Winnipeg had waited a long time to show Teemu Selanne exactly how much they still loved him, and the MTS Centre crowd certainly made sure he heard it. In his first game on Winnipeg ice since February 4, 1996, Selanne was given a few standing ovations, “Teemu! Teemu!” chants filled the rink, and the crowd even cheered his name when his name was announced following Anaheim goals. The crowd cheered when he touched the puck but booed his linemates when he passed to them. When the 3 stars were announced, Teemu was named the 3rd star and he came back out to do a lap, giving the sellout crowd one more reason to cheer. What an incredible night.
To make the evening even better, the Jets managed to defeat the Anaheim Ducks 5-3 in a very entertaining game. While Teemu returning to Winnipeg dominated much of the news heading into the game, it was the return of Tobias Enstrom, Nik Antropov and Alex Burmistrov to the Jets lineup that sparked the home-town team to another home win. Winnipeg is now 11-5 at home and have improved their overall record to 15-13-4, and with 34 points they are now tied for 9th in the East and only one point out of 7th.
1st Period: 04:54 WPG Kyle Wellwood 8 (Nik Antropov, Zach Bogosian) 06:19 WPG Blake Wheeler 3 (PP) (Dustin Byfuglien, Tobias Enstrom) 14:34 ANA Niklas Hagman 5 (Teemu Selanne, Sheldon Brookbank) 18:26 ANA Corey Perry 13 (Ryan Getzlaf, Dan Ellis)
2nd Period: 00:31 WPG Alexander Burmistrov 7 (Evander Kane, Zach Bogosian) 18:20 WPG Andrew Ladd 10 (Dustin Byfuglien, Kyle Wellwood)
3rd Period: 02:49 WPG Zach Bogosian 2 (Chris Thorburn) 10:26 ANA Corey Perry 14 (PP) (Ryan Getzlaf, Teemu Selanne)
Shots: ANA 36 WPG 31
3 Stars: 1. Zach Bogosian 2. Andrew Ladd 3. Teemu Selanne
Thoughts from the Tarmac:
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I’m so glad that Teemu Selanne had a solid game. His two assists earned him the 3rd star of the evening, and he got to come back out and do one more victory lap for the sell-out crowd. The perfect end to an excellent night at the MTS Centre.
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The Jets welcomed back Nikolai Antropov, Alexander Burmistrov and Tobias Enstrom to the lineup, as the Jets infirmary continues to lose patients. I was extremely pleased to see how well Enstrom played – he stepped right back in there and didn’t look like he missed a beat.
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Evander Kane hit another post. He leads the team in goals with 15, but he could easily have 5 more. He looked dangerous again, as did Blake Wheeler.
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Bryan Little left the game early and didn’t return, and it looks like he took a shot of the back of his leg. It shouldn’t be too bad I hope.
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Burmistrov replaced Little and looked very good between Kane and Wheeler. His snipe 30 seconds into the 2nd period got the crowd going again after the Jets finished the 1st period poorly.
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The line of Ladd, Antropov and Wellwood looked okay tonight, but I think that their stats looked better then how they actually played. I’m convinced that Ladd is playing hurt, as he doesn’t seem to have much jump lately.
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Zach Bogosian was excellent again in earning the game’s 1st star, adding a goal and two assists while going +2 and playing a team-high 21:51. Awesome stuff.
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Coach Noel must love Jim Slater. “AC” didn’t leave the ice in the final two minutes as the Jets were trying to hold on to their lead, as Noel obviously trusts him for his defensive play and his strength in the faceoff circle. The GST Line was very good as well, though Chris Thorburn took two late penalties.
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The Jets looked really shaky at times, as they struggled to get out of their own end at times and they were hemmed in many times by Perry, Getzlaf and Selanne. However, the end result is another 2 points in the standings and the home crowd got to go home happy again.
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I saw another Jets win! The Jets are now 3-4 when I’m in the building but 8-1 without me…
