Andrew Copp couldn’t help himself.

The questions about his recent contributions were coming fast and furious Sunday night, but the Winnipeg Jets forward was still mildly annoyed at the unfortunate break that started this whole series of events 10 days earlier.

“Ever since that idiot’s skate lace lost us a game, we’ve been good,” Copp said after delivering the game-winning goal in a 5-2 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks.

Copp is up to 10 goals (one shy of his career high, set last season) and 20 points this season.

Five of those goals have been game-winners, including three in a nine-day span after his skate lace mysteriously got tangled up on the back of Anthony Bitetto’s skate, causing both players to fall to the ice, leaving Jake DeBrusk uncovered in front for the decisive goal in a 2-1 loss to the Boston Bruins in the first game out of the break.

At the time, Copp was in complete and utter disbelief over the unlikelihood of a play that almost never happens.

“I had no idea what (his skate lace) caught on, then I looked down and saw it was that. Less than one-in-a-million play,” said Copp, who was then asked what went through his mind when he saw that happen? “Basically, ‘Are you f—ing kidding me?’ There’s nothing you can do. I don’t know if that’s the way it’s going but that’s lotto-ticket-type odds there.”

As a group, the Jets have been far too top heavy when it comes to their offensive production — with five forwards (Mark Scheifele, Kyle Connor, Patrik Laine, Blake Wheeler and Nikolaj Ehlers) carrying the bulk of the load.

But as the Jets have collected nine of a possible 10 available points since the hard-luck loss to the Bruins to move back into a wild-card position, the secondary scoring has been prevalent — and Copp has been right in the middle of it.

Sunday was no different.

After the Jets came out with a flat opening first period, it was Copp’s ridiculous backhand saucer pass over a sliding Erik Gustafsson that landed flat for Kyle Connor to corral and rifle his shot past Corey Crawford for a short-handed goal that made it a 2-1 game.

The pass itself was a thing of beauty, but Copp’s knowledge of the scouting report was equally important as the play was unfolding before his eyes.

“That was a Chicago slide. You can kinda look at the D-man and see where his eyes are, you can kind of tell what he’s thinking,” Copp said. “But Chicago, their D do slide a lot.”

Since establishing himself as an NHL regular, Copp has spent a bunch of time bouncing between his natural position of centre and left wing, where he’s forged a strong bond with Adam Lowry.

Copp, who is averaging more than 17 1/2 minutes of ice time per game, is also a key penalty killer and worked his way into the rotation on the Jets’ second power-play unit, even if the opportunities for that group remain limited.

With Lowry out for an extended period of time with an upper-body issue, Copp has moved back into the middle and it’s hard to argue with the results.

That could leave Jets head coach Paul Maurice with a difficult decision once Lowry returns to action later this month.

“I think Copper might be a centre, you know? He seems to thrive in the middle,” Wheeler said. “I remember talking after the season last year to a few people, I think he’s a centreman. He thrives in the middle. I think there’s a 200-foot element to his game. He makes a lot of really good plays, the little detailed plays that keep the puck moving in the right direction. Offensively, he’s getting more confidence with that puck and making some good plays.”

Maurice appreciates what Copp can do, no matter where he plays him.

“He’s just a really passionate hockey player,” Maurice said. “You look at his prep, his physical conditioning, his studying of the game, he’s wired in every night. His defensive game is impeccable. How much offense would he be able to generate? He’s worked on his offensive game. He’s worked on his hands. He’s got confidence in it now. Playing in the middle, I think for most guys, they all would rather (play centre) because they just touch the puck more.”

Copp setting up Connor is a prime example of that preparation.

“So that concept of Chicago D slides is about 6 years old. It’s been on our video reports for years and years. I don’t even know if I put it on here, we do it so much we don’t even bother anymore because you know they’re going down for a two-on-one,” Maurice said. “He doesn’t miss any of it. He processes every clip and he understands the game that well.”

Maurice knows he can rely on him to get the job done, whether he promotes him to a scoring line or asks him to try to shut down the opposition’s top unit.

Even if he’s not as natural a finisher as some of the Jets’ leading goal scorers, his offensive game is on the rise.

Copp is carving out a bigger role for himself and he’s also grown into a leader — which is a role he’s enjoyed on the road to reaching this point.

He holds himself to a high standard and he doesn’t just enjoy the successes.

As happy as he was to score the game-winner, he was also dismayed by being on the ice for a goal against that came just 15 seconds into the contest.

“You guys watch the first 15 seconds of the game?” Copp asked rhetorically. “You just try to get it the next shift, just try to fight through some adversity, which I feel like we’ve done, both as a team and as a line, and individually I think is a strength of mine. It was just handling that, and there was a lot of game left after that. I don’t know if that was the best game I’ve ever played, I don’t know if St. Louis was either, but I like the direction we’re headed in. It’s every other night for our line right now, so we’ve got to get two in a row.”

It might be a bit early to start calling Copp Mr. Clutch, but his five game-winning goals leave him tied for second on the team with Scheifele and just one behind Connor.

That’s pretty good company to be in, especially for a guy who is still known best for his checking ability.

Copp’s evolution is not yet complete, but as he keeps working to push his ceiling up, his value to the Jets will continue to rise.

(Photo of Jack Roslovic, Andrew Copp, Jansen Harkins and Anthony Bitetto: Darcy Finley / NHLI via Getty Images; GIFs courtesy of The Athletic’s Alison Lukan)