James Reimer is the very best thing to ever come out of minuscule Morweena, Manitoba. On Monday evening, he put some of his best work on display against the team he grew up cheering for.
Although owning just a 10-16-6 record on the year for what has been a dismal San Jose Sharks club, he was the story of the game.
The 30th-place Sharks ultimately earned an overtime winner from Logan Couture, but it was Reimer who kept his mates in the game. He made 36 saves and denied chance after chance as his teammates gave up a slew of glorious opportunities as the night wore on.
“Yeah, home province, I mean, it’s more so even just so in front of your friends and family," Reimer smiled post-game. "Like I said this morning, these are the people that got you to where you are, right. You don’t get to the NHL by yourself, you get there by so much love and support and encouragement. And even that practice time when you’re 12 years old on the outdoor (rink), so it’s special to play in front of your friends and family and it’s even more special when things go your way.”
Couture potted the final tally on a breakaway 1:21 into overtime, with Winnipeg's power play going a dismal 0/6 on the night.
"Did we play a bad game? Absolutely not," Jets head coach Rick Bowness asked post-game. "Did we deserve two points? Yeah. But we didn’t get them. That’s hockey."
Coming off their first win in what felt like ages, Jets coaching staff opted to change their team's lineup for Monday's battle with the cellar-dwelling Sharks. And it was an important change, as Schmidt drew back into the lineup for Kyle Capobianco, while forwards David Gustafsson and Axel Jonsson-Fjallby were scratched as Pierre-Luc Dubois and Mason Appleton made their returns to the lineup following brief injury stints.
Monday also marked forward Vladislav Namestnikov's second game as a Jet, to which he faced off against the team he was acquired from last Friday. Although only having spent a few days with the Sharks (as he was quickly traded to Winnipeg three days after being acquired by San Jose from Tampa Bay), he does have three days to his name as a member of the Sharks.
On the flip side of things, the Jets welcomed back Evgeni Svechnikov to Manitoba after playing last season with the Jets.
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The game wasn't quite as exciting for fans as the past two home matchups, which featured a total of 23 combined goals. Although lacking in the goal-scoring department, there were a number of close calls that likely would have gone in for the home team, should James Reimer not have been the goaltender of record for San Jose.
"I mean, we outplayed them tonight," Bowness added. "It’s hard when you lose that extra point in overtime. You’re disappointed. It’s hard to get a good picture right now. We’ll take time tomorrow, re-evaluate, take a look at the whole game, take a look at the power play, and come up with something different."
The Sharks actually opened the scoring on Steven Lorentz's seventh of the season. A broken play that should have been snared by Rittich went uncovered. A number of Sharks continued jamming at the puck, with Lorentz getting the final touch, sending it into the Jets' net and giving the visitors an early 1-0 lead with seven minutes left in the opening frame.
Much like the first period, the Jets outshot the Sharks in the second, putting up another 14 shots to San Jose's seven for a two-period total of 28-14.
That period, however, did see the home team find a goal. And it was deadline week acquisition Nino Niederreiter who got his team on the board. After a number of unsuccessful man advantages, Niederreiter took things into this own hands, as he intercepted a Josh Morrissey pass intended for Kyle Connor, and fired the puck through Reimer and into the net for his 19th of the season and first as a Jet.
“It definitely felt great," Niederreiter said about potting his first in the polar night blue. "But right now, obviously, we lost, so that’s above everything else. It’s not very important right now. It’s great to get on the board, but it’s tough that we lost.”
The crowd at Canada Life Centre erupted into a 'Nino' chant as Disco Inferno rained down on those in attendance.
“It’s definitely great and I’m fortunate to be here," he said of the crowd's reaction to his goal. "It’s a great team, a great organization and passionate fanbase, so it has been great being here.”
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The second period also featured two sensational saves by Reimer - both while shorthanded, and both on Morgan Barron.
"He is a good goaltender," Niederreiter said of his former Carolina Hurricanes teammate. "Tonight he was standing on his head; he made a lot of very crucial saves. It definitely could have gone a lot differently tonight. But in the end we lost the game and it’s on us.”
The teams regrouped for the third period tied at ones, to which Niederreiter nearly found his second of the game. A long lead pass up ice sent him in on a partial break, but he couldn't beat the iron pipe behind Reimer for his 400th career NHL point.
The newcomer did draw his second minor penalty of the game in the later stages, but once again Winnipeg's power play had no luck against what actually the league's fifth-ranked penalty kill.
