The final game of the preseason went down in Calgary. The Winnipeg Jets did not have a great game but did pull out a 3-2 victory over the Calgary Flames

In the first period the Jets did not look their best although did they did leave the first period up 1-0 they were tied in shots at 7. The Flames hit the post and the cross bar early in the first period. Connor Hellebuyck would hold down the fort and keep the Jets up early in the first.

Adam Klapka would go to the box for tripping Hellebuyck at 6:03. Who the hell trips a goalie? The Flames would kill off their one and only penalty of the period. The Jets defenceman Colin Miller would get called for cross-checking and Dylan DeMelo would find himself in the box with three seconds left in the period.

Nino Neiderreiter would score the first goal of the game, after Mason Appleton would go into the corner fish the puck out and send it out to the guts of the ice and Neiderreiter would find the back of the net for the third time this preseason.

The Jets started the 2nd period on the penalty kill, with DeMelo serving the final 1:57 of his penalty. They successfully killed that off, as well as the Alex Iafallo penalty during the period. By the end of the second, all five penalties had been killed. The Jets managed only one shot in the first 14 minutes of the second period, but their passing was much cleaner. Both teams had six shots each.

Colin Miller used his heavy wrist shot to put the Jets up by two. He was just trying to get the shot past Jonathan Huberdeau and onto Dan Vladar, but instead found the twine.

The third period was rough. It really reminded me of the Jets from last season, where they would have a solid 25 minutes and then go into cruise control for the other 35. The Flames took full advantage of the subpar Jets play throughout the final frame.

They didn’t wait long to score their first goal of the period, finding the net just 64 seconds in. Adam Lowry lost the puck to Martin Pospisil, who passed it back to Daniil Miromanov. Miromanov fired on net, and Jonathan Huberdeau deflected the puck to put the Flames ahead by one.

The Flames kept rolling over the Jets throughout this period. Less than 4 minutes later the Flames would strike again with another deflection. The Flames captain Mikael Backlund would win the faceoff in the Jets zone get into position and deflect Kevin Bahl’s shot

The Jets were outshot 21-4 in the third period, and although Connor Hellebuyck allowed two goals, both were deflection goals. These will likely be the majority of the goals that get past the Jets’ two-time Vezina-winning goaltender.

Kyle Connor scored the game-winner off a Flames D-zone faceoff. The Flames lost control of the puck, and Connor was there to pick it up and take it home.

The Jets’ penalty kill looked solid tonight, and that will be a strength for them throughout the season. I hope we see plenty of shorthanded goals, given all the talent on the penalty kill. Hellebuyck looks like he is in midseason form. However, I do worry a little about the team’s effort, especially in the third period.

I hope Dylan DeMelo is feeling better after taking an 88-mile-per-hour puck to the face during the final penalty kill of the game.

The first game of the season is on Wednesday, October 9th, in Edmonton against Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers. You can catch pre-game and post-game articles on JetsNation.ca.