After a gritty 4th straight win on Saturday night against the Nashville Predators, the Jets hit the road for a game tonight in Calgary. The 4-1-0 Jets took on the 1-5-0 Flames in Calgary, looking to extend their early season win streak to five. On a night where Canada celebrated the Toronto Blue Jays advancing to the World Series, Winnipeg also got to celebrate a Jets victory. The goalies were one of the big stories tonight, and after tying the game early in the 3rd, the Jets would get the eventual game winner late in the game to secure the win.

Tonight’s Jets lineup was slightly different than last game, as Gustav Nyquist was bumped back up to the 2nd line with Nino Niederreiter and Jonathan Toews. Brad Lambert made his season debut on the 3rd line, and the rest of the line combinations remained the same. Connor Hellebuyck got the start in goal, looking to build off a strong performance on Saturday. Spoiler alert, Hellebuyck was great again tonight.

A rare 1st minute penalty started this game, as Gabriel Vilardi was called for high sticking just 23 seconds after puck drop. The Jets penalty killers got an early test, but shut down the Flames with some ease. A few minutes later it was the Jets turn on the powerplay, but the Flames looked sharp on their 1st penalty kill.

The penalties continued later in the 1st, as Tanner Pearson was called for holding, The Jets improved to 2 for 2 on the penalty kill, and again just a few minutes later the Jets went back on the penalty kill after a Logan Stanley interference penalty. After 20 minutes of play, the Flames led in shots 9-8, but this game remained scoreless.

The parade to the penalty box continued for the Jets after Nino Niederreiter was called for interference on Zayne Parekh. As you may have guess based on the final score, the Jets shut down the Flames powerplay yet again, improving to a perfect 4 for 4 on the penalty kill.

The penalties kept coming throughout the 2nd period, but this time it was from the Flames. The Jets got a trio of powerplay opportunities, but were unable to get one past Dustin Wolf, who was very sharp throughout the first 40 minutes of play. Before the Jets 3rd powerplay of the 2nd period, the Flames opened the scoring. Ryan Lomberg and Adam Klapka set up Rasmus Andersson at the point, and his slap shot went through some traffic and past a screened Connor Hellebuyck.

A quite wild 2nd period ended with the Flames leading 1-0, with the Jets outshooting the Flames 14-12 in the 2nd frame. You could feel at the end of the 2nd period that the Jets were due for a goal at some point in the 3rd, it just seemed like it was just a matter of time.

Nazem Kadri was called for high sticking on Neal Pionk a minute into the 3rd period, giving a chance for the Jets to get the game tying goal early in the 3rd. Late into the powerplay, the Jets entered the zone. Nino Niederreiter set up Neal Pionk at the point, and his long distance shot was redirected in front by none other than Jonathan Toews. Not only was this the game tying goal, but it was a special goal as it was Toews’ first as a member of the Winnipeg Jets.

The Flames started generating some quality chances after the Jets tied it, but Connor Hellebuyck stood tall in goal. Finally this game went an extended amount of time without a penalty, as both teams pushed for the go ahead goal.

With 5 minutes to play, Josh Morrissey started a Jets rush after a shot was stopped by Hellebuyck. Mark Scheifele took the puck up the ice for a bit before handing it off to Kyle Connor. After entering the zone, the Jets had a partial 2 on 1, and Connor sent a wonderful pass across the Scheifele, who wristed the puck past Wolf to give the Jets the lead. That’s 5 straight games with a goal for Scheifele.

Despite the Flames outshooting the Jets 12-6 in the 3rd period, the Jets would hang on for the 2-1 win. Toews took a slashing penalty with 26 seconds left, which gave the Flames a late 6 on 4. After one final chance, the Flames couldn’t get one past Hellebuyck, who shut the door to secure the Jets victory. If I was choosing the 3 stars tonight, it would have to be the two goalies 1 and 2, and Scheifele, with an honourable mention to Toews for the game tying goal. Final shots on goal were 33-28 for the Flames.

The Jets will look to extend their win streak to six games on Thursday against the Kraken, back home at Canada Life Centre. This game will be the first of three straight games at home, which includes a visit from the Flames on Friday and a visit from the Mammoth on Sunday afternoon. Stay tuned here at Jets Nation for the latest news and updates before the next game.