The Winnipeg Jets entered Monday’s action sitting in 3rd place in the Central Division and might have their hands full with a Carolina Hurricane squad that was holding onto the 2nd spot in the Metropolitan Division. Can the Jets pull off another victory? Read on to find out.
After a tribute to Canada’s Armed Forces, the game finally got under way with Winnipeg wearing their special third jerseys for the first time of the season. A late scratch of Jonsson-Fjallby resulted in defenseman Stanley being inserted into the lineup, as the Jets went with a 11 forward/7 defenseman ratio. It was Carolina who came out of the gates ready to play, as they promptly tested Brossoit with 3 quick shots. The Jets’ 2nd line was able to spend some time in the offensive zone, but a Chisholm point shot sailed high on their best chance. Shortly after, Appleton’s stick got into the feet of a defender as he was forechecking, sending the Hurricanes’ to their 1st PP of the game. The Canes were coming off a 2 for 2 outing on Saturday, so the Jets’ PKers had a challenge on their hands. With an early set up helping Carolina keep the pressure on, Brossoit was called on to make a quality save on a cross-ice chance and then denied defenseman Burns when he challenged a shot from the high slot. The opening 5:30 saw Winnipeg being out-shot 9 to 0 and the Canes weren’t done pushing for offense. The Jets’ backup goalie made another 10 bell save when he turned aside a quality look from the low slot. Winnipeg responded with a 2nd line shift in Carolina’s end, but a good chance by Iafallo was blocked by a defender. Another Hurricane rush saw Brossoit come up big again, this time flying across his crease to blocker away a Necas’ 1 timer attempt. Being out-shot 12-0 at this point, Winnipeg tried to switch momentum with offensive zone shifts by the 1st, 2nd, & 3rd lines, but none could test the Canes’ Raanta with an actual shot on net. After another big save by Brossoit, the Jets finally were able to get a shot on net with 3:30 left in the opening period when the top line created some rare offense. Carolina temporarily cleared the puck, but Winnipeg immediately rushed back with Scheifele springing Ehlers with a long stretch pass. The Danish winger saw Connor out-skating the Canes’ Bunting to make it a 2 on 1 and he was able to float a pass over to the sniper. Connor was in tight when he received the puck, but his sweet hands released a quick shot that found space in the top left corner. Winnipeg took a 1-0 lead on their second shot of the period and the team seemed to wake up from their fog to create some offense with Morrissey, Scheifele, Vilardi, and Perfetti all getting looks over the next two shifts. However, Carolina was back to the attack as the period came to an end, testing Brossoit with a high-danger chance from Svechnikov. In the final minute of play, a Necas hook to hold up Vilardi sent Winnipeg to their first PP, but they struggled with zone entries, getting nothing done before the horn sounded.
First Period Stats: Score: 1 to 0 for the Jets, shots 15 to 3 for the Hurricanes, 75.9% Deserve To Win for the Hurricanes, Expected Goals – all situations (1.63-0.37 CAR), & 5 on 5 (1.54-0.37 CAR)
Winnipeg wasn’t able to get much done with 50 seconds of remaining powerplay time, but Vilardi almost got lucky when he beat a defender at the blueline and attempted a cross-ice pass. The puck deflected off a defender’s skate and bounced towards the Carolina net, but Raanta was able to react and get his body in front of the puck. The Jets did get a couple of looks from in tight by Perfetti & Scheifele after the PP expired, but the goalie was able to keep the game close. Iafallo almost added to the Jets’ lead when he deflected a DeMelo point shot from right in front of Raanta, then Ehlers made a nice rush up the ice where he flipped the puck to himself before firing a blast just wide of the cage. Four minutes in, Brent Burns got Carolina’s first shot of the 2nd period when he stepped into the slot to challenge Brossoit, but Winnipeg’s tender was square to the shot and able to make the save. The Hurricanes’ re-took momentum at this point, continually pushing for the equalizer with a handful of opportunities including Burns ringing one of a post. Winnipeg spent a rare shift in the opponent’s zone, seeing Connor almost set up Scheifele in the blue paint and then Ehlers letting one go from the high slot. The Canes responded from an even man rush up the ice and Chatfield worked his way to the right face-off dot before snapping a shot on net. Once again, Brossoit was there to blocker the attempt aside and Winnipeg went up the ice with Scheifele in control of the puck. The center gained the Canes’ zone before passing it off to Connor, who was standing still along the right boards. Scheifele kept driving along the boards and Connor gave him the puck back as he skated into the corner. Ehlers made a beautiful cut from the left wing into the high slot, which was free of any Hurricane player. Fly didn’t keep the puck on his stick for long, quickly releasing a laser beam to the top shelf to put the Jets up 2 to 0 with 8 and a half minutes left in the second. The Canes came storming back, failing to capitalize on a 2 on 1, but Stanley got carried away with some cross-checks in front of the Jets’ net, sending the visitors back to the powerplay. An almost textbook example of a penalty kill saw Winnipeg deny any chances until a last second Necas’ 1 timer forced Brossoit to make a save. The Jets had a bit of offense over the last 5 minutes, but it was a DeMelo turnover behind his net that led to some pressure against in the final minute. The shift got worse for the defender when he attempted to stop a Necas’ wrap-around attempt, seeing the puck bounce off his skates and into his own net to bring the game back to within one.
