First things first: HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY, FRIENDS!
This game was absolutely bonkers. That’s the only word I can think of to describe it. The Jets won in the shootout but I honestly thought that they would lose given how things appeared to be trending for them.
The first period was not necessarily a good period for the Jets. They appeared to come out rather strong and Chris Thorburn opened the scoring, but towards the end of the period they really appeared to slow down and make mistakes. The Red Wings, of course, took advantage of this and scored their first goal of the evening in the first as well.
The second period had all the makings of a nightmare as the Red Wings added two more goals to their one. At first it appeared that the Jets weren’t going to be able to keep up, but all of a sudden Blake Wheeler scored and the Jets woke up a bit. Wheeler’s goal was followed quickly by a power play goal from New Kid on the Plane, Drew Stafford and the score was tied heading into the third.
The third was something differently entirely on both sides of the ice. The Jets ended up with a power play and Andrew Ladd notched another goal onto the tally. All seemed to be well until Pavel Datsyuk got the puck and did Datsyuk things and tied the game again.
Then it was off to overtime and things got really hectic out there. Many shots. Many saves. Michael Hutchinson was fabulous. Jimmy Howard was fabulous.
@NHLJets OT Save @mhutch34 pic.twitter.com/ksMpm82mJj
— Hello2you (@Hello2YouWorld) February 15, 2015
Mathieu Perreault had a chance on a break away that Jimmy Howard stopped and it was a magical save. I’m not even kidding, it was pretty spectacular. Then, Howard was promptly run over by Monster-Man Myers. The Jets were given a power play at the end of OT that could have totally sealed the deal for them had Howard not been ready for everything they threw at him. Plus, they wasted a lot of time passing the puck from player to player, presumably looking for that nice, shiny one timer.
So, with no goals in overtime, the game came down to the dreaded shootout/skills competition/what have you. The first round ended with no goals and then Drew Stafford came out and was all like "I GOT THIS" and scored the only goal in the shoot out. The Jets skated away with two well earned points and the Red Wings were rewarded with one for their efforts, which is nice since they played rather well overall.
Ten Thoughts
1) Drew Stafford was pretty solid tonight. His goal was absolutely something singular and it was all due to a rather weird magical bounce that Howard couldn't have stopped.
Jimmy Howard was no match for this magical bouncing puck. http://t.co/uXhWUFPhQV https://t.co/rcNMNst6M1
— SB Nation NHL (@SBNationNHL) February 15, 2015
Plus, he was the only one to register a goal in the shoot out which pretty much makes him my hero of the game. Viva Drew Stafford and thanks, Buffalo!
2) Who is this person and what have they done with Chris Thorburn? Okay, so while he still isn't great out there, tonight was a night for Thorburn to shine. He got the first goal of the game and it was actually quite pretty, plus he now has 100 career points with the franchise (ATL included). Good for you, Thorburn. Good for you. Now cut your damn hair, you hippie.
@arcticicehockey I’ll just leave this here… pic.twitter.com/kBgvEzCnFc
— Daniel Gilmour (@gilmourguy) February 15, 2015
3) I have tentatively fallen in love with both of the ex-Sabres. I can’t help but wonder what things were like for them in Buffalo. The interviews they have done since the trade happened have been a tiny bit telling of what the situation was like as a Sabre and it’s sad that they went through that. I feel like they’ve been rescued from the pound and given new life.
Even accounting for the Buffalo factor, Myers doesn’t even remotely resemble the d-man I saw a week or so ago. Looks completely reborn.
— PATRICK WILLIAMS (@pwilliamsNHL) February 15, 2015
4) Tyler Myers is a wonderful giant Gozilla monster man and I appreciate him. He got two assists tonight (on both Wheeler and Stafford’s goals) and was generally pretty decent out there tonight. I’m excited to see him have the chance to develop into the hockey player he once was/could have been now that he’s out of the Sabres system. Also, there was this:
Welcome to Winnipeg. #GoJetsGo #3Stars @arcticicehockey @NHLJets pic.twitter.com/6EGGzo3hqp
— Leonnell del Rosario (@FlyerThanTROY) February 15, 2015
And this:
5) Have to give credit to Jimmy Howard. He played his arse off tonight, especially at the end of overtime when the Jets were given a power play. I tip my hat to you, Mr. Howard.
6) Blake Wheeler and Andrew Ladd will always be some of my favorite Jets and I don't really care if you disagree. They both got scored tonight and they both looked pretty awesome out there. So there.
7) Silly penalties still seem to be part of the Jets game. Do I sound like a broken record yet? Yep. I have nothing else to say about this except that according to Maurice himself it's "part of their game" or something. I'm just glad tonight they didn't bit them in the ass too much and cause a loss as has happened in the past. Many times.
8) Here's some snapshots from the #ChurchofCorsi:
@arcticicehockey #ChurchOfCorsi chart. Pretty even w edge to DET at end of first and Jets late in game. pic.twitter.com/QL4TnFPqaL
— Claude Saindon (@amatoudi) February 15, 2015
@arcticicehockey #ChurchOfCorsi dashboard. Scheif Wheeler #MattDogPerro with best numbers. Myers -4 pic.twitter.com/oNHxeQO2Qx
— Claude Saindon (@amatoudi) February 15, 2015
Huh. Myers. ¯_(ツ)_/¯
9) Michael Hutchinson was pretty awesome tonight, if I can be so bold as to state. He was decent throughout, some foibles, but the shoot out was stellar goaltending from him.
10) My husband has hardly watched any Jets games and has decided he doesn't like Mathieu Perreault. So, long story short, now I have to get divorced and that's going to be a whole thing. Ugh.
Bonus Toby hitting Hutchinson
Overtime/Shootout Thought
Just a reminder for you all:
