WINNIPEG – The Winnipeg Jets were returning home after a very successful four-game road trip to open the season 3-1. They were facing the Calgary Flames who like themselves were a surprise team last season making the playoffs with a roster loaded with young talent.
The Flames were off to a 1-2 start to the season. The Jets needed a couple periods to get the jitters and excitement out of their system before taking over the game and winning 3-1 to send the home crowd away all smiles.
The Jets looked very sluggish and sloppy in the first twenty minutes and if not for some mis-fired shots off the Flames sticks the game could have easily been over after one period. The Jets needed that wakeup call only being down by one. They started to control the game in the second and dominated the third using their size and speed.
“We’ve built in games,” Jets coach Paul Maurice said. “We seem to get a little more confidence [as games progress].”
Ondrej Pavelec wasn’t very busy but had to make some key stops for the win as he pushed aside 19 of 20 shots to get the win.
Calgary started Karri Ramo and he was very good stopping 27 shots and made some highlight reel stops in taking the loss.
Calgary’s lone goal came in the first period off the stick of Mikael Backlund who converted his first of the season after some nifty work from linemates Sam Bennett and former Jet Michael Frolik.
Winnipeg got goals from Bryan Little who tipped in his third of the year, Dustin Byfuglien scored his second, Blake Wheeler added an empty netter for his third of the year.
“Sometimes it’s hard to get a feel for that, now it was up and down the ice, but it did get loose in the second for both teams,” Maurice said. “There were more odd-man rushes. It wasn’t from a casualness in the game; it was coming up and down hard.”
Byfuglien was his usual self as he threw a couple huge body checks and was dancing with the puck as he decided to take the game into his own hands late in the third when he stepped up and created a turnover and then walked in did some fancy dangles between his legs and then scored the eventual winner to blow the roof off the MTS Centre; he was named the game’s first star.
Winnipeg also got a strong game from Alex Burmistrov as the former Jet who left for the KHL and returned back after a two-year absence showed his all-round ability as he was very strong defensively and showed flashes of his offensive skills and he has added some physicality to his game. He was named the game’s third star.
The Jets will continue this home stand on Sunday afternoon as they will host the St. Louis Blues.
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