Key Takeaways
- The Jets beat the Devils 4–2 for their fourth straight win.
- Dawson Mercer scored twice against his former team, including the game-winner.
- Connor Hellebuyck did not play, by New Jersey's own decision, in his return to Winnipeg.
The biggest star in the building never played a minute
The Winnipeg Jets beat the New Jersey Devils 4–2 on Tuesday night for their fourth straight win. But the night's biggest attraction never touched the ice.
Connor Hellebuyck, traded from Winnipeg to New Jersey on October 23 after requesting a move, returned to Canada Life Centre in street clothes. The Devils had decided he wouldn't play his first game back in Winnipeg.
Coach Sheldon Keefe and general manager Sunny Mehta made the decision on Sunday. Mehta said it came down to a "reduction in our expected win probability" with Hellebuyck in net.
The Winnipeg crowd greeted him with heavy boos during warmups. He also spoke to Winnipeg media for the first time since April 27.
Then he watched his new team lose.
The players Winnipeg got back did the damage
Dawson Mercer, one of the players Winnipeg received in the Hellebuyck trade, made his former team pay twice.
He opened the scoring at 7:54 of the first period, circling out of the corner before beating Jake Allen from the high slot through traffic. Kyle Connor doubled the lead on a power play, with Mark Scheifele collecting his 550th career assist.
The Devils needed just 44 seconds early in the second period to erase the deficit. Jesper Bratt scored, followed by Cody Glass.
But New Jersey gave Winnipeg another opening in the third. A too-many-men penalty brought an angry reaction from Keefe, who called the bench mistake "unacceptable."
Mercer made them pay at 11:58, scoring from the bottom of the left circle. Connor added an empty-netter.
The Winnipeg crowd had its verdict: "Mercer's better!"
Nico Daws, the other goaltender acquired in the October trade, stopped 19 shots to earn his first win as a Jet. Allen made 21 saves for New Jersey.
Winnipeg also welcomed Josh Morrissey back after he missed 14 games.
Winnipeg is climbing out of its hole
The Jets are now 8-8-3, having won four straight immediately after a nine-game slide (0-7-2).
New Jersey, meanwhile, fell to 13-6-0, ending its five-game winning streak.
The Devils arrived with their former superstar on the sidelines. They left without the two points — and with Mercer scoring twice against them.
The Twikup Take
New Jersey didn't want Hellebuyck's homecoming to become a circus. Instead, it became a Winnipeg celebration.
The two players sent back in the trade delivered the goals. The former superstar watched. And the crowd got the last word.
New Jersey benched its biggest star. Winnipeg let his replacements do the talking.
Image: Dawson Mercer (cropped) by All-Pro Reels, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.