The fired-up crowd that welcomed back former Winnipeg star Teemu Selanne, gave quite a boost to the current group of Jets, too.
Defenseman Zach Bogosian had a goal and two assists, and the Jets were victorious in Selanne's anticipated return to Winnipeg with a 5-3 win over the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday night.
''You just feed off the crowd,'' said Bogosian, who scored his second goal of the season. ''Even though they were cheering for him, obviously they were behind us. It was a great atmosphere.''
Selanne, who started his illustrious 19-year NHL career in Winnipeg, set rookie records with 76 goals and 132 points in a 1992-93 season Jets fans have never forgotten. He was cheered early when he touched the puck, while his teammates were booed.
''It was something that I could never imagine,'' said Selanne, who threw two of his sticks into the crowd after the game. ''It was so special. It was a tough loss, but I was really excited every second.''
When Selanne's assists were announced, he was also cheered. The 41-year-old Finn has 10 goals and 23 assists to lead the team in points. In the last minute of play, some fans chanted ''Teemu'' again.
''It was cool to be a part of, and it was classy by the fans to cheer for him and classy for him to kind of come out there and salute the fans,'' Bogosian said.
Kyle Wellwood had a goal and an assist, and Blake Wheeler, Alex Burmistrov and Andrew Ladd also scored for the Jets (15-13-4). Dustin Byfuglien added two assists.
Corey Perry scored a pair of goals for Anaheim, and Niklas Hagman added one. Selanne and Ryan Getzlaf both had two assists.
Chris Mason turned away 33 shots for Winnipeg. Dan Ellis made 26 saves for Anaheim (9-18-5).
Fans were chanting Selanne's first name before the national anthems were played, but the Ducks forward didn't have much to smile about early.
By the time a video tribute to the Finnish Flash was shown on the scoreboard about eight minutes in, the Jets had already grabbed a 2-0 lead on goals by Wellwood and Wheeler.
Hagman scored Anaheim's first goal, and Perry tied it with his 13th of the season when he beat Mason with less than two minutes left in the opening period.
''I was happy we won the game and thought they gave us all we could handle,'' Jets coach Claude Noel said. ''Certainly from a physicality standpoint their big line was really difficult to handle. You can see how when you're dealing with an MVP in the league last year (in Perry), and you can see why.
''They did a lot of things that it didn't matter who we put out against them, they struggled to handle both their weight and their press-up game.''
Burmistrov sent a long, high wrist shot past Ellis to give the Jets the lead again 31 seconds into the second period, and Ladd made it 4-2 with his 10th of the season with 1:40 left in the period.
The Jets stretched it to 5-2 early in the third when Bogosian's long shot went through Ellis' pads.
Winnipeg forward Chris Thorburn was sent to the penalty box for tripping at 10:18 of the third, and Perry tipped in his second of the game eight seconds later.
Anaheim coach Bruce Boudreau thought Ladd's goal, which went in off the forward's foot, should have been reviewed for goalie interference, even though his player knocked a Jets player into Ellis.
''The fifth goal shouldn't have gone in,'' Boudreau said. ''There was a couple others where I didn't think the goalie did a good job of keeping us in the game when he needed to keep us in the game. They've got to make those saves.''
NOTES: The Jets were 1-for-2 on the power play. The Ducks went 1-for-4. ... Winnipeg will play the fourth game of a six-game homestand Tuesday when the Jets host the New York Islanders. ... The Ducks, who lost 4-1 on Friday to Chicago, will face the Stars in Dallas on Monday.
