Going to try something a bit different for today’s recap, as my herniated disc continues to cause me issues and doesn’t allow prolonged standing/sitting to type. Hopefully things will be back to normal for the next game.
The Tampa Bay Lightning came out to play in the 1st period and definitely had the flow of play going their way. Winnipeg did an okay job of limiting high-danger looks, but there were occasional breakdowns. However, a phantom high-sticking call on Lowry gave the Lightning a chance to take advantage of the Jets’ poor PK and they were successful on a Stamkos 1 timer. Winnipeg had a few good looks (the best being a Scheifele 1 timer from the low slot after he was set up by Niederreiter), but couldn’t beat Vasilevskiy in the opening period. Hellebuyck kept Winnipeg in the game and he was helped by some good defensive plays by forwards (both Niederreiter & Scheifele intercepted passes to stop scoring chances). The shot chart from MoneyPuck below shows Tampa had the better of things in the first.
First Period MoneyPuck Stats: Score: 1 to 0 for the Lightning, shots 11 to 7 for the Lightning, 75% Deserve To Win for the Lightning, Expected Goals – all situations (1.86-0.66 TB), & 5 on 5 (1.27-0.65 TB)
Winnipeg started out the 2nd on a powerplay but couldn’t get anything done with the extra skater. A great shift by the 4th line saw AJF barely miss scoring on a 1 timer and they eventually were rewarded when Dillon make a beautiful shot/pass to Pionk in the low slot, allowing the defender to deflect it by the Lightning tender to tie the game 4:44 in. Less than 5 minutes later, the Jets’ 2nd line dumped the puck into the left corner and began the forecheck. After a battle for the puck in the corner, the puck popped out to Iafallo, who quickly passed it off to Perfetti. The young winger cut to the center of the ice before letting a shot go from about 10 feet out, only for Vasilevskiy to kick the puck out with his pad. The rebound went back to almost the same spot Perfetti shot from, but this time it was Iafallo’s turn and he was able to beat the Bolts’ goalie. Tampa had another PP chance shortly after, but this time Winnipeg was able to stop them from scoring. The Jets almost added to their lead in the dying seconds when Scheifele sent a pass from the right offensive corner to the slot, allowing a Perfetti 1 timer that saw Vasilevskiy put another highlight reel save on his “Best of” tape. MoneyPuck’s shot chart shows the Jets were starting to tilt the ice in their favour after 2 periods, finally taking advantage of Tampa’s 13 forward/5 defensemen lineup.
After Two Periods MoneyPuck Stats: Score: 2 to 1 for the Jets, shots 26 to 15 for the Lightning, 67% Deserve to Win for the Lightning, Expected Goals – all situations (2.74-1.65 TB) & 5 on 5 (2.09-1.49 TB)
The Jets opened up the 3rd period with almost back-to-back powerplays. While Winnipeg did manage more shots on net than usual, they still weren’t creating those high danger chances with the man-advantage. Our squad played an amazing final period, not allowing Tampa a shot on Hellebuyck for the first 17 minutes of the final frame. They added to their goal total when a Lowry line cycle shift trapped the Bolts in their own end. The 2nd line came on the ice while Winnipeg maintained pressure and when Vasilevskiy tried to clear the puck up the middle of the ice, Namestnikov was able to knock it down. I’ll let AIH member Karlitos take it from here “Really smart play by Namestnikov on the Ehlers goal, soooo many guys would’ve just turned and tried to shovel it past Vasilevskiy and likely not scored whereas he had the hockey sense and patience to dish the puck to a teammate that’s facing the goal with a clear shot on net.”
Tampa tried to pull the goalie with just over 2 minutes left, but Toninato & Barron immediately combined to set up an empty net goal. The Lightning got a late PP when Hellebuyck had to trip up Glendenning to stop a scoring chance. Once again the Bolts scored on a PP 1 timer, this time off the stick of Kucherov. The full game shot chart from MoneyPuck shows how dominant the Winnipeg Jets were in the 3rd period, getting 2.77 expected goals in just that frame, and equaling or beating Tampa Bay in chances.
