Jets top Flyers in lackadaisical affair
WINNIPEG, Manitoba -- In a game that neither team deserved to win -- the NHL outlawed ties in 2005 -- the Winnipeg Jets defeated the Philadelphia Flyers 3-2 Tuesday night at the MTS Centre.
Unfortunately, the league didn't outlaw games devoid of emotion, skilled plays and lots of scoring chances between two teams going nowhere late in the season.
Michael Hutchinson stopped 24 shots in the Jets net to post his second victory in 48 hours but the first in a game that he started since Dec. 22.
At the other end of the ice, Steve Mason turned aside 30 of 33 shots in a losing effort.
It was the Jets' third win in a row, but with the last wild-card spot but a speck on the horizon, it's a case of far too little, far too late.
Perhaps it was fitting that two teams that sit a combined 17 points out of playoff spots would go six minutes, 20 seconds before registering the first shot on goal. (For the record, it was by Philadelphia.)
The Flyers opened the scoring -- mercifully -- in the second period when an ill-advised change by the Jets forwards enabled the Flyers to break in on a four-on-two.
Right winger Wayne Simmonds' shot from in close ended up behind the Jets net with Hutchinson sprawled on this backside. With nobody pressuring him, Simmonds waited while Hutchinson squirmed but wasn't able to get to his feet. He found center Jordan Weal all alone in front, who easily found the back of the net for his fourth of the season at 4:28.
The Jets responded with the man advantage after defenseman Nick Schultz was penalized for delay of game after shooting the puck into the crowd.
Captain Blake Wheeler stepped into a slap shot from the point and Mathieu Perreault tipped it past Mason at 7:02. Mark Scheifele recorded the second assist on Perreault's ninth goal of the campaign.
The Jets took a 2-1 lead on a quick passing play started by Perreault and Scheifele and finished by Wheeler, who snapped a shot over Mason's glove at 7:02 of the third period. It was his 22nd of the season.
Scheifele put the game out of reach at 3-1 with a rocket over Mason's glove at 13:51 of the third period for his 29th of the season. Wheeler got the lone assist as both he and his center recorded three-point nights.
The Flyers pulled to within one goal with two seconds left in regulation when defenseman Michael Del Zotto's shot eluded a screened Hutchinson.
NOTES: In the press box for the Jets were D Toby Enstrom, D Tyler Myers, D Paul Postma, D Ben Chiarot, RW Shawn Matthias and G Ondrej Pavelec. ... Joining them from the Flyers are LW Roman Lyubimov, D Brandon Manning and C Nick Cousins. ... Winnipeg's "tragic" number for being officially eliminated from playoff contention is 10. ... Of the 30 game-winning goals scored by the Jets this season, 10 have been scored by rookies with another four by sophomores. ... The Flyers held a record of 29-16-2 against Jets 1.0 from the 1979-80 season to 1995-96. ... The Jets beat the Flyers 9-8 in Philadelphia on Oct. 27, 2011, in their highest-scoring game since returning to Winnipeg.