This was the first must-win game of the season.

It wasn’t a had-to-win or should-win game. 

A loss would’ve dented the Winnipeg Jets’ cushion atop the Central Division, with the red-hot Dallas Stars just four points behind and within striking distance.

But if there’s one thing we’ve learned about this team, it’s that they always respond in the face of adversity. 

They rattled off seven straight wins after the Toronto Maple Leafs overpowered them and ended their eight-game win streak to start the year. They responded from a 5-0 loss to the Florida Panthers with a convincing 6-3 win to close out a November home-and-home. They put together another eight-game win streak after what Jets coach Scott Arniel coined as an “embarrassing” 5-2 loss to the Utah Hockey Club in January. 

And on the heels of being heavily outplayed in a 4-1 loss to the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday, the Jets bounced back with a convincing 4-0 win against the Vegas Golden Knights. 

Winnipeg’s downfall against Los Angeles was their inability to generate quality chances in the middle of the ice and around the net. 

“The L.A. game was a little bit different in the fact that because they’re clogging up so much, it’s hard to get through there. And it makes it tough on the forecheck,” Arniel told reporters. “You’re kind of putting the puck into places, and it’s hard to get it back. But tonight — Vegas played a good defensive game as well — we just got to pucks quicker.”

Yet again, this team learnt from the previous games’ mistakes and stopped the bleeding.

“The messaging in our room and from Arnie is just about the process. Taking care of that, and the results will follow,” Adam Lowry told reporters. “I think we look at the game we played in L.A., and you know, obviously, we didn’t generate a ton of offence, but outside of a few mistakes, it was a fairly tight checking, even match.

From the top to the bottom of the lineup, everybody responded.

The big dogs lead by example. 

Kyle Connor and Mark Scheifele worked tirelessly to get to the guts of the ice, recording three and two scoring chances, respectively. The Jets’ two top scorers were more direct with their playmaking, making a conscious effort not to default to the type of east-west style of hockey that Vegas feasts off of when collapsing the middle of the ice effectively.

The support players followed suit. 

Adam Lowry set up an office in front of the net, scoring his 15th goal of the season via a net-front rebound. Nino Niederreiter crashed the net. Brandon Tanev and Luke Schenn each made timely blocks. 

Everybody was pulling on the same rope.

Amid numerous bright spots this year, Winnipeg’s ability to reset after a frustrating loss reigns supreme.

Comrie dialled in on and off the ice

Eric Comrie may have had a lighter workload during the first two periods, but his 26-save shutout was well-earned, especially considering that 15 of those stops came in the final frame. 

The Jets’ backup delivered his most impactful win of the year amidst a particularly chaotic time, given that his wife is due with their second child. 

“I had no idea if I was playing tonight or not because she can give birth any second, so I’d be on a plane back,” Comrie told reporters.

Having Comrie in the net for such a crucial game may have seemed odd, but don’t fixate too much on his 8-9-1 record — the 29-year-old has given the Jets a chance to win every time he’s been called upon.

“Arnie told me a couple days ago… we don’t care if it’s the playoff push right now… we have full confidence in you,” Comrie said. “I think that gave me a lot of confidence in myself, and it just gave me belief in myself to go out there and do what I had to do.”

NIkolaj Ehlers is going to be waking up purple and blue tomorrow. 

Not only did The Great Dane take a 90 m.p.h. slapshot to the ankle in the first period, but he took a puck to a non-padded area of his knee in the third period and didn’t return.  While Arniel didn’t have a concrete update post-game, he didn’t sound overly concerned. 

“He keeps getting hit with pucks,” Arniel smirked. “I think he’ll be alright.”

If Ehlers misses any period of time, there’s two routes Arniel can take:

Odds are Arniel goes with the second option, given that those three have fared well together in a middle-six role. While the Jets coaching staff may not want to tinker with Scheifele and Connor’s chemistry, it can’t hurt to try out other combinations — like Scheifele and Ehlers, Perfetti and Connor — to get an idea of what other options they have, should the top line struggle in the playoffs.