Not only did the future Hall-of-Famer score the goal that gave Winnipeg a lead that it never relinquished in a 5-3 victory over the desperate Calgary Flames on Friday, but Toews won almost all of his faceoffs in a game where possession of the puck is so important.
That helped the Jets rebound from a 3-0 loss to the Seattle Kraken on Thursday.
“Itâ€s huge,†said Toews. “Even in the first period, we were wanting to get one early to just get over the hump a little bit, especially after being shut out last night.
“Those things can build sometimes if you start forcing it and grip it a little tight. But I think we just sat on the bench and in the locker-room to keep pushing it and it was going to come. It shows a lot of maturity and it doesnâ€t matter who youâ€re playing or where they are in the standings.
“The league is so good now that you canâ€t take anyone for granted, and we knew that they were going to play some desperate hockey tonight. We had to work for those two points, and sometimes itâ€s not perfect but I think we are building our team game. A lot of new guys are finding their way with this team.”
The Flames are now winless in their last eight games.
Toews scored at 6:24 of the second to give Winnipeg a 2-1 edge when he deflected a Josh Morrissey pass past Calgary netminder Dustin Wolf. The Flames challenged for goalie interference but lost.
“I didnâ€t feel too good about it once there were challenges,†Toews said. “I havenâ€t had too many of those go my way in the past. I was just trying to prepare myself for the worst and shake it off if the call goes against us, whatever, keep playing. But it was nice to get that one. I didnâ€t feel like I interfered, but I havenâ€t seen the replay. But it was good to have that one count.â€
Toews got a loud ovation from the hometown crowd of 13,917 at Canada Life Centre after scoring that goal and another one when he was named the gameâ€s second star.
“Itâ€s a lot of fun to play in this building,†Toews said. “Iâ€ve always loved coming here in the past and it was always great energy. There are no better hockey fans in the world.
“Itâ€s nice to be on the right side now and to score a goal and hear the crowd. It definitely gives you some jump out there.â€
The Jets needed that jump.
“I think the first half, we worked pretty hard for our breaks,†Toews said. “But it was nice to see us convert a few times on the power play. Midway through the game, we were really going after them and all four lines were rolling, contributing. To see it going the way it was going with all the penalties, we knew we had to kill some and deal with a push from the other team.
“But then, to get the goal in the third, good for our guys to get those kills and for Coms (goalie Eric Comrie) to stand tall in net as well.â€
Toews is among the top three in the NHL in faceoff winning percentage and the other Jets centres are improving.
“Yeah, we’ve talked about it a lot and it’s kind of grown confidence in our other guys,†said Jets coach Scott Arniel. “Bear’s (Morgan Barron) been doing great, Scheif’s (Mark Scheifele) been doing great, like even Vladdy (Gabriel Vilardi). They’ve all improved their faceoffs. Whether he’s talking to those guys, but … we feel a lot more comfortable now.
“I mean, you set up plays all the time. You have a D-zone draw, you usually have something you’re trying to do. … If you don’t win draws, you never get to really see them. So, there’s always something called. That’s usually why they’re all huddled up calling a play.â€
Toews won 13 of 15 faceoffs.
Kyle Connor, Alex Iafallo, Vlad Namestnikov, into an empty net, and Vilardi also scored for Winnipeg. Morrissey assisted on three of the goals.
“He was real good again tonight,†Arniel said. “He played an awful lot of minutes in back-to-back games, but he loves that.â€
Blake Coleman, Mikael Backlund and Nazem Kadri scored for Calgary.
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