The Winnipeg Jets were in California and looking for a victory to launch them into 1st place of the Central Division….could they get it done? Let’s find out.
A great start to the game saw Winnipeg’s 1st line immediately head into Anaheim’s zone to create scoring chances. Unfortunately, Scheifele’s quality look from the face-off dot was blocked by a defender and a Connor 1 timer sailed high and wide of the Ducks’ Gibson. The Jets dominance was short lived, as the home squad responded with opportunities of their own, testing Hellebucyk when a Duck player stepped into the low slot. Our squad got back on the offensive with a couple good shifts and almost got on the board when Barron narrowly missed pouncing on a rebound from a Morrissey point shot. We then saw the most recent 2nd overall draft pick, Leo Carlsson, rush up the ice before challenging Bucky from the top of the face-off circle. Gustafsson continued to impress, this time with a solid backcheck that saw him steal the puck in the defensive zone, nullifying an odd-man rush against. The two franchises settled into a period of neutral zone play before the feisty Namestnikov got slashed on the forecheck, sending Winnipeg to their 1st powerplay of the game. A face-off win immediately resulted in an early scoring chance, but Anaheim was able to clear the puck before denying a couple zone entry attempts. The Jets were able to get set up again in the second half of the PP, but Gibson was able to stop a 1 timer attempt from Scheifele with Vilardi standing on the doorstep. The shots were even at 6 at the mid-point of the period, but Winnipeg started to push for a couple shifts with the 1st and 4th lines. On their next shift, the Jets’ top trio displayed their talents with a lovely tic-tac-toe passing play, but Connor couldn’t manage to get a great shot off when the puck hopped on the bad ice. The Jets got another PP chance when the Ducks were caught with too many men on the ice, but they weren’t able to do much with it until Connor set up Scheifele for a last second chance from the side of the net. Not much happened for the remainder of the period, though Winnipeg did have another opportunity when the 3rd line created a large rebound that Samberg tried to pounce on, only to whiff on the puck.
First Period Stats: Score: 0 to 0 tie, shots 14 to 8 for the Jets, 63% Deserve to Win for the Jets, Expected Goals – all situations (0.79-0.33 WPG) & 5 on 5 (0.72-0.32 WPG)
The Jets started the 2nd with their top line and once again they immediately went on the offensive. This time it was Connor who skated the puck into Anaheim’s end before cutting into the low slot. He was a bit off balance, with all his weight on his right leg but was able to get off a shot that couldn’t beat Gibson’s pad. As Winnipeg’s top scorer tried to recover his feet, the Ducks’ Strome stuck out his own knee to connect solidly with Connor’s, sending the sniper immediately to the ice grasping his leg in pain. Scheifele grabbed onto Strome to show his displeasure and after a bit of a tussle, the refs reviewed the play and determined that the Duck player needed to be sent off the ice. So, the Jets had a 5 minute PP to work with, but they would be without Connor (dressing room) and Scheifele (penalty box). The result was a so-so powerplay becoming a terrible powerplay, as Winnipeg only managed an early point shot from Morrissey over the entire advantage. After failing to capitalize on their own powerplay, the Jets decided to send the Ducks to one of their own when a careless stick sent Morrissey to the box for two or less. Winnipeg did an excellent job on the PK, with the best plays being a block and clear by Lowry and Dillon knocking a pass out of the air before firing the puck down the ice. Things opened up for a bit after the teams returned to even strength, with a Jets 3 on 1 being quickly followed by a Ducks 4 on 2. The tenders were on their game and kept it scoreless, but Anaheim was starting to press for the first marker. What remained of the Jets 1st line got stuck in their own end and a point shot almost beat a screened Hellebuyck, but he managed to stretch at the last second to get a toe on the puck. Pionk got caught holding the stick of the Duck trying to get the rebound and Anaheim was back on the powerplay. A clean face-off loss forced Hellebuyck to deny a quality look from Vatrano, but the PKers settled in and Lowry, Gustafsson, & Appleton all made plays to clear the zone. Nearing the end of the man-advantage, Dillon sprawled on the ice in an attempt to block a passing lane, but when the puck did get by him, it left a wide open Killorn on the door step for not one, not two, but three whacks at the biscuit before he finally got it up and over Bucky’s pad. A stunned Winnipeg team couldn’t manage any real opportunities in the last 4 minutes of the second and went into the dressing room down a goal.
