Lowry answers the bell for injured Schmidt, sparks Jets to overtime victory

WINNIPEG — Adam Lowry knew precisely what needed to be done and was more than happy to take care of the assignment.

It didn’t matter one bit that if the roles had been reversed, that Lowry admitted he would have finished the hit, most likely in a similar and devastating manner.

The Winnipeg Jets alternate captain didn’t make a big scene or call attention to it, he simply asked linemate Morgan Barron to take the draw and he lined up beside Nashville Predators winger Tanner Jeannot and either tapped him on the shin pads or asked him if he would be willing to dance after the puck was dropped.

Jeannot obliged and the two heavyweight combatants through some big right hands — several of which connected squarely — riled up the crowd in what ultimately became a 2-1 overtime victory for the Jets on Thursday.

“I don’t necessarily think it’s a dirty hit, or anything like that, but anytime you see a teammate go down on a hard check …But you want to defend your teammate, settle things down, get the focus back on playing,” said Lowry. “A lot of respect for Jeannot for answering the bell. He certainly doesn’t have to. You just want to show up for your teammates.”

Jets defenceman Nate Schmidt was on the receiving end of a jarring hit from Predators forward Tanner Jeannot with 2:55 to go in the first period.

Schmidt was carrying the puck behind the net in the defensive zone and just after he made a pass up the left-wing boards, Jeannot drilled him into the end boards.

Although Jeannot made an effort to ensure his elbow stayed down, the force of the blow led to some head contact on the play, though the main point of contact appeared to be the body.

No penalty was called on the play and neither Lowry or Jets head coach Rick Bowness said anything to suggest they thought the play in question crossed the line.

“That’s hockey. He didn’t see him coming. He’s a big guy and Nate didn’t see him coming, clearly. He’s fending off one guy and another guy comes out of nowhere,” said Bowness. “It’s incredible leadership by Adam. What he did, you have to do that, especially in our rink. He’s a great teammate. Like we always say, (if) they take a run at one of us, they take a run at all of us and we’re all going to respond. Adam was the guy who responded.”

Schmidt was ruled out for the remainder of the game during the intermission. Bowness said he was placed in concussion protocol, though the severity of his injury wasn’t fully known, and it was unclear whether or not without he would be available for the two-game road trip — which includes the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday and the Seattle Kraken on Sunday.

However, on Friday morning the Jets placed Schmidt on injured reserve and recalled blue-liner Ville Heinola from the Manitoba Moose of the American Hockey League.

Lowry’s contributions didn’t end there, as he delivered a drop pass to Jets left-winger Kyle Connor in overtime which resulted in an assist after Connor’s 11th shot on goal and 14th shot attempted made it through the pads of Juuse Saros and trickled over the goal line at 3:31 of the fourth period.

“You had the feeling that eventually one of those is going to go in,” said Lowry. “Tonight, even in the last game, I feel like he had a lot of great looks. That’s great. Those goal-scorers, they do so much to generate those chances. They’re bound to go in. It’s nice to see him get rewarded. He’s been playing fantastic and generating a lot of those chances for us.”

Not only did Jets defenceman Dylan DeMelo provide a solid evening of defence, he snapped an 86-game goal-scoring drought at 15:24 of the first period, jumping up in the play before diving to push in a loose puck during a four-on-four situation.

“Obviously happy to contribute where I can,” said DeMelo, who hadn’t scored since a shorthanded marker against the Los Angeles Kings on Nov. 13 of 2021. “Happy to get that opportunity four on four. Got to get to that net-front, I guess. That’s where all the goals are scored. Happy to get one for us.”

Predators goalie Juuse Saros made 39 saves and was the biggest reason the road team secured a single point, but ultimately the Jets stuck with it to ensure they’d avoid their first three-game losing skid of the season.

“You want to go into the road, feeling good about your game,” said Lowry. “This is one we can, for the most part, be proud of. Liked the penalty kill, that’s a big response for us. You give up two in the third last game. We didn’t really give them a whole lot (Thursday). For the most part, we did a good job.

“To end that skid, it seems like all the teams in our division are finding ways to get points so to accumulate points and keep pushing is important.”

The Jets require reinforcements on the blue line for the road trip, since they are already without defencemen Logan Stanley (left knee) and Kyle Capobianco, who missed the morning skate on Thursday with a suspected illness.

The timing isn't optimal for Ville Heinola, who missed the past four American Hockey League games with an illness, but this is the type of opportunity to play that he's been longing for.

Heinola has 10 assists in 13 AHL games this season to go along with suiting up in two contests for the Jets.

The Jets also lost veteran winger Blake Wheeler momentarily to a lower-body injury after he appeared to take a puck to the nether regions with 8:04 to go in the second period.

Jets defenceman Josh Morrissey unloaded a shot from the point during a power play that was tipped by Pierre-Luc Dubois and caught Wheeler in a sensitive area.

Wheeler, who has proven to have an extremely high pain threshold over the course of his career, was hunched over as he left the ice but he returned in the third period to finish the game.

“He said he’s lucky he has three kids already,” said DeMelo. “He plays through so much that nobody knows about. To see him come back…I would like to say he was himself, I don’t know if he felt the same. He’s such a warrior for us and such a great leader for our group.”

It was a special night for Winnipegger Cody Glass, who suited up for the first time in his hometown as an NHLer on Thursday and finished with three shots on goal and six shot attempts in 14:23 of ice time.

Glass, chosen sixth overall in the first round by the Vegas Golden Knights in the 2017 NHL Draft, is finding his way in what is his fourth full professional season and nearly provided the game-winning goal during the third period but his shot was stopped by the left pad of Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck, who finished with 25 saves to improve to 15-7-1 on the season.

“It's been a tough road for him, for different reasons. One injury played a big part in it for him. It's been nice to see,” said Predators head coach John Hynes. “I think he's been really persistent. He's a good, young player. He's showing that he's got that kind of determination and mental toughness to make it.

“He's got good speed, great offensive instincts. He's grown to be, at this level, competitive in puck battles and as a centre man, be able to understand and execute the defensive responsibilities in the defensive zone. So it's nice to see a young guy that's gone through some trials and tribulations, he's pushed through it and now he's earning a really good opportunity that he's getting now.”