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Jets, Ehlers, Score Twice in Final 90 Seconds To Top Ducks 4-3

October 27, 2021, 1:12 PM ET [32 Comments]
Jacob Billington
Winnipeg Jets Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
Update @ 3:19pm ET: Winnipeg Jets Captain Blake Wheeler has cleared the NHL COVID Protocol, and is skating with the team in Anaheim today per Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger on Twitter).

Also to add on, it has been released that Winnipeg Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff will be meeting with Gary Bettman regarding his role in the 2010 Chicago Blackhawks sexual assault case. Important to remember that management has a duty to report any sexual assault allegations to authorities should the team not handle the case properly.




In a wild finish to the game, the Winnipeg Jets defeat the Anaheim Ducks 4-3. Nikolaj Ehlers buries two late goals to tie and take the lead to give the team their third win of the season. Connor Hellebuyck stood on his head after being pressured early on, stopping 14/14 in the first period, and the defensive structure seems to have tightened up.

Evgeny Svechnikov, who has found him self in a very comfortable position playing along-side two red-hot players in Kyle Connor and Pierre-Luc Dubois, scores his first of the season on a great play and zone entry by the line. Dubois finds a gap on the rush and finds Svechnikov out front, wide open, and wastes no time putting it past John Gibson. Nate Schmidt finds himself all alone in the defensive zone, until Trevor Zegras comes up behind him and steals the puck to feed Sonny Milano his first of the season as well.

Pierre-Luc Dubois started this game very strong, winning puck battles, creating offense, and back-checking as if he was Patrice Bergeron. A couple costly turnovers in the defensive zone takes a lot away from the game that Dubois had, but none-the-less, I have been very impressed with the 23 year old center. Dubois finished the game with a lone assist.

Headed into the third period tied at one, Josh Manson wastes no time scoring, putting his first of the season into the net just 1:39 into the frame. Pierre-Luc Dubois failed to clear the corner and ended up giving the puck to Troy Terry, who does a great job keeping momentum, resulting in a goal from his blue-line. Hard shot to stop for Hellebuyck as Dubois is standing right in front of him and not battling the screen. Just a few minutes later, Ehlers and Stasny combine for some slick passing on the zone rush, finishing with Andrew Copp scoring his fourth of the season to tie the game.

Neal Pionk and Dubois combine to create an turnover in the corner after some miscommunication, leaving Trevor Zegras wide-open out front to take his shot. With a shot like that, with that much space, you are sure to bet that is going in. 3-2 Ducks with just under eight minutes to go.

After a slow start to the season, Ehlers, who got his first point on an assist against Nashville, and already recorded an assist tonight, has a 20-second span to remember! Off of a scramble in the faceoff dot with 1:25 to go, Ehlers picks up the loose puck and carries it down to just above the goal line and snipes it over the shoulder of Josh Gibson, short side. Tie game. This was a clear turning point for the Jets, and though 1:20 of the game isn't enough to judge who the better team was, it was enough time for Ehlers to win the game. With all of the momentum leaning the Jets way, another faceoff in the offensive zone just 19 seconds after the first goal, leads to yet another Ehlers goal to give this team the lead, and the win.

Every Ducks goal was off of a very costly turnover, but this team played with a lot more structure in their own end than we have seen this season. The 11F/7D seems to really be working with this team, and as much as having that 12th forward would be beneficial, Paul Maurice is only really running three lines. Toninato and Nash only registered just over seven minutes of 5on5 ice time. Another very interesting note is that only three players took faceoffs tonight, besides Stasny and Nash who lost the lone faceoff they look, Dubois, Lowry, and Copp took the other 57 faceoffs, having a team average of 54.2%, with Lowry sitting well below that at 44.4%. Faceoffs are a strong suit, especially while missing their first-line center.

The Jets take on the LA Kings as they continue their trip to California, look for that game Thursday night at 10:30pm ET.

Thank you for reading, make sure to let me know your thoughts in the comment section below, and feel free to drop me a follow on Twitter!

By Jacob Billington
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