Nikolaj Ehlers’ first period tally 11:50 into the opening frame gave the Jets the 1-0 lead, marking the first time the Jets have played with a lead in regulation.

They would go on to score the game’s next three goals en route to a 4-1 victory over the Senators, sweeping the two games in Ottawa.

They'll meet again in Winnipeg Saturday evening.

“We moved as five guys very well, lots of close puck support, lots of quickness. It was a well-managed game, a really well-played game by our team,” said head coach Paul Maurice.

“That would be the piece of the game I liked the most, that all four lines, all the D pairs, had a single mindset of how they were going to play, and everybody looked good doing it.”

Fresh out of his most recent quarantine, defenseman Ville Heinola made his season debut, replacing Sami Niku in the Jets’ lineup.

Heinola showed an improved confidence, seemingly building off the eight games he played with the Jets a season ago and the seven games with Finland last month in the World Junior Championship.

He was smooth with the puck in his own zone, making smart and safe decisions to exit the zone, all while playing responsibly in the defensive zone.

Heinola was paired with Josh Morrisey, skating together for 11:16 of five-of-five ice time. While the Senators held the corsi advantage 9-7 with the two on the ice at even strength, the Jets held the advantage in goals 2-0.

“He makes a lot of little tiny inside plays to forwards. Our forwards did a real nice job of supporting him. At the same time, he made a lot of smart decisions with the puck. He’s got a skill. That passing skill he has is special. And he didn’t have to rely on physicality down low because we were out of the zone. He was really strong,” Maurice said.

“I’d seen where he felt he’s a little stronger, a little faster. He’s a little quicker this year. There’s not as much new for him, having run through our systems through a training camp and playing 10 games.”

Thursday’s effort was one of Morrissey’s better games of the season and you could see instant chemistry between Heinola and himself. Morrissey was asked to move to his off-side to accommodate Heinola on the left side of the Jets defense.

“Just naturally he looks a little bit stronger, a little bit faster, probably more confident and comfortable than he was just a year and a bit ago,” said Morrissey. “From watching him at the world juniors, those are the same things I noticed, just a little more confident, a little bit older. You can tell he loves hockey and I’m excited to see him continue to grow into what’s going to be an amazing player in the NHL.”

Connor Hellebuyck and the Jets were just under three minutes away from their first shutout of the season, but Nikita Zaitsev’s point shot that was sailing wide deflected off the leg of a charging Chris Tierney to end the shutout bid.

“It makes me really angry because I played almost a perfect game and then a guy shoots one wide and that’s what happens?” Hellebuyck said. “I don’t really care how it goes in, I just don’t want it to go in.”

Nate Thompson played just 3:10 in the first period before leaving the contest with a lower-body injury. He’s currently day-to-day.

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