WINNIPEG — Nino Niederreiter showed his veteran savvy in his 900th NHL career game on Tuesday.
The Winnipeg Jets forward scored twice and Connor Hellebuyck made 21 saves in a 3-0 victory over the Utah Hockey Club that kept the team’s early-season success rolling with a fourth consecutive win (12-1-0).
On his first goal, the 32-year Niederreiter lifted a Utah opponent’s stick in Winnipeg’s end, allowing the Jets to get the puck and head toward the visitor’s net.
Niederreiter then joined the rush, deked and put the puck around netminder Karel Vejmelka for a 2-0 lead at 7:30 of the third period with his sixth goal of the season.
“Obviously, the game wasn’t very pretty,” Niederreiter said. “There wasn’t a whole lot of flow out there. I think that is something that we knew and just had to stick with and do the little things right.
“Eventually, we would create our own luck and that’s what happened there.”
And what about his deke in front of 12,932 fans at Canada Life Centre?
“I still got it somewhere in there,” Niederreiter said with a smile. “It’s a great feeling, like I said. It’s a cool night to score a goal like that.”
His second goal — the 230th of his career — was into an empty net with 2:59 remaining. He also has 225 assists for 455 career points.
Gabriel Vilardi scored the first goal at 17:57 of the second period on the power play and Adam Lowry picked up two assists.
Hellebuyck recorded his second shutout of the season and 39th of this career.
Niederreiter signed a three-year contract extension with the Jets last December. The $12-million deal kicked in this season.
He’s now scored against 33 NHL teams, including the Jets.
“It’s a cool stat, but I think it also says that I’ve been traded a few times,” he said. “But I guess it gives me the chance to do that.”
Niederreiter was drafted in 2010 by the New York Islanders (fifth overall), becoming Switzerland's highest NHL pick at the time.
He’s also played for the Minnesota Wild, Carolina Hurricanes and Nashville Predators before being traded to the Jets in February 2023.
Jets head coach Scott Arniel was impressed by Niederreiter’s quick-thinking stick lift.
“We’ll throw that on the old system video,” he said. “But that’s just going the distance, coming all the way back and he creates that.
“We’re never out of it. You never know how a puck’s going to bounce. He just kept coming and obviously we turned that offence the other way.”
Arniel said the team recognized Niederreiter’s milestone.
“That’s special. That’s a lot of games,” Arniel said. “We had a little tribute to him, saw all his pictures from all the jerseys he’s worn and the places he’s played.
“He hasn’t changed a bit. He’s a big power forward and that line I thought was really good. They take that (Clayton) Keller line on, those skill guys. They did a really good job.”
Niederreiter is on a line with Lowry and Mason Appleton.
“Those guys on the PK were really strong,” Arniel added. “When that line plays like that they’re a force, they’re hard to handle. They wear teams down because they spend so much time in the offensive zone.”
Utah (5-5-3) ended a run of picking up points in three consecutive games (1-0-2).
Vejmelka stopped 25 shots for Utah in its second game of a four-game road trip.
“They know what to expect of each other. They play a really, really structured game, and they were patient tonight,” Utah head coach Andre Tourigny said of the Jets.
“I think that was a good chess game. They got one on the power play and from there they waited for the opportunity to have a killer goal. They did a good job.”
NOTES: Jets defenceman Josh Morrissey picked up his 14th assist of the season when his point shot with five seconds left in a power play was tipped in by Vilardi. … Kyle Connor had his franchise-record, season-opening points streak end at 12 games. He almost picked up an assist until Vilardi tipped in Morrissey’s shot.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 5, 2024.
Judy Owen, The Canadian Press