goal lead. Josh Morrissey sent a pass off the side boards to Jaret Anderson-Dolan. After getting around one defender, the Jets had somewhat of a 2 on 1, and Anderson-Dolan sent it across to Parker Ford who re-directed the puck into the back of the net, finishing off a nice set play.

The 1st period ended with the Jets in front 3-1. Both teams managed 8 shots on goal, and the Jets were controlling the faceoff dot winning 9 of 14 draws. The Jets did well on the defensive end too, out hitting the Flames 8-4 while blocking 8 shots.

After a strong opening frame, the Jets were looking to continue where they left off in the 1st. The first 10 minutes of the 2nd went without a goal or penalty. The Jets would take the lead in the shots on goal category by a total of 14-10. Both teams were getting their chances, but Comrie and Cooley stood tall in net.

With 9 minutes to play in the 2nd, Martin Pospisil was called for hooking against Gabriel Vilardi. The Jets powerplay went to work for the first time on the night, and just 41 seconds later the powerplay was a success. After some nice puck movement around the perimeter, Nikita Chibrikov and Gustav Nyquist set up a perfect wrister from Neal Pionk that went top corner past a screened Cooley.

With 2 minutes left in the 2nd, the Jets were awarded their 2nd powerplay of the night after another penalty by Martin Pospisil. Despite some good puck movement on the advantage, the Jets were unsuccessful this time around on the powerplay, and time expired on the 2nd period with 2 seconds remaining on the 5 on 4.

Everything was clicking for the Jets up until this point in the game, and it was looking like they were on track for their first win of the pre-season. The 2nd period ended again tied in shots on goal 18-18, and the vibes were great at Canada Life Centre as the Jets continued to hold a 4-1 lead.

With a chance to pick up their first win in the pre-season, you could tell the Jets didn’t want to make any mistakes in the 3rd period if possible. 5 minutes into the 3rd, Morgan Frost made a nice move to create some space in the Jets zone. Frost found Brayden Pachal who fired a shot on goal. The puck was blocked by Yan Kuznetsov who was trying to create a screen in front, but he picked up the puck off his own deflection and wristed it past Comrie to make it a 4-2 game.

Fast forward to 8 minutes to play, when Cole Perfetti took an interference call. The Flames went on their 2nd powerplay of the night looking to get one goal closer, but Comrie shut down any chances the Flames got on this advantage. After the powerplay was over, teams continued to trade chances as they were looking for that next important goal.

The Flames almost got another opportunity on the powerplay with just over 3 minutes left. Mark Scheifele and Brayden Pachal were given two minutes each for roughing. The Flames pulled the goalie after the next faceoff, giving them a 6 on 5. A minute later the Flames took a penalty, giving the Jets a powerplay to end this game.

The Jets didn’t score on this final powerplay, but they didn’t need to, as they held on for the 4-2 victory. After three losses, the Jets finally picked up their first win of the pre-season thanks to an all-around great team performance. The final shots on goal were 29-24 for the Jets, and they finished this game in control of the faceoff dot, winning 32/53 draws.

After tonight’s win, the Jets will have a day off tomorrow before heading the Minnesota to prepare for a game against the Wild on Tuesday night. The roster will likely see a few more cuts before this game, so make sure to stay tuned here at Jets Nation for the latest pre-season news!