Jets use total team effort in big win over Chicago

The 'total team effort' phrase might be a cliché, but some nights, it's exactly the right choice of words.
Sunday was one of those nights.
Five members of the Winnipeg Jets (13-6-1) had multi-point nights, and 13 of 18 skaters had at least a point in a 7-2 win over the Chicago Blackhawks (6-11-4).
"If you want to be a successful team in this league, the only way to do it through the whole 82-game season is like that, when everybody contributes," said Pierre-Luc Dubois. "Some nights, some lines might contribute more offensively or defensively. For it to be sustainable, that's how it's going to have to look this year. We did a good job tonight."

Dubois had two goals, as did Saku Maenalanen, Josh Morrissey had three assists, Blake Wheeler had two helpers, and Kyle Connor had a goal and two assists of his own.
Add in single tallies from Mark Scheifele and Jansen Harkins, and this was exactly the performance the Jets were looking for to cap off a three-game road trip that produced two victories.
"Every line scored. That's nice to see," said head coach Rick Bowness. "We need some goals from that bottom six, and we've been getting them. Lows' line has been very solid. They did a great job for us to score that goal to get us going."

Harkins' second goal in as many games served as the opener with 5:09 remaining in the first. Adam Lowry was able to feed a backhand pass from below the goal line to Harkins just outside the crease, and his backhand got past Petr Mrazek for a 1-0 Jets lead.
That lead built to 2-0 thanks to a strong forecheck. Morgan Barron, making his return to the line-up after missing 10 games due to wrist surgery, got on the body to force a turnover, and then sent a backhand on net that Mrazek stopped. Maenalanen was there to tuck it home 2:55 into the second period.
Barron played 11:46 in his first game since October 30.

"I was excited," said Barron. "Anytime you're out, it's a little tougher watching the guys from home or from the stands but we've played some great hockey over the past month or so."
Taylor Raddysh cut the lead to 2-1 just 17 seconds after the Maenalanen goal, but a 5-on-3 Jets power play opportunity near the midway mark of the second provided an opening for the visitors to seize momentum, and they did just that.
Connor wired home a one-timer from the right circle to make it 3-1. His sixth goal in the last six games is the second-most in the NHL in that span, behind only Dallas' Jason Robertson's seven. It was also the first power play goal the Jets had scored in five games.

Speaking of league leaders, that was the first of Morrissey's three assists on the night, giving him 23 points in 20 games, tying him for third in the NHL among defencemen in points.
The power play units (which finished 2-for-4 Sunday) also had a different look, as Wheeler joined the top unit with Sam Gagner not in the game. It was a tough decision Bowness had to make to pull Gagner from the line-up, but Barron's return and the Jets coming up empty in the last four games on the man advantage necessitated a change.
"Sam has played very well for us," said Bowness. "We just wanted to give the power plays a different look because it hasn't been good enough. And it was a much better look tonight."

Maenalanen added his second of the game, a laser beam of a wrister from the left circle that beat Mrazek on the glove side just inside the right post just 75 seconds after Connor's tally. The goal, which came with 10:08 left in the second, was the second multi-goal game of Maenalanen's career with the first coming on January 15, 2019.
"We've seen it a few times in practice. He has a nice shot," said Dubois. "We saw from training camp what he could do for this team and what he could bring to the table. Offensively, to start the year, maybe it wasn't there. But everybody in this dressing room, the coaching staff, knew how valuable he was to us."
After Jujhar Khaira cut the Jets lead to 4-2 with a power play marker, Scheifele notched his team-leading 11th of the season with 1:03 left on the clock in a busy second period, finishing off a nifty backhand pass from Blake Wheeler in the slot.

Dubois added to the offence with his ninth of the season, a wrister from the left wing that went off the stick of Blackhawks defenceman Filip Roos to make it 6-2 just 4:37 into the third. He then added his second of the night, a power play goal with 7:50 remaining, to increase the lead to 7-2.
That was an appropriate final score, as the Jets are now 7-2-0 against the Central Division, and conclude a four-game stretch against divisional opponents on Tuesday against the defending Stanley Cup champions - the Colorado Avalanche.

Through 20 games, Bowness likes what he sees from his team, especially the fact the Jets have allowed the fourth fewest goals against in the league (53).
"What we're not seeing is more and more of the habits that we were seeing from last year and the first 10 games," said Bowness. "We're seeing a lot less of that and more of the way we want to play, which is the right way that we saw tonight. Holding the opposition down in chances against, shots against and just playing the right way."
ICE CHIPS
David Gustafsson didn't play on Sunday, as he sustained an upper-body injury in the win over the Dallas Stars. Bowness doesn't believe the injury is too serious.