With 7:11 to go, Sharks' forward Alexander Barabanov took a hooking minor, to which the Jets once again were unable to capitalize on, but four seconds after its expiration, Schmidt made it all worthwhile.
Coming back into the line-up after being a healthy scratch on Saturday, he found himself all alone in front of the Sharks' net and put home the go ahead goal off a perfect setup play from Nikolaj Ehlers with just 5:07 left.
The goal was Schmidt's sixth of the year and first since January 26th.
“You give your team a chance to win with a couple minutes left in the game," Schmidt said of his goal. "Our power play had had some chances. In the second period we had some chances that we didn’t capitalize on. We take pride in that unit as well. I think that was exciting. I was pretty fired up.”
But with Reimer on the bench for the extra attacker, an Erik Karlsson slap shot deflected off the stick of Blake Wheeler and landed directly on the stick of Tomas Hertl. He calmly collected the puck and fired it past Rittich and into the Jets' cage, tying the game on with just 10.2 seconds remaining, sending things to overtime.
Couture finished things off with a slick move on the breakaway to send Jets fans into a mad spiral, as Winnipeg now has six points out of a possible 20 over its last 10 games.
Once again, Rittich failed to hit win No. 10 on the season, falling to 9-6-1 as he turned aside 21 of San Jose's 24 shots, while Reimer earned his 10th win with 36 saves on the night - including a number of 10-bell stops.
“Just close my eyes and hope it hits me,” Reimer said with a smile. “No, I mean it’s one of those nights where things are going your way. Obviously, you’re working hard and trying to put yourself in a position to make saves, but got a couple lucky bounces and I’m thankful for that.”
If he weren't in the net for San Jose, it could have easily been a 6-1 win for the Jets.
“I thought our group, we had some good jam and you could see it kind of spilling over from last game, which is good to see that you’re finding the right recipe for your game," Schmidt said of his team's effort. "It’s that time (of the season) where you need to start finding it. If we continue to play like that and get our chances and continue to forecheck the way we did tonight, our team is finding a way to get this thing moving in the right direction.”
Next up for Winnipeg is the final test of the three-game homestand, as rival Minnesota travels 800 kilometres north to do battle with the Jets in a Central Division showdown from Canada Life Centre on Wednesday. Much like Monday's game, the contest can be seen live on Sportsnet and also features a 6:30 PM central puck drop.
The 30th-place Sharks ultimately earned an overtime winner from Logan Couture, but it was Reimer who kept his mates in the game. He made 36 saves and denied chance after chance as his teammates gave up a slew of glorious opportunities as the night wore on.
“Yeah, home province, I mean, it’s more so even just so in front of your friends and family," Reimer smiled post-game. "Like I said this morning, these are the people that got you to where you are, right. You don’t get to the NHL by yourself, you get there by so much love and support and encouragement. And even that practice time when you’re 12 years old on the outdoor (rink), so it’s special to play in front of your friends and family and it’s even more special when things go your way.”
Couture potted the final tally on a breakaway 1:21 into overtime, with Winnipeg's power play going a dismal 0/6 on the night.
"Did we play a bad game? Absolutely not," Jets head coach Rick Bowness asked post-game. "Did we deserve two points? Yeah. But we didn’t get them. That’s hockey."
Coming off their first win in what felt like ages, Jets coaching staff opted to change their team's lineup for Monday's battle with the cellar-dwelling Sharks. And it was an important change, as Schmidt drew back into the lineup for Kyle Capobianco, while forwards David Gustafsson and Axel Jonsson-Fjallby were scratched as Pierre-Luc Dubois and Mason Appleton made their returns to the lineup following brief injury stints.
Monday also marked forward Vladislav Namestnikov's second game as a Jet, to which he faced off against the team he was acquired from last Friday. Although only having spent a few days with the Sharks (as he was quickly traded to Winnipeg three days after being acquired by San Jose from Tampa Bay), he does have three days to his name as a member of the Sharks.
On the flip side of things, the Jets welcomed back Evgeni Svechnikov to Manitoba after playing last season with the Jets.
https://twitter.com/CBrooksie84/status/1632910028628697089
The game wasn't quite as exciting for fans as the past two home matchups, which featured a total of 23 combined goals. Although lacking in the goal-scoring department, there were a number of close calls that likely would have gone in for the home team, should James Reimer not have been the goaltender of record for San Jose.
"I mean, we outplayed them tonight," Bowness added. "It’s hard when you lose that extra point in overtime. You’re disappointed. It’s hard to get a good picture right now. We’ll take time tomorrow, re-evaluate, take a look at the whole game, take a look at the power play, and come up with something different."
