The Vancouver Canucks looked solid through the first 30-minutes of the hockey game in Winnipeg before the Jets took over around the midway point of the second period. They surged, they earned power plays, and they scored. Three times before the period was over. Winnipeg went on to win 4-2.
Andrei Kuzmenko had opened the scoring for the Canucks in the first minute of the hockey game.
As the NHL comes out of the holiday break and the sledding gets a bit tougher at 5-on-5, special teams takes on a greater influence. “Stay out of the box” is the most effective mantra in terms of stopping an opponent’s power play, but the Canucks were unable to do it.
Vancouver Forward Lane Pederson took a tripping call at 13:15 of the second period and the Jets Mark Scheifele made the Canucks pay 37-seconds later by tying the hockey game.
Next up, Ethan Bear hooked Pierre-Luc Dubois on a breakaway and a penalty shot was awarded. Dubois went top shelf on his chance to give Winnipeg the lead a 1:50 after Scheifele’s goal.
At the end of the second period, with 2.5-seconds remaining, the Jets scored again on the power play. Scheifele again.
Three infractions, three goals, against the team with the worst penalty kill percentage in the NHL, the Vancouver Canucks.
Canucks Comeback?
Six nights ago the Canucks stormed back against the Edmonton Oilers with five unanswered goals to win 5-2 in Alberta. Three of the goals came in the third period. Could Vancouver do it again?
Nope. Conor Garland made it a game by banking a puck in off the pad of goaltender Connor Hellebuyck from below the right wing goal line, but that was the extent of the surge.
Kyle Connor had a chance to put the game away for the Jets with just more than five minutes remaining on a breakaway, but he couldn’t finish the deke on Canucks goalie Collin Delia.
What’s remarkable is the fact he was so wide open behind the Vancouver ‘D’ in order to receive the pass. It was similar to the play made by Dubois when he was awarded the penalty shot in the second period.
Scheifele put home an empty netter and finished with his second hat trick of the month.
The Jets outshot the Canucks 39-22 and finished 2-for-4 on the power play. Vancouver finished 0-for-2.
The Canucks are back to .500 on the season.
