The resurgent Winnipeg Jets will look for their fifth consecutive victory when they visit the Dallas Stars on Thursday.
After enduring a nine-game winless streak, the Jets have found their form. Dawson Mercer and Nico Daws, who were acquired in the Oct. 23 trade that sent goaltender Connor Hellebuyck to New Jersey, made their presence felt in a 4-2 home victory over the Devils on Tuesday.
“We’ve been working on our game and got out of the slump we were in,” Mercer said. “Right now we need to keep on pushing.”
Mercer and Kyle Connor scored twice apiece against the Devils in a game that also marked Hellebuyck’s first return to Winnipeg since the trade.
“He can put the puck in the net wherever he is,” Mercer said about Kyle Connor. “He’s scored a bunch of goals already in multiple ways. His skill set shows out throughout the game, but he’s definitely a pure goal scorer.”
While Hellebuyck did not play, Daws made 19 saves against his old club.
Daws credited the Jets’ determination for helping them turn their season around.
“We have a really skilled, resilient group,” Daws said after his first win with his new club. “It’s not easy to get out of a slump like that. The way we did it really put us on a trajectory forward and up. We are just riding that momentum and hopefully we can keep it going.”
Dallas has also had it going lately, with a 3-0-1 mark over its last four games. The Stars will be well-rested, having last played Saturday in a 4-3 home victory over the San Jose Sharks.
While Dallas boasts one of the league’s top penalty-killing units, thwarting 89.7% of its opponents’ power-play opportunities, the Stars also made their own man-advantage count against the Sharks.
“You can’t win in the league without (special teams),” Stars coach Glen Gulutzan said. “The league has gotten so tight 5-on-5. The margins are small.”
Defenseman Thomas Harley had a goal and two assists as Dallas scored three power-play goals.
Miro Heiskanen missed the Sharks game with an upper-body injury sustained in a 6-5 win at the Washington Capitals on Nov. 3.
“(Harley) really likes to shoot the puck and you can see that,” Gulutzan said. “He takes on a little more of a shooter (role) than a distributor … different pieces coming in can bring different skill sets to the power play.”
Jamie Benn also scored against the Sharks, bringing the career-long Star, now in his 18th NHL season, to 999 career points.
“I think Jamie is playing great hockey,” Gulutzan said. “Offensively, he is making plays.”
Thursday’s matchup is the second contest of a four-game homestand. Gulutzan ruled out Heiskanen, who has three goals and eight assists in 15 games this season, from returning to the ice against the Jets. The defenseman skated on his own on Wednesday.
“He won’t be in tomorrow. We hope maybe on the weekend, but it’s definitely not tomorrow,” Gulutzan said Wednesday. “He’s on the ice, so it’s just not practicing right now. … If he gets on the ice with the group, then I think he is probably pretty close to playing, but he’s not there yet.”
