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 The Jets right winger found the back of the net twice, for the first
time in 12 games, as the Jets halted a six-game winless skid with a
4-1 triumph over the travel-weary Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday
night.
Stafford's second-period tally, his sixth goal of the season but
just his first since Oct. 25, stood as the winner for the Jets
(9-9-2). He then added his seventh into an empty net to cap the
scoring.
Stafford had been skating much of the season on the club's checking
line with center Adam Lowry and left winger Alex Burmistrov. But
head coach Paul Maurice whipped up a new combination of Stafford,
Mark Scheifele down the middle and Mathieu Perreault on the left
side, and got immediate results.
Scheifele opened the scoring with his sixth goal of the season and
first in two weeks, and then added his seventh on a rebound late in
the game to secure the victory. He also chipped in an assist, while
center Perreault supplied three assists.
Stafford was asked how he was feeling after finally scoring a dozen
games after his last tally.
"Twelve? OK," Stafford said. "At this point, I'm not really worried
about stats or counting the games. That's just more clutter in your
head. I'm just trying to stay solid and play the same way and
eventually things will turn around.
"We changed the lines around, too, so the way I play the game is a
little different tonight than it has been in the last 10 (or) 12.
So, I added about four or five solid chances tonight, which is a
little bit more than what I've had otherwise. My role is a little
different."
The victory, he said, was a huge relief after five straight defeats
in regulation.
"A hundred percent," said Stafford. "Especially coming back home.
That road trip was kind of a bad taste in your mouth. A big one for
us."
Left winger Daniel Sedin pulled the Canucks even at 1-1 with his
seventh goal of the season in the second period.
The Jets set up shop in the Canucks end, setting the stage for
Scheifele's first goal in seven games and just the second power-play
marker in the club's last 30 chances.
Scheifele said things were finally clicking for a club searching for
a spark on home ice.
"It's obviously huge," he said. "I thought we played a solid
60-minute game. Obviously, we had a few lulls out there and a little
bit of pressure, but I think we handled it really good and that was
a great game by all."
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Jets goalie Ondrej Pavelec had a stellar, 29-save performance and
was helpless on the only shot that ended up behind him. His
counterpart, Ryan Miller, made 30 saves for Vancouver, which wrapped
up a seven-game road swing with a forgettable 1-4-2 record.
Coming into the contest, Vancouver's six previous regulation losses
this year were by one goal. Miller was asked whether the pressure of
tight contests is starting to weigh on the Canucks.
"It's not ideal mentally for this group to be really close in game.
At the end of the night it's 4-1 but it's a 2-1 game right there,"
he said. "We've got to park it. We've got to find a way to come with
energy and believe it's going to turn. The only thing you can do in
these situations is work hard, and that hard work will translate. I
don't know any other way.
"We've been in a lot of holes and had to climb out a lot. This is no
different even though it feels like the biggest one. Everything
feels that way in the moment. We've got to get out of the moment a
little and reset and get back to game by game."
NOTES: Canucks D Luca Sbisa was handed a minor penalty for a head
shot on Jets rookie LW Nikolaj Ehlers early in the first period, and
then had to answer the bell against Winnipeg tough guy RW Anthony
Peluso not long after he stepped out of the penalty box. Peluso won
the tilt handily. ... D Paul Postma, D Ben Chiarot and C Nic Petan
sat in the press box, while C Brandon Sutter, RW Radim Vrbata and D
Yannick Webber were scratched for the Canucks. ... C Mark
Scheifele's goal early in the opening period marked just the fifth
time the Jets have scored first in a game this season. ... Vancouver
hasn't exactly embraced the NHL's new 3-on-3 overtime format. Prior
to Wednesday's game, the Canucks had tied seven of their 19 games,
lost six of them in OT and earned just one victory in a shootout.
... Canucks RW Jake Virtanen led the team and all NHL rookies in
hits with 44 coming into the game.
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