All season long the Winnipeg Jets have been looking for a second line.
Scott Arniel and the coaching staff have found a solution at a most opportune time.
Saturday Night in Colorado, Gabe Vilardi opened the scoring before the four-minute mark on a deflection of a Josh Morrissey point shot, aided by Adam Lowry filling in for a pinching Dylan DeMelo and keeping the play onside.
How reliant have the Jets been on taking a 1-0 lead this season, you ask? Twenty-six of their 31 wins have been when they have scored first.
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Cole Perfetti scored the game winner, with just over five minutes to play — also on a deflection — after Vilardi won a board battle behind the Avalanche net to get the puck back up high for a Jacob Bryson point shot.
This is now four straight games with at least a point for a member of the trio of Vilardi, Perfetti and
Lowry. Over a 10-game stretch, the totals are eight goals and 13 assists for 21 points. And most of that damage has been done at even strength as a line.
Add in the challenge of being matched up against the likes of Nathan MacKinnon, Jack Eichel and the opposition’s top line on many nights, and that five-on-five production carries even more weight.
Without a doubt, job one for GM Kevin Cheveldayoff in the off-season will be to find a way to solve that gaping hole at 2C on the depth chart to allow captain Lowry to go back to doing what he does best as one of the most proficient shutdown centres in the NHL.
But the Winnipeg Jets’ only IMMEDIATE concern is finding a way to stay in the playoff hunt.
The line of Vilardi, Perfetti and Lowry are certainly doing their part.
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