WINNIPEG – It was a dangerous game for the Winnipeg Jets as the Florida Panthers were in town and having a very good trip, riding a three-game win streak. The Jets were coming off a tough three-game trip of their own, and heading out for a back-to-back trip Thursday and Friday.
Head coach Paul Maurice was looking to get his 500th career NHL victory tonight. Well the Jets got their coach his 500th win in lopsided 8-2 drubbing over the clawless Panthers.
The night wasn’t so magical for Panthers goalie Roberto Luongo who gave up four goals on 20 shots before getting the hook late in the second period. Former Jet Al Montoya took over and didn’t fare much better as he gave up four goals on 15 shots in just over a period of work.
“We were just not prepared,” Florida captain Willie Mitchell said. “I take responsibility. I have got to get the guys more prepared. It was a long road trip, 14 days, and some bad habits started creeping in [against the] Edmonton [Oilers on Jan. 11]. We talked about it. You saw those [habits] early.”
Michael Hutchinson was back in the pipes for the Jets and he was solid again making 25 saves on 27 Panther shots. He improves to 12-4-2 on the season.
Winnipeg Jets forward Mathieu Perreault had a very special night as he potted 4 goals in the game his 12th,13th,14th,15th goals of the year, He also had a couple of good chances in the third to get his five but was denied by Montoya.
“Four goals, it’s something very special,” Perreault said. “The bounces were going my way. It was one of those crazy nights. It was a fun night. The power play has been playing great. My linemates have been awesome.”
The rest of the scoring came from Dustin Byfuglien who had a pair his 10th, 11th snipes of the season. Jay Harrison got his 3rd and Evander Kane rounded out the scoring with his 8th goal of the year.
“I’m happy for [Perreault] because he has done it the right way,” Maurice said. “He works so hard. He went through that stretch where he wasn’t scoring, and his practices got even more competitive, and he worked even harder. Good for him. It’s a good sell for the coaches, because if you work that hard, good things are going to happen.”
The offensive explosion was nice for the coaches to see as 14 Jets got points in this route of the Florida Panthers. The Jets fans were in a frenzy all night and hats rained the ice after the Perreault hatty. The Jets gear store had a special after that announcing all headwear 25% off!
Florida got its goals off the sticks of Dave Bolland who got his 1st of the season and Brad Boyes notched his 9th of the year.
The Jets finally got there struggling power play going again as they were 2-3 with the man advantage. They also were way more disciplined as they only took three minors and killed all of them off.
The Jets used a balanced attack from all four lines tonight as everybody was over ten minutes of ice time something they had the luxury of doing as they controlled this game from start to finish.
“Our challenge is to forget [this game as quickly] as we can,” Maurice said. “Enjoy it tonight, and then leave it there. We did what we needed to do early in the game.”
The Jets improve to 22-14-8 on the season good for 5th overall in the wild Western Conference.
“I’ve been really fortunate,” Maurice said of his 500th win as an NHL coach. “I feel honored to be in this league that long.”
Follow me on Twitter@hrank94
You must be logged in to post a comment.