Winnipeg 5, Calgary 1
When: 3:00 PM ET, Saturday, April 11, 2015
Where: MTS Centre, Winnipeg, Manitoba
Referees:
Dan O'Halloran, Chris Rooney
Linesmen:
Mark Shewchyk, Derek Nansen
Attendance:
15016
By The Sports Xchange
WINNIPEG, Manitoba -- The Winnipeg Jets scored four goals in the third period to knock off the Calgary Flames 5-1 on Saturday before a rambunctious crowd at MTS Centre on the final day of the NHL season.
The Jets (43-26-13) are headed to the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time since the franchise moved north from Atlanta in 2011. The Flames (45-30-7) are preparing for their first postseason appearance since the 2008-09 season.
Winnipeg, the second wild-card team in the Western Conference, battles either the Anaheim Ducks or St. Louis Blues in the first round, depending on the outcomes of Saturday night's contests.
The Flames will face the Vancouver Canucks in the opening round.
On Saturday, right winger Michael Frolik snapped a 1-1 tie with his 19th goal of the year just 47 seconds into the final period, while right winger Lee Stempniak scored his 15th goal, center Adam Lowry notched his 11th and right winger Matt Halischuk scored his third to bolster the Jets’ lead.
Calgary left winger Michael Ferland and Winnipeg right winger Drew Stafford traded goals in the opening minute.
Goalie Michael Hutchinson made 24 saves for Winnipeg to end an impressive rookie season with a 21-10-5 record, while Joni Ortio registered 17 saves for Calgary.
Jets fans stood and cheered for their team for a solid five minutes before the start of the contest, and the Flames even got some applause when they skated out. Calgary’s victory over Los Angeles on Thursday night clinched playoff spots for the Flames and Jets and knocked the defending champion Kings out of playoff contention.
Despite the initial buzz, the game had a preseason feel to it, with much bigger things ahead for the Western Conference squads. At least half a dozen regulars from each club got some rest in the press box.
The healthy scratches for Calgary included forwards Johnny Gaudreau, Sean Monahan, Jiri Hudler and Lance Bouma, and defensemen Kris Russell, Dennis Wideman and T.J. Brodie. The Jets sat blue-liners Mark Stuart, Jacob Trouba and Tyler Myers, and forwards Andrew Ladd, Bryan Little, Blake Wheeler and Mathieu Perreault.
Things quieted down in the downtown arena just 33 seconds into the game when Ferland -- who hails from tiny Swan River, about 300 miles north of Winnipeg -- used a perfectly timed baseball swing to knock in his second goal of the season on a play that began with a giveaway behind the net by Hutchinson.
Flames center Sam Bennett, making his NHL debut, flipped the puck to the front of the net and was credited with the first point of his career. The 18-year-old forward, drafted fourth overall last summer, had been a healthy scratch the last three games since being recalled from his junior squad in the Ontario Hockey League a week ago.
The Jets needed just 15 seconds to notch the tying goal on an ugly play by Ortio. He tried to snare Stafford’s shot but the puck glanced off his mitt, popped over his head and bounced over the goal line.
The rest of the first period and all of the second were scoreless. But early in the third, Frolik intercepted a pass near his blue line, fed streaking center Mark Scheifele and then got the puck back to beat Ortio to the blocker side.
Six minutes later, center Andrew Copp, playing his first NHL game after three seasons with the University of Michigan, set up Stempniak for a two-goal Winnipeg lead. Lowry upped the lead to 4-1 a minute later when he stripped the puck from Flames defenseman Brett Kulak and scored unassisted.
NOTES: Jets G Ondrej Pavelec got a much-deserved day off Saturday after the club recalled G Connor Hellebuyck on Friday to back up G Michael Hutchinson. Pavelec had three straight shutouts on the road, losing the last one in a shootout to Colorado on Thursday, to propel the Jets into the playoffs. ... The Flames won both previous meetings against the Jets
Top Game Performances
| Calgary |
|
Winnipeg |
|
Michael Ferland 1 |
Points |
Lee Stempniak 2 |
|
Michael Ferland 1 |
Goals |
Lee Stempniak 1 |
|
Sam Bennett 1 |
Assists |
Lee Stempniak 1 |
|
N/A |
Power Play Goals |
N/A |
|
N/A |
Short Handed Goals |
N/A |
|
Joni Ortio .773 |
Save Percentage |
Michael Hutchinson .960 |
|
Joni Ortio 17 |
Saves |
Michael Hutchinson 24 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
| Calgary
|
25 |
1 |
0-2 |
4-4 |
8 |
25 |
| Winnipeg
|
22 |
5 |
0-4 |
2-2 |
4 |
35 |
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