Jets double up Maple Leafs in Wheeler's 1,000th NHL game

WINNIPEG - A milestone like 1,000 National Hockey League games always feels more memorable if it ends in victory.
The Winnipeg Jets made sure their captain, Blake Wheeler, received just that.
A four-goal outburst in the second period powered the Jets to a 6-3 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sunday, a night Wheeler won't soon forget.
"It's weird being front and centre when you play a team sport," Wheeler said. "When it's all said and done, you'll have memories of games and big moments and all that stuff, but just the relationships I've been so lucky to form in my career and guys I've been able to play with.
"It was a special day for my family."

Wheeler was one of seven Jets with multiple points as the team improved to 12-8-4. On top of the four goals in the second - which turned a 1-1 game into an insurmountable 5-1 cushion - the Jets also scored three times on the power play.

"I think we're kind of transition from what gave us a lot of success over the years and now trying to figure out a new way to have success," Wheeler said. "It's going to look a little bit different and take some time to find our chemistry but it started coming."
But Paul Maurice's favourite period might have been the third, as the Jets turned a 5-3 advantage into a 6-3 lead thanks to a power play marker.
More than that, they controlled the shot attempts at five-on-five (17-10 according to Natural Stat Trick) and didn't sit back.
"I liked our zone time. I liked our puck decisions," Maurice said. "They had some pressure, but they have a good team so they're going to get in your end."

It didn't take long for the offence to start rolling between these two potent offensive groups.
An early power play gave the Jets a chance to build some early momentum, and that's exactly what they did. Just minutes after the ceremony celebrating his 1,000th NHL game, Blake Wheeler sent a perfect pass to Pierre-Luc Dubois in front, and Dubois made a quick move to the back hand to beat Joseph Woll through the five hole. Just 4:05 into the game, the Jets were up 1-0.
Winnipeg's power play finished 3-for-5 on the night.
"The confidence is a really important factor on the power play because when you're a confident group you just go faster," said Maurice. "The first one was really, really important because our pace was right and we were right straight through it so you have a big night on it."

The Maple Leafs responded a power play of their own with just over four minutes left in the opening frame. Michael Bunting found some open space in the high slot and snapped home a centering pass from Pierre Engvall for his seventh goal of the season.
Then came the onslaught from the home side.
Winnipeg regained the lead 1:50 into the second with Andrew Copp's seventh of the season. Copp took a stretch pass from Neal Pionk, used his body position to hold off a back check from Toronto defenceman Rasmus Sandin, then beat Woll five hole to make it 2-1.

Woll turned away rush chances from Nikolaj Ehlers and Kyle Connor to keep it that way, but the Jets would break through on their third rush chance since the Copp goal. This time, it was Evgeny Svechnikov, who took a pass from Dominic Toninato and fired a snipe into the top left corner to make it 3-1.
A roughing call on Bunting put the Jets back on the power play, and the Jets made the visitors pay as Connor snapped home his 15th of the season, converting a pass from Dubois. The puck went in and out so quickly the officials didn't know whether it was in, but Connor had no doubt and neither did his teammates.
They weren't done yet, as Ehlers capitalized on yet another rush chance, a give-and-go with Copp, to push the score to 5-1.

Four goals in 8:54, with a number of them coming off the rush.
"The odd-man rushes come from there is a pinch coming and you either get the puck out or you don't," said Maurice. "We have done a good job of being patient with that, staying underneath that and getting some speed off of that."
Before the end of the period, Auston Matthews converted on a 5-on-3 power play for his 15th of the season, then Ondrej Kase squeezed his sixth of the campaign between Hellebuyck and the post 80 seconds later to knock the Jets lead down to 5-3.
As the tempers flared in the third period, the Jets power play capitalized again shortly after a Wayne Simmonds cross-checking penalty. Connor hit Scheifele with a perfect area pass and Scheifele walked in, fought off a stick check, and snapped home his sixth of the season for Winnipeg's sixth goal of the night, and a 6-3 lead.

Still, that wasn't the end of the pushing and shoving. Dubois and Matthews mixed it up behind the play, Brenden Dillon and Kyle Clifford dropped the gloves, and Logan Stanley left the ice with his arms raised following a near brawl with Maple Leafs forward Wayne Simmonds.
"There was some energy and emotion, as there should be," said Maurice. "I didn't think that that game was ever ornery. But this game had some leftover from games past. It got a little heated out there, but that's good."
It will be a memorable night for Wheeler to look back on. Admittedly, he isn't one to reflect in the present moment, but he knows that time will come.
"I think having my parents in town, having my agent in town, we've been through a lot over the years. Just reflecting with those people a bit, who have been in your corner," Wheeler said. "I think the best is yet to come, you know what I mean. I feel that way about our group, and that's where my focus is on, just having a blast with this team.
"They took care of me and performed, and we got a hell of a win. It was a great night."