WINNIPEG — Head coach Rick Bowness praised the Winnipeg Jets’ special teams in a 4-2 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Friday night.
The Jets went 2-for-6 on the power play _ scoring both goals on a five-on-three advantage _ and killed all four of Tampa Bay’s man-advantage chances in the win.
“The special teams were obviously outstanding,” Bowness said. “(Assistant coach) Scotty Arniel did a fantastic job on the penalty kill. They won the game for us tonight because it’s a great power play.
“We’ve been working really hard on the power play and we were able to get those two five-on-threes and we also got a four-on-four goal. … Our special teams tonight won the game.”
Winnipeg got Bowness’ win on a very special occasion, the 67-year-old appearing in his 2,600th game behind the NHL bench _ as a head coach or assistant _, the most in league history.
Jets forward Kyle Connor also had a memorable contest.
Conner’s power play goal at 5:38 of the third was his 41st game-winning marker. That passed Ilya Kovalchuk for the most in Jets/Atlanta Thrashers franchise history.
Morgan Barron sealed Winnipeg’s fourth straight win with an empty net goal with 1:26 remaining.
Connor also had an assist while Pierre-Luc Dubois scored twice for the Jets (25-13-1). Josh Morrissey added three assists and Mark Scheifele had two.
“Our power play led to some big goals, but our penalty kill has been right up there at the top all season and it really showed its strength tonight,” Conner said. “You can win a lot of games with a good penalty kill.”
Winnipeg goaltender Connor Hellebuyck stopped 26 shots.
Anthony Cirelli, with a goal and an assist, and Nikita Kucherov scored for the Lightning (24-13-1), who finished a three-game road trip 1-2-0.
After missing two straight games due to illness, Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 16 of the 19 shots he faced for Tampa Bay.
Lightning coach John Cooper has been tight-lipped about his team’s penchant for penalties.
“It’s a complete lack of discipline,” he said. “It was embarrassing what we did.
“How many five-on-threes you face in a season, you rely on maybe one arm and we give them two-and-a-half minutes of five-on-threes a game. unacceptable. This shouldn’t happen. And well done to Winnipeg.
“Honestly, it was really a game of nothing. This match could have been 0-0 and penalties. They (Jets) stayed disciplined, just said, ‘Sit back and wait for Tampa to screw it up,’ and they did. And that happened.”
Veteran Tampa Bay linebacker Victor Hedman missed the game after returning home to be with his wife for the birth of their baby.
The Lightning outscored the Jets 12-4 in the first period, but the game was tied 1-1.
Cirelli scored at 11:48, converting a Steven Stamkos shot to beat Hellebuyck.
With nine seconds left in the period, Dubois scored on a wrist shot by Connor for his 18th goal of the season.
Tampa Bay took a 2-1 lead at 1:35 of the second when Kucherov’s shot went through Hellbuyck’s pads.
Winnipeg had an 87-second two-man lead at 6:05. The Jets won, this time DuBois getting a piece of Morrissey’s point kick at 7:05.
The Jets broke the tie with another two-man lead after Stamkos was ejected for cross-checking at 4:34. Vladislav Namestnikov followed six seconds later for a delay of game.
“You give the puck to the other team’s top five players versus three in the (offensive) zone, they’re going to get chances,” Lightning defenseman Ian Cole said. “There is no silver bullet here that we just load into the gun and that fixes everything.
“It’s just a matter of not taking penalties and not putting ourselves in those situations.”
Connor’s one-timer beat Wasilewski in his glove for his 17th goal of the season.
Stamkos had a great chance to tie the score with about six minutes remaining, but his shot ended up being deflected off the goal line by Jets defenseman Dylan DeMelo.
Conner was called for tripping with 1:52 left and Tampa Bay pulled Wasilewski for a six-on-four, but Barron ruined the drive.
FOUR PACK BACKS
The Jets returned four players from the injured list.
Nikolaj Ehlers returned after missing 36 games. The forward was injured in the second game of the season and underwent a sports hernia operation.
Blake Wheeler is back after sitting out nine games following groin surgery. Veteran linebacker Nate Schmidt also missed nine games with an upper-body injury, while rookie Cole Perfetti is out five games with a shoulder injury.
IMPORTANT MOMENTS
Two players also hit a milestone on Friday.
Dubois played in his 400th career NHL game, while Kucherov skated in his 600th.
NEXT
Jets: Host the Vancouver Canucks on Sunday afternoon.
Lightning: Take a break until hosting the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on January 6, 2023.
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