The Winnipeg Jets put together their first full-60 minute outing of the pre-season and it showed on the scoreboard Saturday.
Entering their game against the Calgary Flames with a dismal 0-2-1 exhibition record this pre-season, the Jets picked up their first victory of the fall, doubling up Calgary 4-2 in their final game from Canada Life Centre before the start of the regular season.
Photo by Scott Stroh
The Jets’ top line trio of Mark Scheifele, Kyle Connor and Gabe Vilardi made their pre-season debut, alongside defencemen Josh Morrissey, Neal Pionk and Dylan DeMelo – none of which looked that out of place.
Advertisement
Jonathan Toews skated with Cole Perfetti and Gustav Nyquist again, while Brayden Yager and Nikita Chibrikov dazzled as young rookies looking for the opportunity to stick with the big club.
Eric Comrie picked up the win by way of 22 saves on the 24 shots he faced.
Nine different Jets recorded points on the night, including multi-point efforts from Pionk and Chibrikov, who each put up a goal and an assist.
Calgary, on the other hand, dressed a very youthful roster for its fifth of eight pre-season games.
The most concerning piece of news is that of the injury to defenceman Dylan Samberg. He left the game early on in the second period following a check into the boards from Ryan Lomberg. He immediately left the ice holding his left arm and did not return to the game.
Advertisement
With a logjam on the blue line, head coach Scott Arniel may need to dip deeper into his well of defenders prior to final cuts next week, based on the severity of Samberg’s setback.
Winnipeg got four pucks past Devin Cooley, including tallies from Parker Ford and Walker Duehr.
The Jets are now 1-2-1 in exhibition play and hit the road for the final two pre-season games. First, it’s a test with the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday, before heading to Calgary for a rematch with these same Flames to close out the pre-season. It is expected that Connor Hellebuyck will draw in between the pipes at least once before the season begins.