The Canada Life Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba hosted an important contest between the Jets and Stars on Saturday afternoon, with a spot at the top of the NHL’s Central Division on the line. If you were busy doing more important things or just want to see what I found interesting from the clash, here is how it played out in my eyes.
The opening five minutes of the 1st period saw almost non-stop play with an absence of whistles, but neither Dallas nor Winnipeg could create any high danger chances. The Stars got the first powerplay opportunity of the game when DeMelo was nabbed by the refs, but the Jets penalty killing unit would be facing the NHL’s worst PP so the home team might escape giving up an early lead. Dallas’ league ranking seemed accurate on their first PP, with the only chance coming on a last second shot that was easily gloved by Hellebuyck. The two squads traded good looks when a Jets turnover resulted in our goalie being tested twice in quick succession and then Namestnikov springing Perfetti on a breakaway. The youngster had a backchecking presence that forced him to the back-hand, but even so he rang the puck off the crossbar & out of play. Winnipeg had a brief period of puck dominance, with the Lowry & Gustafsson lines spending shifts in the offensive zone. Schmidt drew a retaliation penalty from a Stars player and the Jets had their first PP of the night. Unfortunately for our snipers, Dallas’ penalty killers are the tops of the NHL with an 90%+ success rate. But with only 11 seconds remaining in the first, we will have to wait to see if Winnipeg can find a way to score yet again on the PP.
First Period Stats: Score: 0 to 0 for the , shots 10 to 9 for the Jets, 54% Deserve To Win for the Stars, Expected Goals – all situations (0.70-0.55 DAL), & 5 on 5 (0.54-0.49 DAL)
After losing 72% of the face-offs in the opening period, the Winnipeg Jets had to be hoping for better success in the middle frame. Maybe the nice tribute to legendary Jets fan Kroppy in the intermission would inspire them? It should be a good period, as both franchises have had most of their goal-scoring success in the 2nd period this season. Winnipeg opened up on the powerplay, but almost immediately gave up a short-handed 2 on 1 that forced Hellebuyck to make a good stop on Hintz. The Jets did get a look of their own later in the PP when the second unit set up Niederreiter for a quality shot. As the man-advantage was nearing an end, the Stars started aggressively pressing the puck carrier and were soon forcing Winnipeg to defensive mode. They continued to push after the game was back at even strength and tested Hellebuyck with a shot through traffic. The American goalie made the save, but the puck was still uncovered allowing a Star to poke it back to the point. A quick D to D pass and 1 timer caught Hellebuyck out of position and Dallas took at 1-0 lead early in the 2nd. Winnipeg got a chance to even things up with they went back to the powerplay, but a Perfetti turnover/lost battle in his own end sent the short-handed Stars on a 2 on 1. A real snipe from 25 feet out might have caught Bucky thinking pass and suddenly the Jets were down 2 to 0 with 15 minutes to play in the middle frame. Winnipeg needed a break to get the crowd back into the game and it was the Namestnikov line that supplied it when they broke out on a rush. The center carried the puck into the Stars’ zone before dishing it over to Ehlers along the boards. The Dane took a quick low shot that probably resulted in exactly what he wanted…a juicy rebound. It was Perfetti who was there to slam the biscuit into the net to bring Winnipeg to within a goal of their division rivals. Any momentum gained from the goal was suppressed when Dillon stuck his stick between Benn’s legs, allowing the Dallas veteran to easily draw a tripping call when he started to skate. The Stars PP was coming into this chance with only 3 goals on 34 chances (8.8%) and the Jets came ever-so-close to succeeding but a last second pass from behind the net found an uncovered player for the easy goal. The final 8 minutes of the period saw Winnipeg controlling play and pushing to get back in the game. Nice shifts by all the top three lines created high-danger opportunities, with the best of them a 2 on 1 with Scheifele & Connor. The pass across from #55 may have been a bit too late, as Connor was right on top of Wedgewood and couldn’t beat the Stars’ backup.
