Nikolaj Ehlers scores twice to lift Jets over Flames 3-2 in NHL pre-season action
Speed can make all the difference in hockey and one of the Winnipeg Jets' fastest forwards continues to prove that.
Using his impressive speed, Nikolaj Ehlers scored two goals, including the game-winner, to lead the Jets to a 3-2 victory over the Calgary Flames on Wednesday in a pre-season NHL game before 14,937 fully-vaccinated fans at the Canada Life Centre.
"Yeah, it's always nice scoring, whether it's pre-season or regular season or playoffs, it feels the same," said Ehlers, who his teammates call "Fly."
"I knew that I would have my chances, but I like that they went in tonight."
When Ehlers is flying, it is contagious, said Jets defenceman Josh Morrissey.
"We talked tonight about playing fast and obviously, I'll give my opinion, when Nikky is playing fast, he's at his best and shooting the puck kind of coincides with that," said Morrissey, who scored the first goal of the game. "I thought our first period was really good and overall, we were trying to play fast and shoot the puck, and I think it just turns our pace up a little bit.
Ehlers snapped a 2-2 tie on a power play at 9:14 of the third period.
With Flames defenceman Nikita Zadorov off for interference, Ehlers took a pass from rearguard Nate Schmidt near the blue line and quickly fired a wrister that beat Calgary goalie Dan Vladar. In the first period, Ehlers scored on an end-to-end run, slapping a shot over Vladar's left shoulder from the top of the face-off circle.
"When Fly is doing that, it's dangerous every time," said Morrissey. "When you're watching him, whenever he shoots, especially when he's in full stride, there's a chance that it's going in.
"We talk about Schmidty (Nate Schmidt), his energy, Fly's energy, the energy we have there as a group, it's infectious. It makes you want to be a shooter and try to have that excitement to score as well."
Ehlers had several chances to get the hat trick but missed on a breakaway and lost his stick after his teammates tried to set him up for an empty-net goal.
Vladar stopped 37 shots for the Flames.
Although it looked like Calgary had tied it with Vladar pulled from the net, it was called off due to a high stick after a video review.
"We knew they were gonna come hard and they did," Vladar said. "I think we just battled our way through it. It wasn't one of our best games, but we still battled our way through it. We made it kind of tight and obviously, we scored at the end. It didn't count, though."
Connor Hellebuyck made 16 saves in net for the Jets (2-2-1).
Forward Andrew Mangiapane, on the power play, and forward Glenn Gawdin both scored in the second period for Calgary (2-4-1).
"It didn't go our way tonight, but I don't think we should be putting ourselves in those positions, starting off behind early on," Mangiapane said. "They're a good team. They were fast on us. We weren't really breaking the puck out too well at the start."
The Jets, who had just lost back-to-back games on the road to Edmonton and Vancouver, snapped their two-game losing streak.
It was the first of a home-and-home series, with the Jets facing the Flames in Calgary on Friday. It was also Winnipeg's last home pre-season game.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 6, 2021.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
BREAKING New York appeals court overturns Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction from landmark #MeToo trial
New York’s highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction, finding the judge at the landmark #MeToo trial prejudiced the ex-movie mogul with improper rulings, including a decision to let women testify about allegations that weren’t part of the case.
Residents of northern Alberta First Nation told to shelter in place
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
Monthly earnings rise, payroll employment falls: jobs report
The number of vacant jobs in Canada increased in February, while monthly payroll employment decreased in food services, manufacturing, and retail trade, among other sectors.
First in Canada procedure performed at London, Ont. hospital
A London man has become the first person in Canada to receive a robotic assisted surgery on his spine. Dave Myeh suffered from debilitating, chronic back pain that led to sciatica in his right now and extreme pain in his lower back.
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.