Jets dominate Capitals 5-1 in the return from Hellebuyck

Tonight wasn’t special just because the MVP was back in the fold. It also marked Nino Niederreiter’s 1,000th NHL game, an incredible milestone and a piece of Swiss history as he became the first Swiss-born player to reach this milestone. Before the puck drop, Kevin Cheveldayoff honored Niederreiter with a silver cane for the achievement, becoming the fifth player in franchise history to receive one.

Now on with the game.

The Jets opened the scoring 9:13 into the first period when Logan Stanley literally knocked in a Josh Morrissey shot that bounced off the boards and into the slot. It was a wild way to score his fifth goal of the season, especially for a defender who was having a breakout year and parking in front of the net like a forward. Morrissey earned his 400th career point with the first assist on the goal.

Morgan Barron added his fifth goal, and second in as many games, at 18:43. Adam Lowry fed Barron as he drove over the net, and Barron backhanded the puck through Logan Thompson’s legs to give Winnipeg a 2-0 lead.

In the second, Alex Iafallo extended the lead to 3-0 with his sixth goal of the season at 3:39, his second in as many games. His shot along the sidewall deflected off the skate of a Capitals defenseman and a friendly Manitoba bounce.

With exactly 6.6 seconds left in the period, the Jets went to the power play when Gabriel Vilardi buried his 15th of the season on a beautiful passing sequence that saw every Jet on the ice touch the puck. Cole Perfetti fed Mark Scheifele, who quickly advanced it to Josh Morrissey on the blue line. Morrissey found Kyle Connor at the right faceoff point, and after faking a one-timer, Connor delivered a slap pass to Vilardi alone in front for a highlight reel finish. Winnipeg led 4-0 at the second intermission.

Vilardi wasn’t done yet. He struck again at 11:55 of the third period, capping off a tic-tac-toe game with Scheifele and Connor to round out another bit of magic from the trio.

Jakob Chychrun spoiled Hellebuyck’s shutout bid at 16:32 on a 5-on-3 power play. Despite allowing the only goal, the Jets went 4-for-5 on the penalty kill, a significant improvement from recent weeks.

Hellebuyck deflected 24 shots as the Jets cruised to a 5-1 victory, improving to 15-15-1 and climbing back to .500 with a much-needed victory.

Niederreiter logged 15:45 of ice time, finishing at +1 and recording two hits on a night he will never forget. He reflected on the pre-game ceremony after the game.

The Jets clicked throughout the lineup, with all four lines and defensive pairings fully involved in a near-complete 60-minute effort. Head coach Scott Arniel agreed.