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Game Recap: Winnipeg Jets vs. Anaheim Ducks

It’s been a strange 48 hours in Jetsland. Somehow, sandwiched between everything, there was a game against the hated Anaheim Ducks. Winnipeg, already well-accustomed to playing poorly against a rebuilding Ducks team, threatened to leave Anaheim with another goose egg in the standings points column. Against all odds, the Jets played about 5 minutes of hockey to steal a win from the jaws of defeat. How on earth did Winnipeg pull it off? Check out my takeaways below for the story!

Seven Takeaways

  1. Pierre-Luc Dubois giveth and taketh away. The Jets were generally sloppy tonight, but Dubois had a particularly tumultuous evening. His line got the scoring going thanks to a beautiful feed to Svechnikov, but he directly contributed to 2 goals against on lazy turnovers. Please do only good things, PLD!
  2. Hellebuyck quietly steadied the ship in goal. Anaheim absolutely smacked the Jets for the first 20 minutes, and generally outplayed Winnipeg for much of the game. Hellebuyck had to be wise to some nasty deflections and tips to keep the Jets afloat.
  3. Winnipeg finally killed penalties! I wouldn’t say any of the PKs were sparkling, but the Jets did generate a few shorthanded opportunities. They’re a bit fortunate this was just the Ducks PP and not a more vaunted unit, but you take the small victories where you can.
  4. Ehlers finally hit paydirt. The Great Dane’s been making most of the right moves, but finding the scoresheet has been a trial. Finally, he notched 2 assists and a beautiful game-saving goal. Seriously, if you missed his goal, find the video on Twitter. It’s sick.
  5. Winnipeg was pretty bad for much of the evening. The Jets occasionally threatened to score here and there, but Anaheim’s NZ trap and OZ pressure stifled Winnipeg’s puck movement. Getting outplayed by a rebuilding team in a short timespan ain’t great!
  6. Copp is quietly putting away some decent scoring opportunities. His next contract won’t be with the Jets, given the raise he’s likely to need. We just have to hope he can continue to put markers away while he’s still in Winnipeg.
  7. This was Winnipeg’s last meeting with the Ducks for the rest of the season. I’m glad, to be honest. Anaheim was better on most of the outings, and it’s a miracle the Jets ended up winning the share of the match-ups.
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