WINNIPEG - The emotion was palpable inside Canada Life Centre long before the puck dropped. A fired-up crowd of Jets fans brought the energy from the moment warmups began, ready to make their feelings known as Winnipeg welcomed the New Jersey Devils to town.
While Connor Hellebuyck was not getting the start for New Jersey, the Jets were more than happy to see Nico Daws between the pipes. The former Devil was facing his old team, adding another layer to an already emotional night. Dawson Mercer also found himself playing a significant role in Tuesday's storyline as the spotlight remained firmly on the players with ties to both sides.
If someone had written a script for this night, they couldn't have dreamed up a better one for Mercer. The former Devil buried two goals against his old team, Kyle Connor also scored twice and Daws stood tall with 19 saves in a 4-2 win to push their win streak to four. Daws recorded his first win as a Jet.
“A little bit leading up to it. Once you get out there, it’s hockey. People are shooting a puck at me and I’m trying to save it," said Daws.
"It doesn’t really matter who it is, obviously I know those guys and I’ve practiced against them a million times, so you kind of know their tendencies but at the end of the day, you’re just going out there and your mind is free.”
The special teams delivered when it mattered most, striking twice on the power play while shutting down every New Jersey opportunity on the penalty kill.
Josh Morrissey returned to the lineup as well after missing 14 games with an upper body injury, the Jets top defenceman played a team leading 24:05 and had four shots on goal.
Mercer opened the scoring for the Jets, ripping a shot over a screened Jake Allen’s shoulder at 7:54 for his second goal in as many games.
