WINNIPEG – The Winnipeg Jets were closing out a six home stand and coming off a tough loss to the Kings, things wouldn’t be easier as the defending Cup champs and perennial contenders were in town.
The Jets had success last year against the Hawks, going 3-1-1, but this was a new year and Winnipeg needed to step up their game another level. They rose to the challenge and got a complete game from everybody especially Michael Hutchinson who was named the game’s first star to get a huge 3-1 win and keep pace in the tight Central Division and Western Conference.
“I don’t know what it is,” said Hutchinson, who is 4-0-1 with a .965 save percentage in his career against Chicago. “It seems like it’s one of those teams that is easy to get up against, especially with them being the defending Stanley Cup champions. But our whole team got up for the game.
“I don’t think they like playing us. We play pretty physically against them. It’s a full team effort when we play [Chicago].”
Hutchinson who had the Blackhawks number last season continued his strong play against them stopping a career high 45 shots tonight to get his 4th win of the season.
“What [Hutchinson] has done so well is build a routine for himself that he follows daily,” Jets coach Paul Maurice said. “His work ethic never changes. He clearly has had some success there and earned it. He didn’t get it easily done [Thursday]. He worked hard for it.”
Corey Crawford took the loss for the Blackhawks to fall to 5-3 on the season despite stopping 28 of 31 on the night including a couple beauties on Andrew Ladd and Bryan Little.
“I thought we worked hard, but I don’t think we played with much of a purpose,” Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said. “[We had] some good looks. We had way more chances than in prior games.”
After getting down 1-0 before the game was two minutes old, the Jets settled things down and got their game plan working as they showcased why they may just be the most exciting team in the NHL to watch.
All four lines have a ton of speed and love to throw their weight around and crash and bang on a very aggressive forecheck. The Jets out hit the Blackhawks 32-15 including 9 beauties courtesy of Mark Stuart who got the crowd going when he stepped up in the third and destroyed Hawks captain Jonathan Toews at the Jets blue line. This was a nasty affair as these two teams do not like each other and will be battling all season long.
Winnipeg got goals from Blake Wheeler his 5th , Captain Andrew Ladd scored his 3rd a power play marker , Mark Scheifele his 4th of the year.
Patrick Kane scored on the power play for the Blackhawks his 6th of the season.
“I thought we had a great start to the game, so it’s disappointing to get up 1-0, give one back, and then they kind of took the momentum after that,” Kane said. “Good start by us, but a disappointing finish.”
Although the Jets were outshot 46-31Â they led in every other category tonight including the faceoff circle against one of the best centers in the league in Toews.
Winnipeg will head out on the road for eight of their next nine games and hope to continue their strong start to the season.
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