The Winnipeg Jets are still on pace for a 82-0-0 season (for now) after a 2-1 win in overtime tonight against the Chicago Blackhawks. The Jets home opener was played in front of a near sell out crowd, all while the Winnipeg Blue Bombers were also playing to a sold out crowd at the same time.

After the excitement of opening night settled in, the game was fairly even in the 1st period. Shots on goal were 7-6 for Winnipeg, but both teams couldn’t find a way to open the scoring. The Jets would get their 1st powerplay 7 minutes into the 1st, but were unable to capitalize on the opportunity.

A player that really stood out in the 1st period was defenceman Haydn Fleury. He’s a player who was not on the radar to make the Jets opening night lineup, but has so far shown that he belongs 2 games into the season now. Fleury was blocking shots and even got a few of his own shots towards the goal in the 1st. Fleury appeared to have that extra “step” in his game, as he continues to show what he’s capable of as a former 7th overall pick. If he keeps up this level of play, it could be difficult to take him out of the lineup once Ville Heinola or Logan Stanley returns.

The 2nd period was where the action began to pick up. Shots on goal in the 2nd were 11-11, and it was clear that both teams were pushing for that opening goal. The Jets had their 2nd and final opportunity to score on the powerplay after a cross check from defenceman Connor Murphy on Vladislav Namestnikov. The powerplay looked shaky at times tonight, and the Jets finished the night 0 for 2 with the man advantage.

With just over 3 minutes to play in the 2nd, Ryan Donato opened the scoring for the Blackhawks. Patrick Maroon made a nice play to send the puck up the ice for Donato, who got behind the Jets defence and sniped one short side past Hellebuyck.

Fast forward to the 3rd period, and you could really begin to get the sense that the Jets weren’t quite done yet in this one. Dylan DeMelo took the only Jets penalty of the game near the midway mark of the 3rd, but the penalty kill shut down Connor Bedard and the Blackhawks top powerplay unit. The shots on goal were 16-8 for the Jets in the 3rd, and it took until one of their final shots of the game to tie this one up at 1.

After pulling the goalie, the Jets set up in the offensive zone. The puck was redirected on goal by Nikolaj Ehlers, before Scheifele reached out on the backhand and put the rebound past Blackhawks backup Arvid Soderblom. Scheifele collected his 299th goal of his career in game number 799, but if you saw the game, you’d know that Scheifele wasn’t done tonight just yet. Spoiler alert, here’s the OT game winning goal.

The game went to overtime, and as you might have predicted, Scheifele got the game winner. Just 38 seconds into the 3 on 3 overtime, Josh Morrissey handed off to puck to Scheifele, who gave it to Connor, who went out wide before centering the puck in front. Nobody but Scheifele was there in front, and he redirected the centering feed into the far side of the net. Scheifele was all smiles after the goal, and rightfully so, as not only was it the game winner, but it was also his 300th goal of his career, all with the Jets.

The final shots on goal were 35 to 26 for the Jets, and the Jets had a noticeable advantage in the faceoff circle, winning 63% of the draws. Oh, and how could I almost forget… Connor Hellebuyck was in full Vezina form once again tonight, highlighted by this terrific glove save.

The Jets will look to improve to 3-0 on the season when they take on the Minnesota Wild on Sunday afternoon. Minnesota was victorious both times against Winnipeg in the preseason, so you can bet that the Jets will be extra hungry for the win now that the games count. Looking further ahead in the Jets schedule, this may just be the “easiest” stretch of the season coming up. The Jets will play only 2 teams that made the playoffs last season in their next 10 games. No game is easy as seen tonight, but this should be a great opportunity for the Jets to get some wins early in the season.

Stay tuned here at Jets Nation for the latest Jets news, pre and post game shows by Angus on Instagram Live, and much more right here and on our socials. 2 wins in 2 games for your Jets!