The Canada Life Centre was filled to 89% of capacity for Monday’s clash between the Winnipeg Jets and the Montreal Canadiens. Could the Jets keep up their dominance of the Eastern Conference or would the Habs dash their hopes?
The 1st period saw both squads playing particular attention to the defensive side of things, as there wasn’t much room out on the ice for either teams’ forwards. Winnipeg had their first real look when a hard forecheck by the Lowry line forced a Montreal icing, which allowed Niederreiter to get a quality shot off an offensive face-off win. The Jets followed up with o-zone shifts by the Namestnikov & Scheifele lines, but weren’t able to solve the Canadiens’ Allen. Montreal had a bit of a push-back before the Gustafsson line was back in the Habs’ end and the cycle produced a point shot by Samberg that rang off iron. The Canadiens had an effective cycle shift, but DeMelo used his body to block a pass to the crease area. Scheifele had a nice rush up the ice, but when he skated the puck into the mid-slot, the center opted for a low-percentage pass rather than take the shot himself. After spending a bit of time in the defensive end, the 2nd trio broke out for a counter-attack that saw the Jets hit another post (Perfetti). Great forechecks by the bottom six saw Gustafsson set up Barron for a quality look and the Lowry line chip in with a couple more shots. The end of the 1st period flew by without a whistle in the final 7.5 minutes, with Winnipeg’s best chance failing when Scheifele once again decided to pass from a good shooting position.
First Period Stats: Score: 0 to 0 tie, shots 6 to 4 for the Jets, 60% Deserve To Win for the Jets, Expected Goals – all situations (0.60-0.27 WPG), & 5 on 5 (0.60-0.27 WPG)
After a fairly low-event opening period, Winnipeg had an early chance on the powerplay when Appleton drew a penalty with a tenacious backcheck. A face-off win saw an early shot from Scheifele but after Montreal cleared the zone, the Jets had difficulty re-gaining it. The 2nd PP unit didn’t have much time to work with, but did manage one long shot by Iafallo before the penalty expired. The Canadiens pushed back with some good shifts and when Scheifele tried to chip the puck off the boards to exit the zone, a Habs’ defender used his body to block the attempt. A couple of Jets had left the zone already and Montreal took advantage when Matheson took a shot from the left face-off dot, causing a rebound that deflected off Anderson’s skate and into the net. Winnipeg still had plenty of time to even things up, as there was still 15 minutes left in the 2nd period, but another strong shift by the 4th line couldn’t solve Allen despite glorious opportunities for AJF & Barron. Shortly after, Ehlers flew up the ice and took a hit in order to set up Vilardi for a prime chance from the slot. Montreal responded with some pressure and Samberg made a nice block on a 1 timer attempt, but then Winnipeg’s Gustafsson line was back on the attack. This time Allen denied Jonsson-Fjallby from the side of the net and then Gus’ slot shot was blocked to shut down another opportunity. Winnipeg got caught pushing for offense and the Habs were rewarded with a 4 on 2 break, but Hellebuyck was there to keep the score the same. Dillon tried to line up Anderson with a hit in the defensive zone, but ended up whiffing him. The Canadien player threw himself off the “trolley tracks” to avoid contact, falling to the ice, and that was enough for the striped men to flag Dillon for a penalty. 2 minutes for missing a bodycheck. Winnipeg was able to clear the puck immediately but Montreal was able to get set up on their first try. Good blocks by Lowry & DeMelo allowed the Jets to ease the pressure, but the Canadiens were able to get set up in the latter part of the powerplay. Schmidt blocked a pass attempt across the front of the goal, with the puck popping up in the air. Anderson gloved it and threw it down in the crease as he attempted to poke the puck across the front of the net. Dvorak was there waiting and made no mistake in netting it to give Montreal a 2 to 0 lead with 5 minutes to play. But wait….Bowness & company decide to challenge the play for a hand pass. The replays showed that if Anderson did manage to contact the puck with his stick after the hand pass, it was ever so slightly. However, the refs ruled it a goal on the ice so the powers that be didn’t see enough to overturn it. That failed challenge sent Montreal immediately back on the PP and they sent a bunch of shots at Hellebuyck, but the Jets tender was able to keep them out of his net. Winnipeg tried to press for their 1st goal late in the period and after a bunch of chances, they hit pay dirt when a Morrissey point shot was blocked, bouncing straight to Vilardi. The winger made a nice play to quickly bring the puck from below the goalline and tuck it by a sprawled Allen to make it 2 to 1 with less than a minute in the 2nd.
