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The Winnipeg Jets hosted the basement-dwelling San Jose Sharks at Canada Life Centre on Friday in a tale of two teams going in opposite directions. The Jets were hoping to remain undefeated, while the Sharks were trying to secure their first win of the season.
In the end, it was no contest. The Jets demolished the Sharks thanks to an offensive explosion, winning by an 8-3 final score.
Winnipeg got off to a fast start thanks to goals from Josh Morrissey and Nikolaj Ehlers, the latter of which came on the power play.
Former Jets forward Tyler Toffoli connected for San Jose to cut the lead in half with his third goal of the season, only to have Ehlers strike again in quick order for his second of the period:
Adding to the barrage, Neal Pionk scored his first goal of the season late in the game's opening frame:
The second period saw Kyle Connor score his third goal of the campaign early on:
The Jets would then score a trio of goals in the third period, two of which came from Cole Perfetti followed by Vladislav Namestnikov's first of the season. Both Namestnikov and Pionk finished with a goal and three assists each, while goaltender Connor Hellebuyck finished with 19 saves on 22 shots.
Meanwhile, the Sharks pulled MacKenzie Blackwood in favor of Vitek Vanecek; as the former allowed five Jets goals while the latter allowed three.
Here's a closer look at three big takeaways from Winnipeg's dominating performance over San Jose on Friday.
3 major takeaways from Winnipeg Jets' 8-3 win over San Jose Sharks
#1. Jets' power play worked magic against the Sharks
The struggling Sharks were penalized seven times over the course of the game, and the Jets made them pay with four power-play goals.
Currently, the Jets boast the second-best power play in the NHL with a 42.9% success rate.
#2. Depth scoring came through for Jets
At least 10 different Jets players recorded a point in Friday's win, with Namestnikov, Pionk and Perfetti registering four points each.
#3. Winnipeg's attendance issues continue
A problem that was noticeable last season was scores of empty seats at Canada Life Center, a trend that continued on Friday. The reported attendance was 13,422, well short of the venue's capacity of 15,321 fans.
The venue is already the second smallest in the NHL in terms of capacity, ahead of only the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, a building originally configured for basketball and holding just under 12,000 fans for the new Utah Hockey Club.
The Jets will wrap up their homestand when they take on the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday.