After Two Periods Stats Score: 3 to 1 for the Stars, shots 22 to 16 for the Stars, 68% Deserve to Win for the Stars, Expected Goals – all situations (1.84-1.05 DAL) & 5 on 5 (1.00-0.77 WPG)
A Morrissey trip sent the Dallas Stars to an early PP in the 3rd and Hellebuyck had to make multiple saves to keep his team down by 2 goals. Winnipeg started to control the flow of play after that and created a bunch of chances, including a 4 and then 5 on 2 that allowed Pionk to step right into the low slot to test Wedgewood. After another good shift by the Ehlers-Perfetti-Namestnikov trio, the Jets’ top line kept the pressure on the Dallas defense. Scheifele carried the puck up the ice, passing it off to a defenseman as he continued to drive to the net. Dillon stepped up and quickly released a wrister that was labelled for the top corner, with Wedgewood’s glove a split second too late. Winnipeg made the game 3 to 2 and still had almost half a period to press for the equalizer. The plan was temporarily derailed when Kupari took an unnecessary penalty in the neutral zone, sending the Stars back to the PP. This time, the Jets PKers excelled and even had the best look when Barron and Namestnikov were sprung on a 2 on 1. A nice stretch pad save by the Dallas tender kept their one goal lead. The fact is that Winnipeg had plenty of opportunities to tie this game up in the remaining time, too many to write about. So I will focus on the best chance, an attempted goalie-pulled buzzer beater when Morrissey fired the puck across the ice to set up Connor for a solid 1 timer with time running out. Not sure how Wedgewood handled the attempt as it was a low blast that was primed to find a gap in the equipment of a goalie sliding across the crease. No game saving goal this time and the fans at CLC would have to look to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers for hopes of a victory this Saturday.
FINAL SCORE: DALLAS STARS 3 WINNIPEG JETS 2
SHOTS: WINNIPEG JETS 33 DALLAS STARS 30
Game Observations:
- The middle two lines were probably Winnipeg’s best units this afternoon, with Cole Perfetti extending a point scoring streak with his goal.
- The home team was horrible at the face-off dot today, with Mark Scheifele (48%) and Adam Lowry (42.9%) being the good examples. Vladislav Namestnikov was extremely bad, with one win in 12 attempts, but the fourth line centers (David Gustafsson & Rasmus Kupari) were not much better (1 for 8 combined)
- The powerplay units created a couple of chances, but going 0 for 4 is bad enough, you don’t need to allow goals against.
- While Winnipeg’s shot total could be considered impressive, too many of those came from well out. The fact is the Jets either weren’t able or willing to go to the “dirty areas” often enough in this match.
- Connor Hellebuyck made some big saves and his percentage was .900, but so far this year I just come away wishing he could have made that one more robbery to help the team. I expect him to settle down eventually, so not overly concerned….but soon enough we won’t be able to placate ourselves by saying “it’s early in the season“.
- Nino Niederreiter led the team in shots with 5, though Nik Ehlers, Josh Morrissey, & Scheifele were just behind with 4.
- Finally, Brendan Dillon scored yet again for his 4th on the season. The veteran defensive defender had a career high of 6 goals in 2013-14 when he played for the Dallas Stars and the only other time he netted more than 4 was with the San Jose Sharks in 2017-18 (5).
- MoneyPuck Stats: 60.5% Deserve to Win for the Stars, 2.47 to 1.68 in expected goals (all situations) for the Stars, and 1.34 to 0.97 in expected goals (5 on 5) for the Jets.
Not a terrible game versus a very talented franchise, but you can’t be that bad in the face-off circles if you want to control the puck. Would have appreciated the team’s effort in the 3rd period being more visible in the earlier frames, but in no way am I hugely disappointed by Winnipeg’s overall play.
NEXT GAME: New Jersey Devils @ Winnipeg Jets – Tuesday, November 14th @ 7 pm Central
Things don’t get any easier, do they? Well, hopefully Bucky will want to show up the Devils for not showing more interest in acquiring him this past off-season. Let me hear what you thought of the game or that upcoming battle versus the Devils.
