Lowry channels inner goaltender, sparks Jets with pair of key blocks

WINNIPEG — Adam Lowry has envisioned an alternate universe where he could be donning the pads in the NHL instead of playing the shutdown role he currently occupies.

Those minor hockey days where he was a member of the goalie fraternity — while thoroughly enjoyable — also taught him an important lesson when it was time to decide whether he would spend most of his time in the crease instead of all over the ice.

“Yeah, I could have been a goalie. I played it when I was young, for a bit,” Lowry explained after the Jets earned a 3-2 shootout victory over the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday. “And ultimately had to make the decision. I guess I made the right decision. But growing up, playing on the lake or the outdoor rinks or road hockey, with the older brother I got thrown in net and then kind of fell in love with it. I kept my gear for a while and didn't quite give up on the dream. I was enamoured with goalie pads and goalie masks. But I'm a little too normal to be a goalie full-time.

“There were a few kick saves tonight.”

Those two kick saves from the Winnipeg Jets centre came during a first-period double minor for high-sticking assessed to Morgan Barron.

After Jets defenceman Brenden Dillon broke his stick on a clearing attempt, Lowry alertly passed his teammate his own stick and then began the process of channelling his inner goaltender, blocking a pair of shots, including one that sailed into the netting and brought a stoppage in play.

“That's just desperation,” Lowry conceded. “You want to get in the lane as best as possible. You feel a little helpless without your stick. We did a good job of making the switch, and getting (Kevin Stenlund) on the T to eliminate some of the cross-ice passes, so I could focus on (Justin) Schultz or whoever else rolled up top. Fortunately, they were a little aggressive and didn't wait. They attacked me one-on-one, but I was able to be in the lanes and finally deflect one out.”

Those two blocked shots only appear as a footnote in the boxscore, but the smarts shown on the play ended up being an important part of a first period where the Jets were shorthanded for six minutes but came away in a 0-0 tie.

“That’s the teammate he is, and that’s why our penalty killing has been so good all year. Because guys like him are totally committed to keeping that puck out,” said Jets head coach Rick Bowness, whose team improved to 34-19-1 as they get set to head out on a four-game road trip that begins on Thursday against the Columbus Blue Jackets. “There’s no stick, he has two huge shot blocks. That’s the kind of teammate he is. He’s a great penalty killer and a big part of the reason why our penalty killing has been one of the tops in the league all year.”

Jets centre Pierre-Luc Dubois was the first to bring up Lowry’s goaltending history and didn’t sound like he was fully convinced.

“He told me at some point he was a goalie, and if he'd kept going when he was a kid as a goalie he would have had a good career. I call BS on that,” said Dubois, with tongue firmly planted in his cheek. “But I'll tell him later that I could see it. You heard the fans, the energy it gave us. Killing penalties is all about momentum, creating momentum for your team. And there's no better way than those two blocks. He does everything he can for the team, everything possible for us to win.”

Dubois factored heavily into the game, though his undisciplined interference penalty late in the second period proved costly as the Kraken converted on the power play and took a 2-1 lead.

Rather than compound his frustration, Dubois banked a pass off the Kraken's Vince Dunn at 9:39 of the third period to tie the contest, then produced the shootout clincher (Mark Scheifele also scored) to ensure the Jets earned the second point in the penalty-shot contest (which was the first of the season for the Jets in Game 54).

Dubois plays on the edge and occasionally steps over the line but that intensity is part of what makes him such an effective player.

“Listen, he’s a competitive guy. When you’re a competitive guy sometimes the emotions get a little bit out of control,” said Bowness, who has often spoken about the importance of playing with passion. “But I’d rather calm a guy down than crank him up every day. So I’d rather deal with that issue than try to get the guy going every game. He’s a competitive guy who wants to win, so sometimes you get a little carried away. That’s hockey.”

When Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck came down with an illness and was feeling under the weather, David Rittich was forced into action and did a solid job, turning aside 27 shots on goal as he improved to 9-4 on the season.

Rittich’s redemption story has been impressive to monitor and his 2.52 goals-against average and .911 save percentage are a testament to the work he put in to get his career back on track.

“I think we’ve been very fortunate regardless of who’s in net for us that they’re going to give us a chance every night,” said Lowry. “We are spoiled with Helle every time he starts, he’s Vezina-calibre, I think personally he’s the best goalie in the league. Ritter, when he’s been called upon, he’s been great. It’s a tough role, generally he goes in on back-to-backs, not a lot of rest for the guys, not a lot of energy. To be able to play well in front of him tonight, and he was real calm and composed and made some huge saves for us to keep us in the game, and then just shut it down, lock it down in the shootout, that’s huge for us, too.”

Blake Wheeler rounded out the scoring for the home side, while Jets blue liner Josh Morrissey chipped in an assist to equal a franchise record for points in a season (56) by a defenceman, tying Dustin Byfuglien.

Morrissey also established a single-season franchise record for assists by a defenceman (45), surpassing Toby Enstrom, who notched 44 with the Atlanta Thrashers during the 2009-10 campaign.

“It's great. Twenty-something games left, hopefully he sets the bar even higher,” said Dubois. “He's been great for us this year. Everybody in this dressing room is so happy for him. He's worked so hard, had a good training camp, a good start to the season. And he's kept it up. He's a big reason we are where we are today.”