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Recap: Winnipeg Jets cut down the Vancouver Canucks

After starting the game off fast, the Winnipeg Jets got right to work and managed to get outshot and outplayed in the first period. They continued to get outshot, but thanks to the strong work of their goalie, they were able to beat the Vancouver Canucks in a convincing fashion.

Ten Thoughts

  1. Brock Boeser’s goal came with there being no coverage in the slot. While it started because there was a failed clearance by Patrik Laine, I just really wanted to admire that Boeser was unattended in the slot because the Sedins are still good.
  2. Patrik Laine has struggled defensively this year and it was very apparent tonight. While he is strong offensively, he misses easy clears often and puts his team in tough spots. His inconsistent scoring has been the focus of his struggles, but the one that is hurting the Jets is his struggles in clearing the zone. Something to watch for as time goes on.
  3. Fourth line Mathieu Perreault is the best Matty P. He might not get enough ice time as his talent warrants, but he drags that line to respectability and makes them a scoring threat. He also gets time on the power play for good measure.
  4. It sure seems that the game off that Connor Hellebuyck recently had helped him refocus. He has played a lot this year and he clearly needed break even if Steve Mason was not back yet.
  5. Steve Mason is healthy and back on the roster. Hopefully Paul Maurice will be willing to play him more in the second half so the Jets get their money’s worth out of that contract as well as letting Hellebuyck stay fresh.
  6. While they were fine tonight, the Jets defence will be in some hurt until Dustin Byfuglien or Tobias Enstrom come back. While Tucker Poolman is fine, you are not going to survive for long with Tyler Myers, Dmitry Kulikov, Ben Chiarot, and Poolman all playing at once.
  7. Speaking of Poolman, it was times like the recent stretch where he served as the team’s seventh defenceman that the Jets miss having someone line Julien Melchiori. While Poolman is clearly the superior player, Melchiori was someone you could sit every game and not worry about messing up his development.
  8. The Jets are looking like a strong home team. They are winning all the games they need to win and that is huge heading into the short Christmas break. This is a new thing for the Jets as they spent a whole lot of times in previous seasons simply losing any game they needed to win. Pretty soon we will see of they need to actually have must win games.
  9. Nikolaj Ehlers has been a revelation this year and he is already earning that new contract that does not kick in until next season.
  10. Somehow I missed a goal. And it wasn’t Matt Hendricks’ goal. Miracles happen.
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Talking Points