FINAL SCORE: WINNIPEG JETS 4 TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING 2
SHOTS: TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING 35 WINNIPEG JETS 27
Game Observations:
- MoneyPuck Stats: 50.6% Deserve to Win for the Jets, 4.42 to 3.88 in expected goals (all situations) for the Jets, and 2.95 to 2.76 in expected goals (5 on 5) for the Jets.
- The Winnipeg Jets have now gone 26 straight games without allowing more than 3 goals against, which is a franchise record. They have the third longest streak in the expansion era of the NHL (since 1967), trailing St. Louis by one game and Minnesota by nine. The Jets also extended their dominance of the Eastern Conference and have a 10-0-3 record against franchises near the east coast.
- Face-offs remain an issue for the Jets though as they had won only 40% in the first 2 periods and finished the game at 43.2%.
- Another great game by Winnipeg’s 4th line, ending the night with 91.7% of expected goals and 75% of the unblocked shot attempts (Fenwick). Morgan Barron picked up a goal & assist, as well as helping out defensively with 2 blocks. Dominic Toninato continued his point streak with an assist, but struggled a bit at the face-off dot (2 for 8). Axel Jonsson-Fjallby didn’t pick up any points despite having a couple looks on net, but did help out with his tenacious forecheck and defensive play (block/2 hits).
- The only better Jets’ forward unit was the Vladislav Namestnikov trio, with 96.2% of expected goals and 75% of the unblocked shot attempts (Fenwick). Vlad was all over the ice against Tampa and amassed 3 helpers, a +3 rating, and went 4 for 7 on face-offs. Cole Perfetti picked up an assist and had a few glorious chances to score on Vasilevskiy. Alex Iafallo also had one of his better outings in a Winnipeg uniform, getting multiple chances on net (4) and picking up his first goal in a while.
- With a bounty of good forward lines last night, the Adam Lowry group also made their mark on the game. Winnipeg’s captain didn’t manage to pick up any points, but he was part of a line that had 82.8% of the expected goals and was strong at the dot (8 of 11 wins). The key player on that line last night was Nino Niederreiter, who’s quality play made an impact offensively (4 shots) and defensively (3 hits).
- Nik Ehlers was the only forward on the Jets’ top line that seemed fully on their games, getting 5 shots on net to go along with his goal. Mark Scheifele wasn’t very impactful offensively versus the Lightning, though he did make a beautiful pass to set up Perfetti. At least he was still getting involved on the defensive side of things with 3 blocks, 3 hits, and at least one intercepted pass in the defensive zone. Winnipeg’s top line finished the game with a miserable 2.9% of expected goals at 5 on 5.
- The Winnipeg Jets’ top two defensive pairings finished with +2 ratings as Josh Morrissey & Dylan DeMelo and Brenden Dillon & Neal Pionk effectively shut down a high-powered Tampa offense. The 3rd pairing also chipped in with 3 blocks from Nate Schmidt and 2 blocks from Dylan Samberg, continuing their strong play of late.
Here are some of my favourite comments from members during last night’s game:
“This Jets team… And to think, no Kyle Connor…” – Cooleddown
“That was a very entertaining game. What a goalie battle.” – MorroBayJets
“I was going to move to a more comfortable chair but didn’t want to jinx anything. And science wins again.” – ForgetTeemu
“Have I ever told you I love boring defensive hockey? 😂” & “This fourth line play is the stuff we Jets fans have dreamed of for years. Keep ‘er going guys! Pedal to the metal.” – Jetsdawgdayz
NEXT GAME: Winnipeg Jets @ San Jose Sharks – Thursday, January 4th @ 9:30 pm Central
Best to try to get some extra sleep early in the week, because our Jets play two late games on Thursday and Friday (Anaheim). Will be interesting to see how Winnipeg responds to seeing Strome again after Kyle Connor’s knee injury….though I’m not sure retribution will be a key focus for the Jets. We will see.
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