The Sharks actually opened the scoring on Steven Lorentz's seventh of the season. A broken play that should have been snared by Rittich went uncovered. A number of Sharks continued jamming at the puck, with Lorentz getting the final touch, sending it into the Jets' net and giving the visitors an early 1-0 lead with seven minutes left in the opening frame.
Much like the first period, the Jets outshot the Sharks in the second, putting up another 14 shots to San Jose's seven for a two-period total of 28-14.
That period, however, did see the home team find a goal. And it was deadline week acquisition Nino Niederreiter who got his team on the board. After a number of unsuccessful man advantages, Niederreiter took things into this own hands, as he intercepted a Josh Morrissey pass intended for Kyle Connor, and fired the puck through Reimer and into the net for his 19th of the season and first as a Jet.
“It definitely felt great," Niederreiter said about potting his first in the polar night blue. "But right now, obviously, we lost, so that’s above everything else. It’s not very important right now. It’s great to get on the board, but it’s tough that we lost.”
The crowd at Canada Life Centre erupted into a 'Nino' chant as Disco Inferno rained down on those in attendance.
“It’s definitely great and I’m fortunate to be here," he said of the crowd's reaction to his goal. "It’s a great team, a great organization and passionate fanbase, so it has been great being here.”
https://twitter.com/CBrooksie84/status/1632921224148836352
The second period also featured two sensational saves by Reimer - both while shorthanded, and both on Morgan Barron.
"He is a good goaltender," Niederreiter said of his former Carolina Hurricanes teammate. "Tonight he was standing on his head; he made a lot of very crucial saves. It definitely could have gone a lot differently tonight. But in the end we lost the game and it’s on us.”
The teams regrouped for the third period tied at ones, to which Niederreiter nearly found his second of the game. A long lead pass up ice sent him in on a partial break, but he couldn't beat the iron pipe behind Reimer for his 400th career NHL point.
The newcomer did draw his second minor penalty of the game in the later stages, but once again Winnipeg's power play had no luck against what actually the league's fifth-ranked penalty kill.
With 7:11 to go, Sharks' forward Alexander Barabanov took a hooking minor, to which the Jets once again were unable to capitalize on, but four seconds after its expiration, Schmidt made it all worthwhile.
Coming back into the line-up after being a healthy scratch on Saturday, he found himself all alone in front of the Sharks' net and put home the go ahead goal off a perfect setup play from Nikolaj Ehlers with just 5:07 left.
The goal was Schmidt's sixth of the year and first since January 26th.
“You give your team a chance to win with a couple minutes left in the game," Schmidt said of his goal. "Our power play had had some chances. In the second period we had some chances that we didn’t capitalize on. We take pride in that unit as well. I think that was exciting. I was pretty fired up.”
But with Reimer on the bench for the extra attacker, an Erik Karlsson slap shot deflected off the stick of Blake Wheeler and landed directly on the stick of Tomas Hertl. He calmly collected the puck and fired it past Rittich and into the Jets' cage, tying the game on with just 10.2 seconds remaining, sending things to overtime.
Couture finished things off with a slick move on the breakaway to send Jets fans into a mad spiral, as Winnipeg now has six points out of a possible 20 over its last 10 games.
Once again, Rittich failed to hit win No. 10 on the season, falling to 9-6-1 as he turned aside 21 of San Jose's 24 shots, while Reimer earned his 10th win with 36 saves on the night - including a number of 10-bell stops.
“Just close my eyes and hope it hits me,” Reimer said with a smile. “No, I mean it’s one of those nights where things are going your way. Obviously, you’re working hard and trying to put yourself in a position to make saves, but got a couple lucky bounces and I’m thankful for that.”
If he weren't in the net for San Jose, it could have easily been a 6-1 win for the Jets.
“I thought our group, we had some good jam and you could see it kind of spilling over from last game, which is good to see that you’re finding the right recipe for your game," Schmidt said of his team's effort. "It’s that time (of the season) where you need to start finding it. If we continue to play like that and get our chances and continue to forecheck the way we did tonight, our team is finding a way to get this thing moving in the right direction.”
Next up for Winnipeg is the final test of the three-game homestand, as rival Minnesota travels 800 kilometres north to do battle with the Jets in a Central Division showdown from Canada Life Centre on Wednesday. Much like Monday's game, the contest can be seen live on Sportsnet and also features a 6:30 PM central puck drop.
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