RECAP: Blackhawks Drop Road Matchup to Jets

WINNIPEG -- Jonathan Toews had an assist in his first game against his former team, and the Winnipeg Jets defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 6-3 at Canada Life Centre on Thursday.

Toews played his first 16 NHL seasons with Chicago, winning the Stanley Cup three times (2010, 2013, 2015) as captain of the Blackhawks. Prior to signing a one-year contract with his hometown Jets in July, Toews was out of the NHL since the end of the 2022-23 season.

“That was a real good game, Winnipeg coach Scott Arniel said. “I don't know if there ever is a perfect 60, but that was one of our best of the year. I liked a lot of what we did, whether that was our coverage, whether than was our breakouts. I thought we were really good on our breakouts. They're a quick, young team and I thought we did a good job, for the most part, trying to stay over top of them and slow them down and, obviously, we capitalized on all our chances.”

Gabriel Vilardi scored twice and had an assist, and Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor each had a goal and two assists for the Jets (8-3-0), who have won three of five. Connor Hellebuyck made 21 saves, Josh Morrissey had a goal and an assist and Dylan DeMelo had two assists.

“That was our most complete game,” Vilardi said. “We did a good job through the neutral zone and kind of limited their speed. Those young guys, they can really turn and burn when you have those turnovers. It was a good game.”

Andre Burakovsky, Teuvo Teravainen, and Alex Vlasic scored for the Blackhawks (5-4-2), who have lost two of three. Spencer Knight made 26 saves. Connor Bedard and Connor Murphy each had two assists.

“I give Winnipeg credit,” Burakovsky said. “They're a good team; they played a [heck] of a game. For us, we made some mistakes that cost us. If we can eliminate those, it will be a different game. It's a learning process for our group. It's something we will look over tomorrow and correct and just do better next game.”

Vladislav Namestnikov scored on the power play to make it 1-0 Jets at 1:42 of the first period. Gustav Nyquist and Nino Niederreiter worked a give-and-go as they entered the zone, and Nyquist dropped a backhand from just behind the goal line to a trailing Namestnikov to tap it in from the edge of the crease.

“It was kind of a weird game,” Chicago coach Jeff Blashill said. “There were moments in the game I thought we played really well, and then we made some big mistakes and those big mistakes ended up in our net.”

Teravainen tied it 1-1 at 8:57 when Murphy’s dump-in took a wild bounce off the end boards and caught Hellebuyck out of his net.

“An unlucky bounce, not much you can do about those goals,” Vilardi said. “I thought we played really well in the second and kind of dominated most of the third but had that little spree there.”

Vilardi made it 2-1 Jets at 16:56 when Scheifele set him up on a 2-on-1 rush.

“We didn't have our best,” Murphy said. “They took advantage of some of our mistakes, and then we weren't able to score in the first part of the game to get ahead. It's just a lesson on the road to play a better game to win.”

Scheifele pushed it to 3-1 at 1:54 of the second period, when Connor stickhandled into the zone and set him up for a wrist shot from the dot.

“Obviously they have one of the best top lines in the League and those guys get opportunities they’re gonna make you pay, and they did tonight,“ Blashill said.

Vilardi’s second made it 4-1 at 11:19 when DeMelo set him up for a one-timer in the slot.

“We haven’t been down three going into the third … and I thought our guys came out and fought hard,” Blashill said. “That was one of the things I was interested to see in terms of the character of our group -- were we gonna lay down or were we gonna come out and play? And I thought we did a good job of that. Against this team, it’s hard to come back from that. We certainly made a fight for it.”

Morrissey pushed it to 5-1 at 10:12 of the third with a point shot at that hit the post before going in off Knight’s skate. Toews started the play with a pass from below the goal line out to the point to DeMelo.

“I think it was our best 60-minute effort,” Morrissey said. “There's always things to clean up and but there's a lot to build on. There's been a lot of talk about our second periods and how we did a better job in that frame. So, yeah, it's a good win, and have to keep building.”

Vlasic scored on a rebound at 13:02 to cut it to 5-2. Burakovsky then made it 5-3 at 15:03, lifting it over Hellebuyck’s blocker with a between-the-legs shot after Bedard found him in front with a vertical seam pass.

“It's just instinct -- I was just trying to get a shot off somehow, and that's what came out,” Burakovsky said of his goal. “I wasn't thinking about doing it; it just happened. So just instinct… It was a good goal, but at the end of the day we didn't win the game and that's what's most important, obviously. Would be better if we won, for sure.”

Connor lifted a backhand over Knight’s shoulder from in close at 17:19 for the 6-3 final.

"I thought we did a really good job of protecting that inside [part of our zone],” Arniel said. “That's when we're at our best. The gutsy ice, we don't give teams much to work with.”

NOTES: Blackhawks forward Jason Dickinson left the game late in the second period. Blashill said it’s the same nagging injury that has kept him out of a few games this season and he is questionable to play at the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday. … Nyquist played 1:28 before leaving in the first period. Arniel said he “tweaked something” and will be assessed on Friday. … Bedard has seven points (four goals, three assists) on a three-game point streak. … Scheifele has eight points (two goals, six assists) on a four-game point streak. … Morrissey has eight points (one goal, seven assists) on a four-game point streak. … Connor has six points (three goals, three assists) on a four-game point streak. … Vilardi has seven points (four goals, three assists) on a four-game point streak.