WINNIPEG — Dawson Mercer scored his first goal in a Jets uniform and added an assist to lead Winnipeg to a 6-2 victory over the lowly Vancouver Canucks on Thursday night.
It was Winnipeg’s second straight triumph in the first of a three-game homestand.
Mark Scheifele, with a goal and an assist, Mario Ferraro, Neal Pionk, Alex Iafallo and Cole Koepke also scored for the Jets.
The Jets were coming off an epic rally against the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday, scoring four goals in the final three minutes to erase a 4-0 deficit before winning in overtime. They also snapped a nine-game losing streak in the process.
Winnipeg broke out to a fast start on Thursday, with Iafallo and Koepke scoring 14 seconds apart within the first five minutes to take a 2-0 lead.
"It'd be very easy to get caught up in what happened in Montreal and come out flat and allow Vancouver to play their game, and I don't think we did that," Jets head coach Scott Arniel said after the win. "I thought that all the lines, everybody was ready to go. We got after them and we got out in front real quick."
Stuart Skinner made 24 saves for Winnipeg (6-8-3) before 13,312 fans at Canada Life Centre.
Brock Boeser and Liam Ohgren scored for Vancouver.
Leevi Merilainen stopped 23 of 29 shots for the Canucks (3-14-1).
Iafallo and Koepke scored 14 seconds apart to make it a 2-0 game by the 4:03 mark of the opening period. Ohgren answered at 6:51 to put the Canucks on the board.
Mercer made it a 3-1 game at 14:04 of the first when he converted a pass from Cole Perfetti from behind the net. It was also Mercer's first of the season.
"It was good," Mercer said post-game of finally finding the back of the net with his new team. "I was happy to get it there, now it's finally (out of the way). Getting it during a win and at home, it just made it a little bit better."
Mercer's goal started a run of four unanswered goals. After some nifty stickhandling by Kyle Connor, Pionk pounced on the puck and fired a shot past Merilainen at 6:52 of the second.
Almost five minutes later, Scheifele converted a pass from Connor, deflecting the puck in from the side of the net. Rookie Viggio Bjorck also assisted to record his first NHL point.
"It's something new," Bjorck said of going his first 16 NHL games without a point. "I also think it's important and good to go through some tough times to build you up mentally. It's not always going to be glamorous and suns and rainbows, but eventually you just grind your way through it."
Ferraro made it a five-goal game 11:36 into the third period before Boeser put a backhand home with 4:51 remaining for Vancouver.
The Jets lost defenceman Haydn Fleury to an injury in the third period, when the defenceman blocked a Linus Karlsson shot with his left hand.
Winnipeg didn't have an update on his status after the game.
Takeaways
Jets: Came out firing, scoring two goals 14 seconds apart in the opening minutes. After a lull in the second period, they regained their scoring touch.
Canucks: Were on their heels early before picking it up in the second period but still surrendered two goals.
Key moment
Scheifele scored midway through the second period, deflecting the puck in with one hand to give Winnipeg an insurmountable 5-1 lead heading into the final frame.
Key stat
The Canucks had 22 giveaways and just three takeaways, while the Jets had 14 giveaways and eight takeaways.
Up next
Jets: Host the Tampa Bay Lightning on Sunday.
Canucks: Take on the Oilers in Edmonton on Saturday.
— with files from Sportsnet Staff
