This was not a must win game. The Winnipeg Jets will probably not have must win games this season, but it was a game that would have been nice to win for many reasons. The St. Louis Blues are a divisional rival and just above the Jets in the standings. They have a solid team from top to bottom and made changes this off-season trading Joel Edmundson for Justin Faulk just before the season started. Never stop improving and all that jazz.
The Jets played a fairly good game, but just couldn’t keep the Blues from scoring right after they did. It was a weird issue they had and it really became a pain in the ass later on when the Jets looked like they might be able to catch some momentum in the game only to have the Blues squander it with their superior momentum-swinging skills.
Three Thoughts
- The Jets were let down by goaltending in this game. I believe it was the second Blues goal that was just horrendous by any standard. Connor Hellebuyck has carried the Jets at times this season, but last night he was off his game in a lot of ways. It is not all Hellebuyck’s fault, but if he had been able to make one more save, the game might have ended differently and that is not me saying he should have saved the last goal.
- The Jets had this odd thing where they would tie the game up and then give up a goal right after. It was weird and it was not fun to watch. They did not seem to be able to hold a lead last night and it was a problem late in the game and in overtime.
- The Jets did play really well when they were trying to tie the game up at the end of regulation. They were able to keep possession of the puck and make numerous plays after an ill-fated shot attempt by Jordan Binnington. After that, it was all Jets and it paid off as they did score late to get the game to overtime.
