The Winnipeg Jets were an interesting team last night against the Calgary Flames. They looked very Jetsy and they also looked like they really need to make some cuts soon so they can start gelling as a team overall. There is no reason why their AHL guys are still up with the team now. There are some bubble players who should be up, but outside of them the Moose should have some players for their camp to open soon.
That aside, the first period was not a great period for the Jets. They seemed to be behind the play and in general out of sync and the Flames took advantage of that to full effect, scoring twice. However, our Lord and Saviour Sami Niku scored with eleven seconds left in the period and started to get the Jets back in the game.
In all honesty, Niku might not be the perfect defenceman right now, but the good outweighs the bad and if he is playing with better players, he will be fine. Dustin Byfuglien has carried many worse defencemen on his back when Toby Enstrom has been injured. Niku will be fine beside Byfuglien if he is given a chance.
In the second period, the Jets started to turn things around and get things going in their direction. This directly correlates with another weird Cara favourite: Marko Dano who got promoted to the Nikolaj Ehlers/Jack Roslovic line. Dano had a solid game overall and showed why he should be considered a NHLer and a regular at that. We also saw Adam Lowry looking like he is ready for the regular season once again.
The third period saw the Flames score two goals to tie the game up, one off of a not so good rebound choice from Laurent Brossoit, but have no fear because Ehlers is here and he won the game in overtime for the Jets. En y va!
A Few Thoughts:
- Sami Niku has NHL-level hair. It looks glorious out there.
- Does Brossoit seem to head the puck a lot or is that just me?
- Watching the game I tried to determine if the Jets ever looked organized defensively and it seems to me that even during win streaks, they seem like they are running around in their own end a lot. I might be wrong though.
- The Winnipeg Jets won’t make many, if any, cuts prior to the final pre-season game which seems ludicrous to me. They surely know that some players will be in the AHL this season and to let them go work on their systems and lines together as the Moose instead of staying up with the Jets. But alas, they do what they want.
