The Winnipeg Jets were hosting the San Jose Sharks on Wednesday evening and hoping to extend a winning streak in front of their hometown fans. In a game featuring the two lowest scoring offenses in 1st periods, what would the ticket buyers be in store for in the opening period?
The Sharks hadn’t played a game in 13 days and they looked anxious to get back at it, as they took control of the early flow of play and quickly tested Hellebuyck with 4 straight shots. However, the Jets eventually found their legs and the game swung clearly in their favour for the remainder of the period. It was a good forecheck shift by the Monahan line that allowed Winnipeg to start spending time in the offensive zone, but after that all the Jets’ lines had their opportunities. After 9 straight low-to-medium danger shots on San Jose’s Kahkonen, the Jets’ powerplay got a chance when Ehlers was hooked in the neutral zone. The top unit did very little with their time, but the second group had a couple looks (DeMelo shot deflected over net & Pionk point shot) in yet another failed Winnipeg man-advantage. The Scheifele trio put on some pressure post-PP and the center had a great high danger shot from the low slot, but once again the Sharks’ tender was there to deny the Jets. With 11 straight shots on net, Winnipeg continued to push and when Lowry stopped a clearing attempt at the blue line, the Jets went back on the attack. After a brief cycle around the perimeter, the puck found itself on the stick of Pionk at the right point. His shot towards the net had good traffic in front of it and both Lowry & Barron managed to deflect the puck to confuse Kahkonen and give Winnipeg a 1 to 0 lead with just over 2 minutes to play. The Jets had one last chance before the period expired, with Monahan being denied on a rebound, and the frame ended with the home team sending 15 straight shots at SJ’s net.
First Period MoneyPuck Stats: Score: 1 to 0 for the Jets, shots 15 to 4 for the Jets, 72% Deserve To Win for the Jets, Expected Goals – all situations (1.16-0.43 WPG), & 5 on 5 (1.07-0.43 WPG)
Winnipeg got another powerplay chance early in the 2nd period, but other than a great low slot look from Vilardi, the team failed to impress. San Jose picked up their play for a bit and spent a couple shifts forechecking in the Jets’ zone, eventually resulting in a slashing penalty on Perfetti. The Sharks did absolutely nothing with the man-advantage and it was Winnipeg who had the better opportunities (Iafallo SH rush and a nice power move by Lowry to physically split the defenders). The teams traded chances for a bit (Bucky flashes a glove to deny a SJ rush & Niederreiter fails to finish on a breakaway), but eventually the Jets start to control the puck again. Despite being dominated, the Sharks did almost tie the game when Hellebuyck was down & out, but a backhand shot destined to find twine was stopped by Scheifele’s knee, then the center smartly swatted the puck out of the blue paint to end the danger. Winnipeg finished the frame with a couple more chances (Fetti sets up Vilardi in the low slot & Ehlers passed to KFC for a net-side shot) and MoneyPuck’s shot chart certainly shows who was in control of the game.
After Two Periods MoneyPuck Stats: Score: 1 to 0 for the Jets, shots 31 to 11 for the Jets, 82% Deserve to Win for the Jets, Expected Goals – all situations (2.29-068 WPG) & 5 on 5 (2.16-0.65 WPG)
It doesn’t matter that Winnipeg had largely out-played San Jose to this point, their lack of finishing touch has kept the visiting team in the game. Since I am already running a bit late, I will be a bit brief for the 3rd period recap. The Jets continued to get the better chances, but they did give up quite a few looks against as well. If you compare the 2nd & 3rd period shot charts, you will see Winnipeg added a lot of prime scoring shots in the final frame but San Jose more than double their good looks. In the end, our squad just couldn’t find a way to add another goal, but they did hold on for Bucky’s 3rd shutout of the season.
After Three Periods MoneyPuck Stats: 90% Deserve to Win for the Jets, Expected Goals – all situations (3.91-1.25 WPG) & 5 on 5 (3.79-0.97 WPG)
FINAL SCORE: WINNIPEG JETS 1 SAN JOSE SHARKS 0
SHOTS: WINNIPEG JETS 40 SAN JOSE SHARKS 18
Game Observations:
- Connor Hellebuyck picked up the shutout, his 35th in the NHL, but only had to make 18 saves, the lowest amount he had to stop to put up a goose egg. Looking like we’re going to need his A+ game on Saturday versus the Canucks with the lack of Winnipeg scoring.
- I thought Logan Stanley had one of his better games, playing physical and making quite a few good defensive plays to take away the puck from opposing forwards. Of course, he also had an absolutely horrible pass from behind his net intercepted in the slot, forcing Bucky to make one of his better saves on the night.
- I was a bit worried about Mark Scheifele last night, as I felt he had a slow start. But Scheif certainly gained steam as the game went along and he was making plays on both ends of the ice throughout the match.
- So many scoring chances, so little the goal total. A constant refrain lately, but Kaapo Kahkonen was very solid in turning aside 39 of 40 shots. With expected goals just under 4 goals versus the Sharks, the Winnipeg Jets really have to find a way to solve their scoring woes.
Last night’s victory helps the Jets keep pace with the Colorado Avalanche & Dallas Stars in the race for the Central Division title. A bigger test is on the horizon though.
NEXT GAME: Winnipeg Jets @ Vancouver Canucks – Saturday, February 17th @ 9:00 pm Central
Dominic Toninato scored on a breakaway in the 3rd period to tie the Manitoba Moose-Calgary Wrangler game at one. Overtime couldn’t decide the game and it went to overtime, where Winnipeg prospects’ Brad Lambert & Nikita Chibrikov made sweet moves to win the game. The Moose are now seriously pushing for that final playoff spot, but will have a tough test when they face division rival Milwaukee this weekend.
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