After Two Periods Stats Score: 2 to 1 for the Jets, shots 29 to 16 for the Hurricanes, 64.4% Deserve to Win for the Hurricanes, Expected Goals – all situations (2.22-1.38 CAR) & 5 on 5 (2.13-1.32 CAR)
The third period opened up to see play being tightly contested and offensive opportunities becoming less frequent. A missed pokecheck by DeMelo on a rush, saw the defender head to the box for tripping and Carolina used the time to take back momentum. The Canes controlled the puck for almost the entire 2 minutes, but a Dillon block and another Brossoit save kept Winnipeg in the lead. The Jets’ top line had a couple rough shifts and almost gave up a goal when Connor turned the puck over in the neutral zone. Yet another glorious save by the Jets’ tender, when he stretched across the crease to deny a chance with a pad, allowing Pionk to end the danger. The home team responded with some quality shifts, seeing the 2nd and 3rd lines spend shifts in the Canes’ end. A bit later, Connor out-raced everyone and was off on a breakaway, but the American winger couldn’t beat Raanta with a back-hand move at full speed. The teams traded chances over the next two shifts, but then Winnipeg started to clog up the neutral zone efficiently and limiting the Hurricanes’ looks. The Jets blew a few opportunities to ice the game with an empty netter, but they were able to withstand a late flurry of action around Brossoit to come out victorious.
FINAL SCORE: WINNIPEG JETS 2 CAROLINA HURRICANES 1
SHOTS: CAROLINA HURRICANES 43 WINNIPEG JETS 22
Game Observations:
- With last night’s win, the Winnipeg Jets are 7-0-2 against the Eastern Conference, making them one of three NHL teams to not have a regulation loss against an entire division. The St. Louis Blues are 5-0-0 against the East and the Boston Bruins are 8-0-1 versus the West.
- Brenden Dillon and Neal Pionk led the Jets in hits tonight with 4 apiece. That is nothing new for Dillon, as he was 7th in the NHL in bodychecks coming into the match.
- As ForgetTeemu noted in one of his comments, only the Jets’ top line had any success last night (50.89% of expected goals). I continue to like what I am seeing from Mark Scheifele and Nik Ehlers is really starting to create some pretty highlights. Those two, along with Kyle Connor, each picked up 2 pts against the Canes.
- What can I say about Laurent Brossoit? The goaltender was pretty fabulous last night and dragged Winnipeg to victory almost on his own. How does 42 save on 43 shots sound? For the Jets, that .977 save percentage couldn’t have come at a better time.
- Only Gabe Vilardi was above 50% at the face-off dot for Winnipeg, winning 5 of 6 for 83.3%. Adam Lowry & Scheifele were just below that middle, with 47.4% & 47.8% respectively. Speaking of Vilardi, I am enjoying watching his play along the boards, his deft passing abilities, and physical style of play.
- MoneyPuck Stats: 64.7% Deserve to Win for the Hurricanes, 4.10 to 3.03 in expected goals (all situations) for the Hurricanes, and 2.96 to 1.92 in expected goals (5 on 5) for the Hurricanes.
Not much to say, other than Brossoit stole 2 points for Winnipeg. Some nice plays by Ehlers, Scheifele, & Connor in the game, but the Jets will have to really pick up their play if they want to get a win when they start a road trip on Thursday.
NEXT GAME: Winnipeg Jets @ Colorado Avalanche – Thursday, December 7th @ 8 pm Central
Mark Scheifele took over Winnipeg’s point lead, with 27 pts in 24 games, and is on pace for his first 90 point season. Can he keep it up against division rival Colorado? Tune in on Thursday to find out.
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