It was an all around effort tonight as the Jets downed the Sabres 3-1. Kyle Connor led the way with three points meaning he had a hand in each Winnipeg goal. He scored the first and third goals and assisted on the second as he’s now closing in on Scheifele for the team lead in points. The defensive side of things was good enough for the victory with Hellebuyck turning away 25 out of 26 shots. Most importantly, the Jets picked up two points which moves them back into a tie for the first wildcard spot.

Let’s take a look at how we got here tonight.

Despite a few bumpy shifts in the early going where they allowed a few scoring chances, the Jets had an overall strong first period. Once those jitters were out of the way, they went to work and got on the board first. It was a breath of fresh air as the Jets have rarely played with a lead for the last few weeks.

Kyle Connor was the goal scorer on a weird looking play down the ice. Wheeler raced after a loose puck and got to it just before Buffalo’s goal line. He managed to feather a pass through the defender to Connor streaking down the middle. Connor somehow squeezed it through Johansson for the opening goal of the game.

The Jets had to kill a few penalties in the first period, but they did an excellent job of not allowing anything easy for the Sabres. In fact, the Jets took it a step further and rushed down the ice on a counter-attack while shorthanded. Copp fed Connor over the line and Poolman set up in front of the net. Connor took a low shot and Poolman got a stick on it to fool Johansson and give Winnipeg the 2-0 lead.

This came at a time where the fans were getting quite riled up due to the lack of penalties being called on the Sabres. There was a high stick on Pionk that wasn’t called a few other infractions that definitely were questionable.

When the Jets finally got their first powerplay in the second period, they went to work and scored to make it 3-0. It was an easy goal for Connor as the puck dropped right to him in the crease. He easily slammed it home for his second goal of the game.

With a strong three goal lead, the Jets needed to play a mistake-free second half to now allow the Sabres any sort of momentum. The Jets played some excellent defense, but the Sabres still managed to get on the board as Ristolainen made a centering pass that went off Hellebuyck and into the net. Hellebuyck definitely wanted to have that one back as he was visibly upset with himself after the puck went in.

Hellebuyck used that goal as fuel for the rest of the game and he was sensational as he turned aside everything else the Sabres threw at him.

The Jets played a really good third period and they didn’t sit back and defend too much. They spent a number of shifts in the latter half of the period in Buffalo’s end and they generated a number of scoring chances of their own. It was the perfect way to protect the lead and something that we haven’t seen too often.

They rode the lead all the way to the end and finished with a 3-1 win.

With Morrissey back in the lineup, he was partnered with newly acquired Dylan Demelo for the first time. They looked strong together and hopefully they can form some great chemistry on the top pairing. Demelo’s had a fairly brief look so far, but alot of people already want him extended with a new contract.

Listen up, NHL players know how to play hockey. That also means that they understand when is and isn’t the right time to shoot the puck. That being said, somehow Wheeler forgot how to shoot the puck from the most prime scoring area with nobody in front of him. If you watched the game, you will know exactly which play I’m talking about. If you didn’t catch the action, Wheeler got the puck on his stick from the inner slot with only the goaltender to beat. Instead of shooting at the net he tried to make a pass to Scheifele (who wasn’t ready for it because he thought Wheeler should shoot the puck) and ended up just dumping the puck in the corner. It was a completely wasted chance on arguably the best scoring opportunity of the night.

Connor continues to light the lamp with regularity as he scored another two goals tonight. Those goals were his 34th and 35th of the year which gives him a new career high. The thing that’s interesting about Connor is that he doesn’t usually score flashy goals. He consistently gets to the open spots and has an uncanny ability to put the puck past the goalie. You could argue that his second goal today was pure luck, and while that certainly was the case, those are the types of goals that Connor so frequently scores. He understands where the puck is going to be and he gets to the spot to put himself into the best possible scoring position. It’s a joy to watch as he continues his goal scoring streak.