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Recap: Winnipeg Jets pile up the goals in 5-4 victory over the Colorado Avalanche

Recap:

Ha ha. What a goaltending and defensive clinic that was.

Blake Wheeler scored his first goal in 10 games in overtime, making Reto Berra and his teammates look incredibly silly on the play, as the Winnipeg Jets defeated the Colorado Avalanche 5-4. It was quite the scene, as almost every Avs player was laying on the ice as Wheeler roofed it over the sprawled body of Paul Postma who was halfway in the net. Good times!

It pretty much summed up the entire evening, as both teams will be burning the tape of their defensive games, and both goalie coaches will be drinking themselves to sleep. Al Montoya struggled as well, but he out-goaltended the other guy for the win.

It certainly wasn’t a masterpiece, but it was two points in the bank. Sadly, in the grand scheme of things it likely won’t matter all that much, but at least it gave the home crowd something cheer about so that’s good. Goals by Andrew Ladd (x2), Eric Tangradi, Evander Kane and the aforementioned Wheeler tallied for the home team, while Ryan O’Reilly, Gabriel Landeskog, Nick Holden and Cody McLeod replied for the Avs.

10 11 Thoughts:
  • Al Montoya didn’t have a great game, and his save percentage has seen a dip since his workload has increased due to the injury to Ondrej Pavelec. Nobody figured he’d keep his sv% north of 0.925 long-term, but the fact remains that over the season he’s been the team’s best option in net. Not the answer to be sure, but he’s not the problem, especially at $601k. He could be a #1B on my team any day.
  • The Jets played pretty well considering they were without Mark Scheifele, Dustin Byfuglien and Zach Bogosian, the latter being a surprise late scratch. But when Adam Pardy and Keaton Ellerby are among your ice-time leaders, your team lacks major depth.
  • Blake Wheeler continues to pile up the assists, adding two more giving him nine in his past 10 games. And he capped it off with the GWG to polish off the three-point night.
  • Andrew Ladd continued his torrid goal-scoring pace since the Olympic Break, scoring his sixth and seventh in the 11th game since the Sochi Games. The Captain won’t be the reason that the Jets are hitting the links in 3 weeks.
  • Eric O’Dell continued to impress in an offensive role, and I thought that Patrice Cormier has not looked out of place either. Since Chevy is so fond of evaluation, I’m hoping that he had his pen and paper working overtime tonight while evaluating those two.
  • Devin Setoguchi sighting! He made a very nice play on the Evander Kane goal, but it was his first point in 8 games. Sorry Gooch, but one good play every 10-20 games doesn’t cut it. You’re still a bum.
  • Eric Tangradi has looked very good whenever he’s been freed of the press box by PoMo, and he did so again tonight. He potted the goal on the brilliant feed by Wheeler, and looked solid overall. How he couldn’t push Chris Thorburn or James Wright out of this lineup when those chumps were healthy is beyond me.
  • Mad props to Paul Postma for his effort on the night. He found out 20 minutes before the game that he was dressing, added two helpers, finished +1 and was in the fetal position inside the Avs net for the game-winner. This picture is 10 tons of awesome.
  • Reto Berra is awful. I have no idea what Joe Sakic saw in him to give up the 2nd-rounder and to give him a three-year extension, but I forgot that GM’s know best and I shouldn’t question them ever.
  • The Avs are loaded with offensive talent, but I don’t think their defence is playoff calibre. After Erik Johnson, I don’t see much to be excited about. Then again, when you can outscore your issues you will be successful.
  • I hate to be the bearer of bad news (actually, I don’t mind it), but the Jets still face incredibly long odds to see post-season hockey this season. The win tonight only boosted their chances from 1.2 to 1.9% as per sportsclubstats.com, and that’s pending the Canucks result tonight. And with the Kings, Sharks, Ducks, Penguins and Bruins still to go and the need to pretty much run the table, tonight’s result only prolongs the inevitable in my opinion.
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