Tuesday, December 6, 2022

Jets Blast By Panthers

     Florida Panthers head coach Paul Maurice made his return to Winnipeg as the Panthers fell to the Winnipeg Jets 5-2 at Canada Life Centre on Tuesday night. Maurice was the head coach of the Jets for nine NHL seasons from 2013-14 until 2022-23. The Panthers wrapped up a five-game road trip. 
     Winnipeg(16-7-1) took a 1-0 lead on the power play with 6:40 to go in the first period. Josh Morrisey released a shot from the top of the zone, and it was pushed forward by Pierre-Luc Dubois. Mark Scheifele lifted a wrist shot from the right of the crease for his 14th goal of the campaign. 
     Florida(12-10-4) evened it 1-1 on the man advantage with 5:49 remaining in the first. Brandon Montour cycled the puck from the right wing. Matthew Tkachuk backhanded it from the end wall and Carter Verhaeghe snapped a shot from the top left circle past Connor Hellebuyck for his 15th goal of the season. 
     The tie did not last long as the Jets reclaimed the lead 17 seconds later. Dubois backhanded a centering pass from the left point. Kyle Connor moved to the top left circle and flicked a shot by Spencer Knight. 
     In the second period, Winnipeg made it 3-1 at the 1:43 mark when Connor scored again for his 10th goal this year. Sergei Bobrovsky replaced Knight in net for Florida following that goal. 
     It became 4-1 for the Jets with 6:37 left in the second with a power-play goal. Nate Schmidt angled a pass from the blue line and Connor connected a cross-ice pass from the right wing. Scheifele blasted a one-time slap shot from the slot area for his second goal of the contest and 15th goal of the year. 
     The Panthers closed it to 4-2 at 9:02 of the third period. Matt Kiersted steered a lead pass from the neutral zone. Chris Tierney sent a diagonal pass from the left point and Zac Dalpe lifted a shot from the low slot for his first tally this season. It was the first points for Dalpe and Tierney in Florida uniforms. 
     Florida pulled their goalie for an extra attacker with 3:08 to go. It did not work as Adam Lowry scored quickly into an empty net from the Cats blue line with 3:01 remaining. 

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