The Montreal Canadiens took advantage of a juggled Jets lineup to take a big jump over their opponents.
The Habs scored the only goal of the game to edge Winnipeg 1-0 in Game 2 of the best-of-seven Stanley Cup playoff series at Bell MTS Place on Friday night
Montreal, which took a 2-0 lead in the series, will host Game 3 on Sunday.
In the second period, the Jets paid the price for having a forward on the blueline during their first powerplay. Tyler Toffoli was sent ahead by defenceman Shea Weber past forward Kyle Connor, who chased him, swung his stick and missed the puck. Toffoli then beat Winnipeg netminder Connor Hellebuyck on a screened shot to open the scoring.
“Obviously, they came out hard,” Toffoli told CBC/Sportsnet. “We just found a way, dug deep and got the win.”
Montreal goaltender Carey Price made 30 saves to record the shutout.
“I think everyone’s kind of been put on notice with the way he’s been playing,” Toffoli said. “I think it’s pretty incredible … He’s been saving our butts a couple of times here.”
The Jets were forced to play without several key players. Mark Scheifele, Winnipeg’s top scorer during the regular season, served the first of a four-game suspension for an illegal hit on Canadiens forward Jake Evans in Game 1. Centre Paul Stastny missed his second straight match with an undisclosed injury and defenceman Dyan DeMelo will be out for out for a week with another injury. Kristian Vesalainen drew in for Stastny while Jordie Benn replaced DeMelo. Jansen Harkins also replaced Dominic Toninato in the lineup.
The Jets will still be without Scheifele and DeMelo when they head to Montreal down 0-2 in the series.
“Everyone in here knows what it takes (to come back),” Jets forward Nikolaj Ehlers told reporters. “I think we played a really good game and worked our asses off, so we’ve just got to keep going.
“We’re confident in ourselves and we know what it takes. We’re going to look at the game, obviously. There’s always things you can do better. We can talk about those things and get ready for our next game.”
Jets head coach Paul Maurice is hoping Stastny can return in time for what could be a pivotal Game 3 in Montreal.
“It’s a challenge, for sure,” he said. “We’ve been a better road team than a home team all year. So, we’ve got some confidence going into the other team’s building and there’s a chance that we might get Paul back, which will probably help our group up front.”
Game 4 will be played in Montreal on Monday.
