Connor shakes off goal drought as Jets edge Ducks to gain ground in playoff race

ANAHEIM — Kyle Connor had been carrying a large weight around on his shoulders.

Just how much not scoring since Feb. 28 against the Los Angeles Kings was bothering him, only Connor knows for sure — and it’s not in his nature to share those things publicly anyway.

But after battling through a rare benching for more than half a period against the Carolina Hurricanes just over a week ago and going through an 11-game icy spell, Connor has put that storyline behind him.

By delivering his 28th of the season, the Jets earned a 3-2 victory over the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday night at the Honda Center.

Although Connor’s goal total is down considerably from last season — when he notched a career-high 47 — he’s still managed to deliver eight game winners among his 28 snipes, which remains an impressive total.

Although Connor was rather nonchalant in discussing the end of the drought, his look skyward after he tapped in the rebound generated by a shot from linemate Pierre-Luc Dubois, was an obvious expression of relief.

“Just tons of chances. I thought it was just a matter of time,” said Connor. “You knew one of those types of goals was going to happen.”

This was not a rocket from the slot or a slick finish on a breakaway where he was able to deke the goalie out with a slippery move, but rather an example of Connor getting to the dirty areas around the blue paint.

Being rewarded for going to that area is something that Connor should be able to build on.

Over the course of his career, Connor has made a habit of scoring in bunches.

Rare cold spells often turn into lengthy hot streaks.

“I think when you look back earlier in the year he went through a bit of a slump at the start. We know the goals are going to come,” said Jets centre Adam Lowry, who scored the game-winning goal and added an assist to hit 200 points for his NHL career.

“He's such a dynamic player, he's just so creative, he puts himself in such good opportunities. The volume of shots, they're bound to go in. He could have had three or four tonight just on his chances alone. It was really nice to see him rewarded. I thought he had a great game, and (Dubois) was really working out there, creating. I think we're excited now that the monkey is off his back, I wouldn't be surprised if we went on a bit of a run.”

Connor wasn’t putting a whole lot of stock into the theory when it was presented to him during the post-game scrum.

“We'll see,” said Connor. “I hope so. Yeah.”

Earlier in the day, at the end of the morning skate, Rick Bowness was spotted in conversation with Connor and as the chat came to a close, the Jets head coach gave his star winger a tap on the shoulder after supplying some words of encouragement.

When asked about what he says to a sniper in the midst of a slump, Bowness didn’t provide a revelation, but he did have a prediction that ultimately came true.

“He knows he’s got to work his way through it as well. We can show him all the video we want, pump him up and do all those things, but he’s a pro. He knows what he has to do to be successful. He knows it has got to come from him now,” said Bowness. “There’s only so much video we can do with him, show him where he can use open ice more to use his speed, get him in those situations where he can score or create offence. And he knows. The rest is up to him. He’s going to come through for us, very, very soon here.”

Following the game, Bowness was happy to see that the slump-buster came on more of a greasy goal.

“We talked about that this morning, 'You're right there. You're knocking on the door. When you get one, you're going to get a bunch.' Hopefully this will start that,” said Bowness. “He's a pure goal-scorer, a great player. Again, sometimes you're not going to score the pretty goals just hanging around the net. Finally, we had a two-on-one and we shot the puck. We've had too many two-on-ones lately where we haven't even shot the puck, we haven't got a scoring opportunity. So it's great to see us finally put that in. That's what happens when you go to the net, good things will happen.”

The Jets also got two critical goals from the checking line that is anchored by Lowry.

In addition to a strong net drive and rebound marker from Mason Appleton that opened the scoring, there was Lowry producing the game-winner by redirecting a nifty pass from defenceman Brenden Dillon just past the midway point of the third period.

Instead of worrying about going to overtime or lamenting a lost point or two against a Ducks team that is essentially playing out the string and waiting for the results of the NHL Draft Lottery, the Jets found a way to secure the victory in regulation time, opening this three-game road trip on a positive note.

“It’s nice to contribute and get a little secondary scoring. Hopefully our line can continue to contribute,” said Lowry, who was also asked about the significance of hitting the 200-point milestone in what was his 612th regular season game. “I’m pretty grateful to have been in the league long enough to achieve that milestone, I guess. For it to come in a way and in a couple of important points for us, it’s awesome. For us to find that consistency, I thought we played another really good game.”

As for the out of town scoreboard, the Vegas Golden Knights earned a 3-2 win over the Calgary Flames, while the Nashville Predators defeated the Seattle Kraken 2-1 in a shootout.

That leaves the Jets five points up on the Predators (who hold three games in hand) and six up on the Flames (who are even with the Jets in games played).

The Jets are back in action on Saturday afternoon against the Los Angeles Kings, who are locked in a battle with the Golden Knights for top spot in the Pacific Division and the Western Conference — along with the Dallas Stars, Minnesota Wild and Colorado Avalanche.

"It's no secret we know where we're at and how critical these wins are,” said Lowry. “We can only control how we play, we can't control the other teams chasing us and the teams we're chasing. So, we look at every game as an important one and that was no different (on Thursday). I think we're going to try to carry this momentum into our game Saturday.”