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Game Recap: Montreal Canadiens 3, Winnipeg Jets 0

The Winnipeg Jets were unable to keep their points streak going as they fell to Carey Price and the Montreal Canadiens. While they were able to get a healthy number of shots on goal, they were unable to beat the Habs star net-minder.

The first period was a solid one. The Jets came out ready to play and looked physical and aggressive early. Unfortunately for Evander Kane, it was a little bit too aggressive as he got called for two penalties in the period. He also failed to convert on a two-on-o breakaway chance with Blake Wheeler. Unfortunately, failure to capitalize on scoring chances would be a theme throughout the night.

The scoring opened up early into the second period as Lars Eller put the puck past a scrambling Ondrej Pavelec. The Jets had two power play opportunities in the period. While their power play has looked better as of late, the hockey gods were not in their favour as the pipes were sounding throughout the night.

It was more of the same in the third period. The Jets continued to receive and blow scoring opportunities throughout the period. Their failure to convert was punished when Alex Galchenyuk scored with an impressive wrap around in front of the net. With just over two minutes remaining in the game, Paul Maurice went for the hail mary by pulling Pavelec and giving the Jets the extra attacker. After some time with the man advantage, the Habs gifted the Jets with a penalty giving them a 6 on 4 opportunity. But when Evander Kane missed a glorious chance with less than a minute to go in the game, it was clear that it just wasn’t the Jets night. Tomas Plekanic converted the empty net chance with 37 seconds remaining and the Jets were held pointless for the first time in 8 outings.

Thoughts from the game:

  • The Jets really did play a solid game. Excuse my cliches, but they battled hard and created opportunities. They just failed to convert.
  • Evander Kane had a rough night. He took penalties, missed on opportunities that he should have capitalized on. On a team that has struggled to score consistently, he will need to be a bigger contributor moving forward.
  • Carey Price is really, really, really good. Any shutout is a combination of skill and luck, and Price certainly got lucky at times… but he is simply one of the best goalies in the league and played like it tonight.
  • The Jets really appear to have an identity now. I’ve pinned for some sort of an identity since they relocated to Winnipeg and now they have one. They realize that they aren’t one of the more talented teams in the league, but they play hard and they play physically. It’s a style that suits the personnel and it’s nice to see.
  • Ondrej Pavelec had an alright game. He made some good stops and his rebound control was decent. While he wasn’t perfect, he played well enough to give the Jets a chance to win.
  • Puck luck sucks.
  • Grant Clitsome stood out tonight, and that’s never a good thing with him. He looked lost several times on the night and was a major contributing factor to the Eller goal.
  • Mark Scheifele played well tonight, but I think Travis said it best:

The Jets play next on Thursday when they travel to Carolina to take on the Hurricanes.

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