Back on track with an improved offense, the Winnipeg Jets will move on to the California portion of their four-game road trip with a visit to the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday.
The Jets have fashioned a three-game winning streak over a short stretch where they have averaged three goals per game. The run comes after they lost three consecutive games while scoring just three total goals.
In a 4-2 road victory over the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday, Winnipeg produced its most goals over its past eight contests. Kyle Connor scored twice, including an empty-netter with less than a minute remaining to seal the victory. He has a team-high 17 goals this season.
Adam Lowry scored with three seconds remaining in the first period to put the Jets up 1-0, Connor’s first goal came 32 seconds into the second and Winnipeg was off and running. Josh Morrissey also scored in the third period for the Jets.
Winnipeg’s Connor Hellebuyck made 32 saves for his 250th career victory.
With 32 points, the Jets moved just two behind the Central Division-leading Avalanche at the start of NHL play Saturday thanks to a stretch in which they have won seven of their past 10 games.
“We always talk about trying to be an elite team,” Lowry said. “We want to be considered one of the best in this conference, one of the best in the division. We talked about if you want to be in that conversation, you’ve got to beat those elite teams, and I thought we did a really good job.”
The Ducks’ road back to elite status has been long. The team’s young roster appeared to be making some inroads earlier this season while on a six-game winning streak, but Anaheim now is on a run of 10 losses in 11 games.
The Ducks’ most recent victory also was against the Avalanche, 4-3 in a shootout at home on Dec. 2. But in a rematch at Colorado on Tuesday, Anaheim fell 3-2 then dropped a 1-0 decision on the road against the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday.
Anaheim goaltender Lukas Dostal gave up one goal on 25 Chicago shots, a marked improvement of his previous start, when he gave up six goals on 16 shots against the Edmonton Oilers on Nov. 26 and was pulled in the second period.
The Ducks are expected to return to John Gibson in goal on Sunday. The veteran had 11 losses heading into play Saturday, tied for the NHL lead. He has a .906 save percentage and a 2.82 goals-against average.
As the Ducks continue to search for ways to improve, rumors have intensified that Gibson could be traded for an influx of talent.
“We don’t give our goalies run support,” Ducks coach Greg Cronin said on the Bally Sports West broadcast after Thursday’s loss. “When you’re not scoring goals, you have to do blue-collar things like go to the front of the net, put pucks down there, shot volume, get on rebounds.”
Anaheim forward Trevor Zegras and defenseman Jamie Drysdale both practiced Saturday, but neither is expected back Sunday after both have missed more than a month. Mason McTavish, who is second on the team in points (21) and goals (10), has missed the past two games with an upper-body injury.
–Field Level Media