With the Connor Hellebuyck trade in the rearview mirror, the Winnipeg Jets can solely focus on their next big event: the Heritage Classic.
Besides the cool uniforms and the electric outdoor atmosphere, Sunday night’s matchup will bring one major and unexpected obstacle for the Jets: Jake Evans. Evans was lights out for the Montreal Canadiens on Friday night in their 4-1 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks, and he is taking his uptick in production into Princess Auto Stadium.
After the Canadiens fell behind 1-0 early, Evans stepped up. Owen Beck kept the puck moving at the boards, and Evans collected it. Evans relayed it back to Beck. Beck found Kirby Dach, who was open just enough to collect Beck’s pass outside the left circle. Dach found Evans skating toward the front of the net and caught him in stride. Evans turned, fired, and scored.
Evans also put Montreal up 2-1 at the 7:45 mark of the second period, which ultimately became the game-winning goal. The Canadiens were short-handed, but that was no problem for Evans.
Patrick Kane fired a shot toward the net, but it ricocheted off Tyler Bertuzzi’s leg. Kaiden Guhle retrieved the puck and flipped it to Evans. Evans then raced down the ice on a 2-on-1. But he called his own number, fired, and scored.
Evans later returned the favor and provided the primary assist on Guhle’s goal at the 18:26 mark of the second.
Winnipeg Jets Must Unexpectedly Account For Jake Evans On Sunday
In both of his goals, Evans knew exactly where he needed to be on the ice. He made the quick play with his first goal before racing most of the length of the ice for his second. This shows that Evans can beat opponents in multiple ways if left unaccounted for.
The Jets, via a tiebreaker to the St. Louis Blues, are sixth in the Central Division heading into the weekend. Even early in the season, they can’t afford another slip-up. Not to mention the fact that the Colorado Avalanche won on Friday, and the Blues are one of three Central Division teams the Jets are chasing that are scheduled to play on Saturday night.
The Minnesota Wild are on a weekend back-to-back, while the Dallas Stars — who the Jets lost a heartbreaker against — and the Avalanche also play on Sunday. That said, the Jets aren’t only in a high-stakes early-season matchup before the Heritage Classic. They will also face a player in Jake Evans who busted out of a scoring slump in a big way on Friday night.
Some Scoring Threats Like Jake Evans Fly Under The Radar
Jake Evans is not known for his points production, with just 155 in 428 games. Evans has just 54 career goals and was shut out in points through his first nine games this season with the Canadiens.
But players like Evans can also sneak up quickly on teams when they least expect it. That may have been the case on Friday when Evans skated into and dominated the Blackhawks.
Considering the early-season position the Winnipeg Jets find themselves in, they can’t afford to let that happen on Sunday. Fortunately for Winnipeg, they have over a day to get ready for the unexpected scoring threat in Evans. But they also can’t lose sight of accounting for the rest of what is a high-potential Canadiens team.
Winnipeg Jets Face Unexpected Scoring Threat Ahead Of Heritage Classic