Fast Facts: Moose at Wolves – March 16

The Manitoba Moose and Chicago Wolves clash in a rematch of last night's shootout thriller, this evening (7 p.m. CT) at Allstate Arena. The Moose battled back from a 2-1 third period deficit to claim a 3-2 shootout victory. Jeff Malott scored in the fifth round for the only goal of the shootout. Nicholas Jones (1G, 1A) and Henri Nikkanen (2A) led the way offensively for Manitoba. The Moose now hold a four-point lead over Chicago for the division's final playoff spot. Coverage of tonight's game begins at 6:45 p.m. CT on CJOB.com/sports, the Winnipeg Jets App and AHLTV.

Jones Knows

Nicholas Jones posted two points (1G, 1A) in yesterday’s road win over Chicago. The forward, who re-signed a two-year contract with Manitoba in 2022, notched his third multi-point game of the season in the victory. Jones has 14 points (6G, 8A) in 40 contests with the Moose this season. The Edmonton, Alta. product has cleared at least 10 points in all five full AHL seasons he participated in. Jones is closing in on an AHL milestone 98 career points (34G, 64A) in 276 games split between Hartford and Manitoba.

Third Period Spark

The Moose, coming off a 3-2 shootout win last night, scored the only goal of the third period, a tally from Nicholas Jones. Over the past eight games, in which Manitoba has produced a mark of 7-1-0-0, the Moose have outscored their opposition by a 20-5 margin in the final 20 minutes of play. A total of 12 of those tallies came at even strength, three by way of the power play and the final five were scored into an empty net. Over the stretch, which reaches back to Manitoba’s win over Calgary on Feb. 24, Axel Jonsson-Fjallby paces the forwards with seven points (4G, 3A) and Ville Heinola leads the defenders with four points (1G, 3A) in the third period.

End of the Road, For Now

Tonight’s game marks the end of a six-game road swing, and run of 15 games out of the past 21 away from Canada Life Centre. The Moose thrived during the stretch, claiming a 10-3-0-1 record over the past 14 road contests. This trip, Manitoba is 4-1-0-0 through five games. At the start of the stretch of 21 games, the Moose were 12-23-1-0 and last in the AHL. Now the Moose are just four wins below the .500 mark at 25-29-1-1, and hold a four-point lead for the Central Division’s final playoff spot. With this road-heavy segment coming to a close, the Moose play 10 of their final 15 games on home ice.

Point Streakin’

Ville Heinola found twine last night in Chicago. With the goal, Heinola’s second career AHL shorthanded tally, the Honkajoki, Finland product is now riding a five-game point streak. That ties the defender for the longest stretch of his career, with the previous streak occurring in 2021-22. Over the stretch, the defenceman has produced six points (3G, 3A) and now has 15 points (6G, 9A) in 25 games this season. Heinola, a 2019 Winnipeg first round pick, has recorded 90 career points (19G, 71A) in 136 games and is one point shy of matching former Moose defender Declan Chisholm for eighth overall in franchise points by a defenceman.

Who's Trending?

Henri Nikkanen tallied a pair of assists in yesterday’s victory. The multi-point outing is the forward’s second of the season. The Mikkeli, Finland product is riding a two-game point streak and has posted seven points (3G, 4A) over his past six games. Winnipeg’s 2019 fourth round selection is tied for the team lead with a plus-seven rating in March.