Lambert, Schmidt help Jets to comeback win in Montreal

Nate Schmidt might have just made Brad Lambert's nickname public:
Big Bad Brad.
The two of them were a big part of the Winnipeg Jets' 4-3 preseason win over the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday night, as Lambert - playing in his first career preseason game - scored the equalizer with 3:30 to go in regulation.
For Lambert, being able to play after missing the first week of training camp, and scoring in the building he was drafted in, was incredible.
"It's just an exhibition game but it's still the NHL," said Lambert. "It's something you dream about, and the atmosphere out there was unbelievable."

That set the stage for Schmidt, whose one-timer went off a Canadiens stick and into the back of the net with 17.5 seconds left to give the Jets the win.
"It's good to be back playing hockey again," said Schmidt, who was playing his first preseason game of the fall. "I liked our effort tonight and I'm really happy with how we came back."
So was Rick Bowness, who saw his team make strides in a number of areas from the last couple of games.
"We were skating, we were playing fast, we were getting on top of them, we weren't giving up any chances, any odd mans - the things we wanted to clean up," said Bowness. "We stayed in the fight, and found a way to win the game."

The other Jets goals came from Evan Polei and Cole Maier in the first and second periods respectively. David Rittich and Arvid Holm teamed up for the win between the pipes.
The Canadiens opened the scoring just as a power play expired, as Kaiden Guhle took advantage of Dylan Samberg losing his stick earlier in the shift. Guhle made a move around Samberg - who then went to retrieve his stick - then snapped a shot past Rittich with 5:15 off the clock in the first.
That was the only goal Rittich gave up in his second start of the preseason. He made nine saves on 10 shots in 40 minutes of work at the Bell Centre.

Winnipeg took just under six minutes to respond. Kyle Capobianco's shot from the point went off Kevin Stenlund, then the skate of Brad Lambert in front of Montreal's net, and right to the tape of Polei at the top of the crease. The forward tapped the puck behind Jake Allen to even things up at one midway through the opening period.
The Jets took their first lead in the second, when some great work below the goal line by Maier gave him a chance for a backhand wrap around. His first stab at it didn't go, but he stuck with it, and shoved it past Cayden Primeau on the short side with 5:34 remaining in the middle frame.
"You can take a lot of game film from this and look at it and teach some things and show some things that we did well," said Dylan Samberg. "It's always a positive to win, no matter what time of the year."
Holm came on for Rittich in the third, and was immediately tested with a Cole Caufield one-timer as his first shot. The 23-year-old Holm, who played his first AHL season last year, couldn't stop them all though - despite playing a strong period.

A double-minor for high-sticking to Capobianco (along with off-setting minor penalties to Logan Stanley and Kirby Dach) put the Canadiens on a 4-on-3 power play. First Brendan Gallagher whacked a loose puck out of mid-air just in front of Holm and tied the game for the Canadiens with 9:52 remaining.
Just 1:40 later - and still on the power play - Caufield took a pass from Gallagher on the rush and beat Holm low on the blocker side to put the Canadiens back in front, 3-2.
"When we were rolling four lines there we were going good. All of a sudden, the penalty killers are out there all the time and you have too many guys sitting on the bench," said Bowness. "They have a pretty good power play where they were moving it around pretty good."
Holm's 20 minutes of action saw more shots than Rittich's, but the Swedish netminder turned away 13 of 15 shots.

But with under four minutes to go, Lambert took advantage of some open ice at 4-on-4, and a turnover high in the Montreal zone by Evgenii Dadonov. Stripping the Montreal forward of the puck, Lambert snapped a wrist shot from the slot that beat Primeau under the arm.
"I took a couple steps and tried to get it on net quick," said Lambert. "I'm just trying to take advantage of every opportunity I get, go out there and play my game. Work my ass off. That's just what I'm trying to do."
Dadonov's bad luck didn't stop there. With 17.5 seconds left, a one-timer from Nate Schmidt went off Dadonov's stick and past Primeau to put Winnipeg ahead for good.
Next up, the Jets face Edmonton on Saturday at Canada Life Centre.