‘Euphoria’: Jets’ DeMelo celebrates 600th game with clutch performance

WINNIPEG — Dylan DeMelo couldn’t have scripted his 600th game any better.

On the morning of his milestone night — ahead of the Winnipeg Jets’ 2-1 win over the Seattle Kraken — the 2011 sixth-round pick said a younger version of himself would have laughed if you told him he’d play that many NHL games. 

What would a young DeMelo do if he were told that he’d score the game-winning goal in that game?

“Go buy a lottery ticket or something,” he said.

For a player like DeMelo — who had just 18 career goals before facing Seattle — what happened on Thursday night was the equivalent of hitting the lottery. 

With the clock ticking down on regulation and the score deadlocked 1-1, Nikolaj Ehlers pounced on a botched clearing attempt that was redirected off the stanchion. Ehlers scooped up the puck, turned around and dished it to DeMelo, who unleashed a bullseye of a wrist shot over Joey Daccord’s right shoulder to give Winnipeg a lead with 27.9 seconds remaining. 

The 31-year-old defenceman raised his hands high and looked up at the sky before giving a double fist pump. 

“It was just euphoria, to be honest with you,” he explained. “I was just so pumped. I had my hands up in the air for quite a while, so I just thought I’d look up there as well to see if there was anything up there. You just kind of let your emotions take over. And with the time of the game, you just kind of let loose a little bit.”

Teammates are bound to go bananas when a player scores a clutch goal like that, especially on such a significant night. But the reaction from the Jets — both on the ice, and on the bench — tells you all you need to know about one of the team’s most beloved players.

“In our initial huddle, guys were going nuts. Profanities and all that fun stuff,” DeMelo said. “Then you come to the bench and just see everybody’s face just lighting up. So that was great. But then there’s 30 seconds and we need to get right back into it to get the win. Come into the room and everybody is all jacked up. We’ve got a special group. Everybody makes you feel special, no matter your role here.”

DeMelo has played a big role in fostering that culture.

“We have our captains and our assistants but we also have our leadership group and he’s a part of that. And he’s earned that,” Jets coach Scott Arniel said. 

Off the ice, DeMelo is one of the most personable people you’ll encounter in an NHL dressing room. Spend a little bit of time with him — or scour the Jets social media platforms, where you his personality shines through in behind-the-scenes clips — and you can see why he’s a glue guy in that room. 

And on the ice, he’s just as key of a cog.

Beneath DeMelo’s wittiness and endearing personality lies a fierce competitor — the type of spirit that enables an undersized blue-liner, one who doesn’t possess a flashy skillset, to play such a defensively sound game. 

Some may argue that DeMelo — like many on the Jets backend — is miscast in his role on the depth chart. On paper, he doesn’t fit the profile of a top-pairing defenceman. But DeMelo’s ability to kill plays and win battles along the wall fits in perfectly with Winnipeg’s defensively oriented system. It’s what’s allowed him to become a staple on the team’s penalty kill. And help the Jets get more out of Josh Morrissey.

“When you’re thrust into a role like he has been the last few years of playing top-pairing (minutes), there’s a lot of responsibility that comes with that,” Arniel said. “And so the biggest thing for those guys, for most of those guys, is they lead by example. How they play, how they practice, how they work out and how they do their things off the ice. That’s what ‘Mel’ does. He’s a great example for young defencemen. He’s a great example for players that want to play 600 games or more. He just goes about his business every day and he’s pretty consistent.”

Among the long list of shrewd moves Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff has made, the acquisition of DeMelo — for a mere third-round pick — is near the top. 

Stoller Says

• Jets winger Alex Iafallo was fantastic Thursday night. He registered seven shots, four high-danger shot attempts and made several key defensive plays on the penalty kill and during five-on-five play. As much as we’ve talked about the growing chemistry between Ehlers and Adam Lowry, Iafallo has been a big reason those two have been able to spend prolonged periods in the offensive zone. Since arriving last season, Iafallo ranks second among forwards in forecheck pressures per 60 minutes, according to statistics tracked by AllThreeZones.com (minimum 200 minutes).

• How about that Nino Niederreiter — Rasmus Kupari — Cole Perfetti line? In three games together, the trio has been able to tilt the ice in the Jets favour during five-on-five play — winning the expected goals share (61.89 xGF%) and high-danger shot attempt share (75 percent). Most importantly, that lines chemistry has led to Perfetti playing some of his hockey of the season — his 9.53 scoring chances per 60 minutes through that span trails only Kyle Connor for the team lead. Perfetti had a couple nice tips and a few Grade-A opportunities against Seattle.

“I think there’s one of everything on that line,” Arniel said after Tuesday’s 6-1 win over Vancouver. “Kup’s got the speed and can skate. You got Nino’s size and he knows to get to the net front. Fetts has the ability to make plays and hold onto pucks.”

• Winnipeg’s penalty kill has capitalized on 18 of 21 opportunities this month (85.7 per cent). Interesting thing to note — the Jets rank seventh in penalty kill expected goals for per 60 minutes (1.05) in January, according to Natural Stat Trick. That shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, considering the team’s “power kill” has created a couple offensive rushes over the last few games. 

• The fourth line of Morgan Barron — David Gustafsson — Dominic earned big-time praise from Arniel after an excellent showing. And it was well deserved. 

“Whether they’re killing penalties or I get them to take D-zone draws, they get zone time, and that’s the biggest thing,” Arniel said. “They go out and hack, whack, chop and keep the opposition lines down there. It isn’t just the fourth line that they’re going against, either. They kept the Beniers line in their end of the rink a couple of times. That’s big. We got the momentum running there and I probably should have run them out there a couple more times.”

We talk a lot about the Jets depth and the way that line — which features two guys in Gustafsson and Toninato who have not been NHL regulars this year — has played shouldn’t go unnoticed. It’s crazy to think both will likely be relegated to press box duty once Vladislav Namestnikov and Mason Appleton return.

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