Winnipeg is concluding a season-opening four-game road trip that began with wins in Boston and New Jersey.
Advertisement
Nearly as important as Hutchinson’s stalwart play was the timing of Ehlers’ goal, which came seven seconds into the Jets’ first power play of the game.
More to the point, the Rangers lost their first game this season because their special teams play – particularly their man advantage – failed them. Signed to a two-year, $9 million contract last summer, the 39-year-old Boyle has one assist in three games this season…. It was Bryan Little who got a low slap shot to get through traffic and past Henrik Lundqvist, Little’s second goal of the night giving Winnipeg a 3-1 lead with just over nine minutes remaining.
The Jets won, 4-1, on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden with Bryan Little scoring shorthanded late in the second period for the decisive goal and adding a power-play goal to clinch it in the third. Eight of Hutchinson’s 20 second-period saves were while the Jets were short-handed and he turned aside the final 35 shots he faced.
On Tuesday morning, Winnipeg Jets head coach Paul Maurice guaranteed: “We’ll be better”.
Mark Stuart finished the scoring with an empty netter.
The Rangers got off to a good start when Rick Nash stole the puck inside the defensive zone and broke out 3-on-1, dropping it to Brassard, who dished to Zuccarello steaming down the right wing. Michael Hutchinson played extremely well tonight and denied the Rangers on several occasions and kept this game in check for the Jets.
Lundqvist did not look as sharp in the early going as he did in his first three outings but still managed to come up with a highlight-reel save at 10:34 of the first period. Marc Staal lunged and hot a little piece of the shot by Alex Burmistrov, allowing Lundqvist to sprawl across the crease and get an arm on it. Defenseman Kevin Klein then cleared the bouncing rebound from the goalmouth.
Advertisement
It was tied at 1 heading into the first intermission. Rookie Nikolaj Ehlers scored his first career National Hockey League goal in the win.The Jets were slow out of the gate on Monday against the New York Islanders falling behind by three goals.
