Vilardi, Namestnikov lift Jets past Rangers

WINNIPEG -- Gabriel Vilardi and Vladislav Namestnikov scored for the Winnipeg Jets, who hung on for a 2-1 win against the New York Rangers at Canada Life Centre on Tuesday.

"That was a hard-fought game,” Winnipeg coach Scott Arniel said. “We knew how desperate the Rangers were going to be. We certainly saw that. That was, at times, a little bit of a track meet going both ways. Both specialty teams had to step up and it was a good game. Good goaltending. Came out the right side of it.”

Cole Perfetti had two assists, and Connor Hellebuyck made 21 saves for the Jets (45-17-4), who had lost four of their previous six (2-3-1).

“It was a tight game, really tight,” Perfetti said. "They're a good team and there wasn't really much either way, and some good goaltending, and physical. It felt pretty physical and fast. That's what most of those games are going to be like now coming down the stretch, so it's a good one to prepare us.”

Mika Zibanejad scored for the Rangers (31-28-6), who have lost four straight (0-2-2). Igor Shesterkin made 22 saves.

“I think we played more solid, but a lot of special teams in the second and 5-on-5 kind of gets a little choppy, so it’s hard to kind of get into a rhythm,” Zibanejad said. “We were battling. It’s something that we talked about before the game. I think we did more of that, but it’s obviously hard to assess a game like that when you lose, but we'll take tomorrow off and we'll see what we have to do more of.”

Namestnikov gave the Jets a 1-0 lead at 5:18 of the first period. Namestnikov got a piece of Perfetti’s centering pass before the puck deflected in off the arm of Rangers forward Sam Carrick.

“I mean, there's no consolation at this point in the season, right?” New York coach Peter Laviolette said. “We need wins, we need points. So, it's frustrating, for sure. The guys did play hard tonight. Just couldn't get it to swing our way.”

Zibanejad scored on the power play to tie it 1-1 at 11:00. J.T. Miller found him in the slot for a quick shot that beat Hellebuyck's glove into the top corner.

“I thought we were getting a lot of pucks towards the net,” Zibanejad said. “Like I said, the second period there's not much 5-on-5, but I think the way they (the Jets) defend they found a lot of pucks in front of the net. I think they get a lot of blocks. I still think we can do a better job.”

The Rangers and Jets combined for six penalties in the second period. New York was 1-for-3 on the power play. Winnipeg finished 1-for-4.

“There are still some areas for us (to improve on the penalty kill), some of the clears and things,” Arniel said. “Not getting clears when we have that opportunity, that’s a big thing if you can get it down there, get a change and get some fresh bodies out there. But, you know what, the guys are really kind of zoning in and recognizing how important our penalty kill is, just like our power play. On any given night, one of them may save you or win you a hockey game. That one (penalty kill) late in the game was pretty big.”

Vilardi put the Jets up 2-1 with a power-play goal at 5:06 of the second, scoring from the slot after Perfetti set him up with a backhand pass from the right side of the net.

“Special teams has been a huge part of this all year,” Perfetti said. “Again the power play scores a big goal for us and our PK shuts it down when we need them to. That's been a big story of our team and our success. Just trying to get better, both units. And the penalty kill just trying to keep getting better and better and working together and it's coming together nicely.”

Dylan DeMelo appeared to make it 3-1 at 3:06 of the third, but the Rangers challenged for goaltender interference, and the call was reversed after a video review.

“[The Jets] are as advertised,” said defenseman Luke Schenn, who made his debut for Winnipeg. “Obviously, playing (against) them this year, it’s not by mistake that they’re in this position in the standings. The biggest thing I noticed is how much structure there is and how much detail there is on the defensive zone. Guys are in position and defending first. At the end of the day, that’s what wins in this League. They have skill, know when it’s time to take over and obviously, a great power play and goaltending. Like I said, it was pretty impressive to be a part of a group who plays the right way like this.”

NOTES: Zibanejad scored his 106th power-play goal, tying Brian Leetch for the fourth-most in franchise history. … Vilardi's goal was his 27th of the season but his first in nine games. … Schenn had a game-highs in both hits (five) and blocked shots (five) in 16:02 of ice time. He was traded to Winnipeg by the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday. … Winnipeg defenseman Haydn Fleury played in his 300th NHL game. … Jets defenseman Dylan Samberg played in his 200th NHL game.