After Two Periods Stats Score: 2 to 1 for the Canadiens, shots 19 to 18 for the Canadiens, 61.8% Deserve to Win for the Canadiens, Expected Goals – all situations (2.19-1.74 MTL) & 5 on 5 (1.66-1.49 WPG)
The Jets had a great opportunity early when Ehlers was held up along the boards, sending Winnipeg to their 2nd man-advantage of the evening. Montreal had the early chance while short-handed, but Suzuki’s shot was deflected by Morrissey’s stick. Unfortunately for #44, the puck’s new path was directly at his head and the defenseman took it solidly off his left cheek. Without their quarterback on the ice, the top PP unit did manage to create a couple scrambles in front, but the Canadiens’ defenders were always able to fend off the Jets’ players. Winnipeg stepped up their attacks, starting with a race for the puck won by Lowry allowing the Jets to get set up in the o-zone. The 4th line had another offensive shift, cycling the puck and creating opportunities for Gustafsson and Pionk. The 2nd line followed up with a point shot by Samberg through bodies in front and a big hit by Dillon on Anderson saw Lowry rush the other way, only to be denied in the blue paint by Allen. Montreal finally countered with a couple shifts and Hellebuyck came up big on Suzuki high-danger shot. The Habs continued to pin the Jets in the d-zone, but the Namestnikov trio was finally able to end that. They managed to start a cycle of their own and after a point to point pass, the Russian center let a shot go from the point. Allen was able to get a pad on the puck, but a big rebound bounced right to Perfetti on the other side of the net. The youngster pocketed his 10th of the season, as Winnipeg tied the game up with 7 and half minutes to play. The Gustafsson trio followed the goal with another cycle shift, before Montreal responded with a shift of their own. Neither team could create any quality looks, but then things opened up as Scheifele rushed up the ice for a low slot look and then the Habs with an odd-man rush. A good backcheck by Scheifele and a pad save by Hellebuyck denied the opportunity. The Jets had one last quality chance when Perfetti showed some defensive skill to keep possession in Montreal’s end, then set up Iafallo for a deflection that went up and over the net. After a late Pionk icing, the Canadien’s won the face-off while picking Ehlers from covering the point. The Dane tried to leap around the pick and dove to poke the puck off Matheson’s stick, but ended up pulling the defenseman down. Montreal got their 3rd powerplay of the game, but couldn’t manage a shot before the third period ended.
After Three Periods Stats Score: 2 to 2 tie, shots 32 to 23 for the Jets, 61% Deserve to Win for the Canadiens, Expected Goals – all situations (3.29-2.74 MTL) & 5 on 5 (2.49-2.19 WPG)
On to overtime and the Habs had a 4 on 3 advantage for 1:33, but the Jets lost one of their better penalty killers when Lowry (cross-checking) and Matheson (hand over puck) were sent off together. A lost face-off allowed Montreal to get set up and when the players swapped positions high in the zone, Barron got sucked in a little too deep. The Canadiens took advantage by sending the puck back to the point, where Morgan’s brother had a lot of space in the middle of the ice. The defender stepped in a bit before firing a wrister that Hellebuyck wasn’t able to stop, giving Montreal the 3 to 2 overtime victory.
FINAL SCORE: MONTREAL CANADIENS 3 WINNIPEG JETS 2 (OT)
SHOTS: WINNIPEG JETS 32 MONTREAL CANADIENS 25
Game Observations:
- MoneyPuck Stats: 57.7% Deserve to Win for the Canadiens, 2.94 to 2.74 in expected goals (all situations) for the Canadiens, and 2.49 to 2.20 in expected goals (5 on 5) for the Jets.
- The Winnipeg Jets played okay in the first period, were pretty uninspired in the 2nd, and then controlled most of the play in the 3rd. In the end, that wasn’t enough to come away with 2 points, but the Jets are still without a regulation loss versus the Eastern Conference (7-0-3).
- Another rough night in the face-off circles for Winnipeg (46.3%) and only Adam Lowry was above 50% (10 of 18). It’s difficult to win the puck possession battle when you don’t start with the biscuit often enough, but it is especially hurtful on the penalty kill. As a result, the Jets’ penalty kill goes 1 for 3 against Montreal’s low scoring PP units.
- The Winnipeg Jets won the 5 on 5 battle last night (2.49 to 2.20), but the Lowry line got caved in with only 10% of the expected goals. The other three lines were all above 50%, with the Mark Scheifele line getting 70.5%, the Vladislav Namestnikov trio ending with 90%, and the David Gustafsson group having a team best 100%.
- What a night it was for the 4th line of Gustafsson, Axel Jonsson-Fjallby, and Morgan Barron as they seemed to spend every shift forechecking & cycling in the offensive zone. Unfortunately, Barron got sucked in a little deep on the PK to allow his brother’s OT winner, but otherwise the trio did everything but score a goal for the Jets.
- Gabe Vilardi continues to impress with his fight along the boards and ability to steal pucks with excellent stick-work. It was also nice to see Cole Perfetti get back on the scoresheet with his 10th goal of the season.
- Listened to a bit of Rick Bowness’ post-game presser and have to agree with all his points about Winnipeg’s terrible powerplay units. The team needs to have way more movement with the extra man, as they are letting the PKers just stand in their protective box and not making them expend energy to keep the passing/shooting lanes covered. I think the team needs to practice playing in all the spots on the PP, so the players don’t remain in their “spots” for the entire advantage.
A disappointing result against the Habs, but let’s give the team some credit from coming back from a two goal deficit to almost steal a couple points. At least they walked away with one and maybe the hiccup will make Winnipeg take their last two games before the holiday break more seriously.
NEXT GAME: Detroit Red Wings @ Winnipeg Jets – Wednesday, December 20th @ 6:30 pm Central
Winnipeg goaltending prospect Thomas Milic is having an excellent start to his professional career. He has a 9-2-1 record with the ECHL’s Norfolk Admirals, including a save % of .920 and a goals against average of 2.24.
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