The Maple Leafs responded a power play of their own with just over four minutes left in the opening frame. Video: Copp holds off defenders and whips home shot "The first one was really, really important because our pace was right and we were right straight through it so you have a big night on it." "The confidence is a really important factor on the power play because when you're a confident group you just go faster," said Maurice.
Winnipeg's power play finished 3-for-5 on the night. Just 4:05 into the game, the Jets were up 1-0. Just minutes after the ceremony celebrating his 1,000 th NHL game, Blake Wheeler sent a perfect pass to Pierre-Luc Dubois in front, and Dubois made a quick move to the back hand to beat Joseph Woll through the five hole. It didn't take long for the offence to start rolling between these two potent offensive groups.Īn early power play gave the Jets a chance to build some early momentum, and that's exactly what they did. Video: Dubois makes a nifty move to score a PPG "They had some pressure, but they have a good team so they're going to get in your end." I liked our puck decisions," Maurice said. More than that, they controlled the shot attempts at five-on-five (17-10 according to Natural Stat Trick) and didn't sit back. "It's going to look a little bit different and take some time to find our chemistry but it started coming."īut Paul Maurice's favourite period might have been the third, as the Jets turned a 5-3 advantage into a 6-3 lead thanks to a power play marker. "I think we're kind of transition from what gave us a lot of success over the years and now trying to figure out a new way to have success," Wheeler said.
Video: Jets honor Wheeler for 1000 games played On top of the four goals in the second - which turned a 1-1 game into an insurmountable 5-1 cushion - the Jets also scored three times on the power play.
Wheeler was one of seven Jets with multiple points as the team improved to 12-8-4.