The Winnipeg Jets defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 6-3 at Canada Life Centre Thursday night in the first game of the season between the Central Division foes.
The Jets’ first line of Kyle Connor, Mark Scheifele, and Gabriel Vilardi had a massive night, combining for four goals and five assists. Connor, Scheifele, Vilardi (2), Josh Morrissey, and Vladislav Namestnikov all scored for the Jets. Andre Burakovsky, Teuvo Teravainen, and Alex Vlasic scored for the Blackhawks.
The Jets improved to 8-3-0 with the win, while the Blackhawks fell to 5-4-2 with the loss.
Game Recap
The Jets opened the scoring on the power play 1:42 into the contest when Namestnikov finished off a nice three-way passing play between he, Gustav Nyquist, and Nino Niederreiter.
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The Blackhawks tied the game on a crazy play at 8:57. A Connor Murphy dump in took a wacky bounce off the stanchion to the front of the crease and Teravainen whacked the absolute gift into the net Connor Hellebuyck had vacated.
The Jets retook the lead at 16:56 as Vilardi converted on a two-on-one with Scheifele.
In the second, the Jets scored another early-period goal, 1:54 into the frame, to extend their to 3-1 when Scheifele went five hole on Spencer Knight. Connor slipped around a couple of Blackhawks’ defenders to set up his linemate.
The Jets’ first line struck for a third time, making the score 4-1 at 11:19, when Vilardi one-timed a Dylan DeMelo shot home from the slot on another nice passing play between the pair and Morrissey.
Morrissey struck for a goal of his own at 10:12 of the third when his point blast hit the post, the back of Knight’s leg, and in.
The Blackhawks scored back-to-back goals at 13:02 and 15:03 — the second being a nifty in-between-the-legs effort by Burakovsky — to make things interesting, but Connor scored his second of the game on a beautiful top-shelf backhand at 17:19 to quell the comeback attempt.
Notes & Observations
Jonathan Toews, playing against his longtime former team for the first time, registered an assist on Morrissey’s goal, played 20:07, and won 70 per cent of his faceoffs.
Connor Bedard, coming a hat trick Tuesday, had one assist in 21:16.
Nyquist left the game midway through the first with an injury and did not return.
Vilardi has scored four goals in his past four games.
The shots were 32-24 in favour of the Jets. The Jets’ power play went one for three while the Blackhawks went zero for three.
The Jets are back in action Saturday afternoon when they host the Pittsburgh Penguins in the second and final game of their brief homestand. The Blackhawks will play the second game of their six-game road trip Saturday night in Edmonton against the Oilers.
