Neal Pionk also scored, and Connor Hellebuyck made 30 saves for the Jets (56-22-4), who won four of their final five (4-1-0) to end the regular season.
“It’s kind of what we’ve done all year,” Pionk said. “Find ways to win. Play good defense. We played sound defensively… Tonight was just about keeping good habits and making sure we do the right things. Now we play for real.”
Hellebuyck won the William M. Jennings Trophy for the second straight year, which is presented annually to the goaltender(s) who plays a minimum of 25 games for the team allowing the fewest goals during the regular season. He became just the fifth goaltender to win the award in consecutive seasons since it was first presented in 1981-82, following Martin Brodeur (1996-97 to 1997-98 and 2002-03 to 2003-04), Roman Turek (1998-99 to 1999-00), Patrick Roy (1986-87 to 1988-89) and Brian Hayward (1986-87 to 1988-89).
“It’s a pleasure and a treat for us to have [Hellebuyck and Eric Comrie] backstopping us,” Jets forward Cole Perfetti said. “They make life easy for us. I think it shows the buy-in and the commitment from this group. Winning it (the William M. Jennings Trophy) two years in a row is not easy. We’re not sacrificing our offense for it either -- we’re able to put up and score a lot of goals on top of being the best defensive team two years in a row. That’s pretty impressive and says a lot about our group.”
Winnipeg finished first in the Central Division and won the Presidents' Trophy with the League's best record, and will face the St. Louis Blues in Western Conference First Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs (Game 1; Saturday at 6 p.m. ET; CBC, TVAS, SN, TNT, truTV, MAX, FDSNMW). The Blues clinched a playoff berth on Tuesday with a 6-1 win against the Utah Hockey Club.
“Amazing accomplishment for these guys to put a season together like that,” Arniel said. “I can't credit the players enough for what they've done. Just stayed focused, all 82 games. To get it here at the end was special, in front of all our fans."
Troy Terry scored, and Ville Husso made 42 saves for the Ducks (35-37-10), who lost their fourth straight (0-2-2) in their final game of the season. Anaheim was coming off a 3-2 overtime loss to the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday.
“They’re a big, heavy team, very difficult to play against, very hard to get inside ice on them,” Anaheim coach Greg Cronin said. “They get that blend of skill, with Connor and Scheifele right now, but when they get [Nikolaj] Ehlers back (from injury) they're going to be a real threat. I mean, I really like the way they play; they’re disciplined, they’re structured. It’ll be an interesting playoffs.”
Pionk gave the Jets a 1-0 lead at 13:49 of the second period. Vladislav Namestnikov won the face-off in the Anaheim zone, allowing Perfetti to set up Pionk for a slap shot from the point that beat Husso’s blocker.
“(Winnipeg assistant coach) Marty Johnston’s been all over me to score a face-off goal all year,” Pionk said. “It took 82 games, but we got it done.”
Terry tied it 1-1 at 5:45 of the third period, tapping in the rebound after Frank Vatrano tipped Ian Moore’s point shot.
“I'm really excited, probably the most excited I've been since I've been here just with the steps that so many guys took this year,” Terry said. “The way we kind of came together as a team, I really do think that there's another big step to be had next year and we have the group to do it.
“I don't want anyone to be satisfied; we didn't achieve our goals. But I think there's a lot of reason to be optimistic, and it's a little easier to push each other going into the summer when you can see kind of the light at the end of the tunnel. And really excited about going into next year.”
