Strong penalty kill and Hellebuyck’s goaltending to thank for Jets’ win

WINNIPEG — This was a gutsy effort, backed by exceptional goaltending by the backbone of the Winnipeg Jets.

As the Jets said goodbye to 2022, they did so with a sensational showing from Connor Hellebuyck, who made 31 saves in what turned out to be a 2-1 victory over the Edmonton Oilers.

Not only did the Jets end the calendar year with an impressive record of 23-13-1, they held the Oilers’ top-ranked power play off the board — killing off five minors — and stopped Connor McDavid’s personal point streak at 17 games.

That’s difficult to do, especially when you consider McDavid racked up a cool five points one night earlier in a 7-2 victory over the Seattle Kraken.

“I don’t think we want to make it that hard for (Hellebuyck), but it seems like when we need him the most, it seems like he’s there. Clutch times, he’s a clutch player. He’s by far one of the best players in the league, he’s a leader in that locker room too,” Jets left-winger Kyle Connor told reporters in Edmonton.

“It was a good win. Any way we can get them, good teams find a way to win, that’s the bottom line. It may not have been our A game, but the penalty kill was huge going up against one of the top power plays in the league. Just a lot of unselfish guys back there getting in front of lanes and blocking a lot of shots.”

One of those 20 blocked shots in the waning seconds of regulation time came from Dylan Samberg, who sprawled out to get in front of a blast from Klim Kostin during a late Oilers power play as Brenden Dillon was in the box serving a double minor for high-sticking after drawing blood from Oilers winger Kailer Yamamoto.

It was an important play for Samberg, who had a bad giveaway in Thursday’s 4-2 win over the Canucks and then was beaten off the boards by Mattias Janmark on the Oilers tying goal on Saturday after what should have been a defensive zone faceoff win for David Gustafsson.

Samberg wasn’t the only player at fault, as Kostin got loose in front of the net behind Jansen Harkins to get a clear shooting lane on Hellebuyck.

With just 43 NHL games on his resume, mistakes are going to happen for Samberg, but the coaching staff showed faith in him by putting him back out on the ice after the goal against and then leaning on him to do what he does best on the penalty kill, which is sacrifice his body — something he does with regularity.

For those of you keeping score at home, Samberg is up to 53 blocked shots this season.

Speaking of coaching decisions, a subtle bump up for Kristain Reichel by Jets head coach Rick Bowness paid dividends for the Jets on this night.

Reichel, making his 2022-23 debut with the Jets after playing in the first 13 NHL games of his career last season, started the contest on the fourth line but was promoted to the top line with Pierre-Luc Dubois and Connor late in the second period.

Reichel, who finished the game with 16 shifts for 11:12 of ice time, rewarded that faith by assisting on the game-winning goal from Connor, making a smart feed to the right point, where Neal Pionk quickly got a shot through that was perfectly redirected by the soft hands of Connor.

Connor and Pionk also connected on the opening goal of the contest, with Connor making a nifty backhand pass to the Jets’ blue-liner for a one-timer that snuck through the pads of Oilers goalie Jack Campbell for a power-play marker late in the first period.

Pionk looks like a guy who is battling through an injury, but on this night he chipped in his first two-point effort since Dec. 8, when he had two assists against the St. Louis Blues.

He had gone six games without a point and had just one point (a goal) in his previous 11 contests.

Obviously, Pionk’s first priority is defending and while things have been a bit uneven on that front lately as well, one thing you can’t question is his effort level.

He gave everything that he had on this night and made an important contribution as the Jets faced McDavid and the Oilers for the first of three meetings this season.

With two points on Saturday, Connor moved into the team scoring lead, one point ahead of defenceman Josh Morrissey (42 points).

Connor is up to 16 goals on the season and he wrapped up an incredible month that featured eight goals and 22 points during 16 games — that were played over a 30-day span.

Now that’s what you call a hot stretch.

Speaking of clutch performers and performances, Connor’s goal was his sixth game-winner of the season and 40th of his career (in 421 regular-season games).

In addition to the show of his hands on the goal, Connor did an excellent job of getting to the dirty area in front of the blue paint and he got inside position on the Oilers defender to ensure he could get his stick on the shot from Pionk.

“Our big focal point is our D trying to get those shots through, that’s all you can do, just don’t get it blocked. I thought they did a good job of that — (with) some good sifters,” said Connor. “Us as forwards, we have to get to the net, a lot of goals are scored right there. I just tried to get there and kind of stretched out for that tip and luckily it went in.”

Bowness praised the work of his penalty killers and power-play units and provided a stick tap for Hellebuyck, who is one of the biggest reasons the Jets remain in a battle for top spot in the Central Division as 2023 begins.

“That's two games in a row now where our special teams have won the game for us,” Bowness told reporters. “And when we broke down, we had Connor (Hellebuyck) in the net and he was exceptional. His play kept us in the game. Clearly, we just didn't have a whole lot going." 

“When you’re clearly half a step behind a lot of the night, your goalie gives you that confidence that ‘okay, we’ll get going eventually.’ The guys have a tremendous amount of confidence in him.”

With performances like this one, it’s easy to understand why.