With their offense back on track, the Winnipeg Jets will play their second game of their four-game road trip in California on Sunday when they visit the Anaheim Ducks.
Over a brief period of time, the Jets have averaged three goals per game and have put together a three-game winning streak. They went on the run after losing three straight games with just three goals in total.
Thursday’s 4-2 road victory over the Colorado Avalanche gave Winnipeg its highest goal total in its previous eight games. With less than a minute left, Kyle Connor scored twice, including an empty-net goal to secure the win. This season, he has scored a team-high 17 goals.
With three seconds left in the first period, Adam Lowry gave the Jets a 1-0 lead; Connor’s first goal came 32 seconds into the second, and Winnipeg was off and running; Josh Morrissey added another goal in the third period; Winnipeg’s Connor Hellebuyck made 32 saves for his 250th career win; with 32 points, the Jets moved just two behind the Central Division-leading Avalanche at the start of NHL play on Saturday.
“We always talk about trying to be an elite team,” Lowry stated. “We want to be regarded as among the greatest in the division and in this conference. We discussed how you have to defeat those elite teams in order to be in that conversation, and I felt like we did a pretty good job.”
It’s been a long road for the Ducks to return to elite status. While on a six-game winning streak earlier in the season, the team’s youthful roster looked to be making some progress; however, Anaheim is currently on a run of 10 losses in 11 games.
The Ducks’ most recent triumph came on December 2 at home in a shootout, 4-3 over the Avalanche. However, Anaheim lost 3-2 in a rematch at Colorado on Tuesday and then fell short 1-0 away from the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday.
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