After Two Periods Stats Score: 1 to 0 for the Ducks, shots 23 to 19 for the Jets, 53.6% Deserve to Win for the Ducks, Expected Goals – all situations (1.66-1.20 ANA) & 5 on 5 (0.88-0.51 ANA)
The Jets had another good opening shift, with Iafallo joining Scheifele & Ehlers for a cycle shift. The new addition quickly got into a scoring area and rang a hard shot off the iron from the low slot. Anaheim was able to counter immediately with a 3 on 2 rush and Henrique was able to cleanly beat Hellebucyk from the left face-off dot to put the Ducks up by 2. Giving up a goal in the first 2 minutes, Winnipeg had to respond and that they did when Namestnikov rushed up the left boards before hitting Niederreiter driving to the net with a perfect pass. The Jets make it 2 to 1, just 43 seconds after going down two, and that gives the team a boost. Scheifele double-shifted with the 4th line and they rushed up the ice with Barron in control. A nice zone entry by the Nova Scotian allowed the line to get established and eventually work the puck back to the point. A Morrissey point shot through bodies in front caused a rebound that was just sitting there…seemingly forever. Thankfully for Jets’ fans, Barron was able to get there to almost tomahawk the puck by a butterflied Gibson to tie the game with 14 minutes to play. Winnipeg now had the momentum and things were looking great until the refs had the nerve to give them a 5th powerplay. The ineffectiveness of the PP units once again killed all the Jets’ energy and it was Anaheim who came out of the man-advantage with a jump in their steps. Hellebuyck had to earn his big salary with a handful of big saves over the next three minutes, including a couple in quick succession. Barron once again had a chance from in front of the net when he banged a rebound off a post, but the Ducks were quickly back on the attack. Bucky likely saved the game when he made a poke check on an Anaheim player trying to carry the puck across the face of his crease and the game entered the final 2 minutes of the third. The 2nd line was able to get back into the Ducks’ zone and after cycling the puck for a bit, another Morrissey point shot was deflected by Vilardi as he stretched out his stick, sending the puck bouncing between Gibson’s legs to give Winnipeg the lead with 1:43 left. Anaheim was able to pull their goalie for the extra attacker with a minute remaining and were able to pin Winnipeg briefly, but Ehlers ended up intercepting a pass through the slot. He skated the puck out of the Jets’ end before flipping it to Scheifele on the open wing. The game was sealed with the empty netter and Winnipeg was able to come out victorious in an emotional match.
FINAL SCORE: WINNIPEG JETS 4 ANAHEIM DUCKS 2
SHOTS: WINNIPEG JETS 31 ANAHEIM DUCKS 27
Game Observations:
- It was terrible to see Kyle Connor lying on the ice after taking the knee-to-knee hit from Dylan Strome. The lack of movement by the winger after being hit and the inability to put any weight on the leg as he went off the ice doesn’t bode well. The Duck player had plenty of time to avoid contact, but rather stuck out his knee to ensure he got a piece of the Winnipeg sniper, so the NHL better suspend him for multiple games. Not that Strome missing time helps the Jets at all, but it’s a matter of principle & player safety. Connor has been very durable over his career, even though he is not a huge guy (187 lbs). The American winger has only missed 20 regular season games over 6 years, for a total of 4% of his potential matches. Get well soon, KFC!!
- It’s very possible that Morgan Barron was the best Winnipeg Jet on the ice last night. The 4th liner was noticeable throughout the game. Barron either led or was close to the lead in many categories…bodychecks, shots on net, takeaways, plus/minus, & blocked shots. He also added his 5th goal of the season, which is solid production from the bottom of the lineup. His linemate David Gustafsson also played well yet again, picking up an assist while being great on the forecheck. The big Swede is looking quicker this season…could this be the year the Gus Bus puts it all together to become a regular NHLer?
- Very nice to see Mark Scheifele playing with emotion consistently this season. While having him step up to fight someone isn’t ideal, standing up for your teammates is never a bad move. Winnipeg’s top center was rewarded with an empty net goal and the Jets might need Scheifele to start potting pucks more often with Connor possibly on the shelf for an extended period.
- The powerplays for the Jets were absolutely horrible last night. The 5 minute PP without Connor or Scheifele struggled mightily, but the other 4 weren’t much better. MoneyPuck had Winnipeg with 0.47 expected goals when the teams weren’t at 5 on 5, which is terrible when you consider that they had around 12 minutes with an extra man.
- Gabe Vilardi netted his 1st goal as a Winnipeg Jet with a lovely deflection, but perhaps his most amazing stat from the game was 9:28 of ice-time on the PP. Cole Perfetti also had a lot of shifts with the man-advantage, ending with 9:25 while Nik Ehlers was third for forwards with 7:08.
- Josh Morrissey had an impressive evening with over 30 minutes of ice-time against Anaheim, including 10 minutes on the powerplay. The defender ended up with 2 primary assists on the game tying and game winning goals, while leading Winnipeg in shots on net (4) and plus/minus (+2).
- MoneyPuck Stats: 50.2% Deserve to Win for the Jets, 2.18 to 1.97 in expected goals (all situations) for the Ducks, and 1.50 to 0.96 in expected goals (5 on 5) for the Jets.
Definitely wasn’t a text book example of how to beat a “lesser” team, but the Winnipeg Jets came away with 2 points regardless to vault them into 1st place in the Central Division (tied with Colorado, but have a game in hand).
NEXT GAME: Winnipeg Jets @ San Jose Sharks – Tuesday, December 12th @ 7 pm Central
We will have to wait for news on the severity of Kyle Connor’s knee injury, but this is the deepest depth the Jets have had at forward so they should be in a position to weather the storm. Does Kevin Cheveldayoff stick with the safe route by inserting Jonsson-Fjallby back in the lineup and calling up someone like Dominic Toninato to be the extra forward or does he try something a bit different and give a younger player like Brad Lambert or Nikita Chibrikov a look in Winnipeg’s top six? That’s another thing we will have to be patient about, but we may get a hint if the Jets make any roster moves.
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