Pre-Game
I must apologize for what you are about to read. I love both teams and my heart is split.
First Period
First and foremost, hello Joel Armia. The Habs came out flying this period and according to my little birdies at Habs Eyes on the Prize, we got to see “good” Jonathan Drouin tonight which is always bad news for the teams he is playing against. The Jets looked behind the play the entire time, even though the Jets won 72% of the face-offs.
The Jets opened scoring on a two-on-two after a lovely stretch pass from Ben Chiarot. The Jets were lucky to score first as the Habs out-played them the entire first period. The Habs did end up responding on a goal from Jonathan Drouin. Drouin wisely left a puck on the wall for Brendan Gallagher to get before going to a scoring area. The result was the Jets allowing the equalizer. The rest of the period continued much like it started with the Habs outplaying the Jets and it showing everywhere but the scoreboard.
Second Period
The Habs and Jets both started the second period like the ended the first. The Jets once again looked like they were a step behind the Habs and the Habs looked like they came to play. The contrast was striking and is sadly one that is all too familiar by now to Jets fans. If this is the way they are going to play, they are going to get spanked by a team that gets to play them multiple games in a row and make adjustments between each game.
Drouin scored his second of the game on a glorious goal. I cannot remember if it was coast to coast or not because I was mesmerized by his hair, but it was not a good look for the Jets. The Jets best chances were on special teams where Adam Lowry almost scored on the penalty kill. The Jets new-look powerplay did not seem to have much zip yet, but it has some potential. Connor Hellebuyck was the Jets bright spot through two.
Third Period
The Winnipeg Jets started off the third period looking like they were going to attempt to play twenty minutes and win again. However, their fast start did not last long and Habs captain Shea Weber scored on a hard shot to take away the Jets momentum. It was all downhill after that as youngest player in the NHL, Jesperi Kotkaniemi, and Phillip Danault added to the Habs scoring. In the dying minutes of the game, Brendan Lemieux scored his eighth of the season.
The Jets got thoroughly schooled last night. They looked out-classed and were outshot 34-53. It was an absolutely miserable performance and one that the Jets should look at as one that cannot happen again. The Habs are a good team in the East and they managed to out-play the Jets in every aspect of the game save for their horrid powerplay. Thankfully, Paul Maurice agrees and said that even the coaching was bad. Let’s just hope that the real Jets show up on Saturday afternoon.
