The Winnipeg Jets visited the St. Louis Blues last night to finish off their road trip, so let’s check out how things went.
It was the home team Blues that came out flying to start the game, pressing the Jets for the opening three or four shifts. As the game went on, Winnipeg started to even out the flow of play a bit, but had a set-back when the Blues got the first powerplay chance when Pionk hauled down a player to stop a St. Louis rush. If you think the Jets PP is doing poorly, well the Blues are at a whole ‘nother level. They have only managed one goal with the man-advantage this season (against WPG) and are sitting at a 3.6% conversion rate. So, it’s not that surprising Winnipeg was able to kill the penalty off, though DeMelo had to make a goal-saving block on a wide open net to keep the game scoreless. Shortly after the Jets had their own PP chance when Ehlers was pulled down on a rush and they almost immediately capitalized. After winning the face-off, the puck eventually worked it’s way to Iafallo at the side of the net and he slid a pass across the front of the crease to find Scheifele for the tap in PP goal to give Winnipeg a 1-0 lead. Despite going in front, the Jets were having a hard time breaking through the Blues’ neutral zone defenses and gave up a few scoring opportunities on counter-attacks. The 1st line spent another shift in the offensive zone later in the period and Binnington had to make a big save on a Connor 1-timer. They continued to press and Dillon stood up at the blueline to create another scoring chance when Scheifele found Pionk with a pass. The Minnesotan defender stepped in and beat the Blues’ tender to give Winnipeg a 2-0 lead with just under 4 minutes to play. St. Louis got back into the game when Schmidt lost a battle in the defensive zone, allowing a Blue to spin around and shoot a quick one that Hellebuyck wasn’t able to deny. The home team used the goal to up their tempo and they tested Winnipeg’s defense a couple more times before the horn blew.
First Period Stats: Score: 2 – 1 for the Jets, shots 12 to 10 for the Blues, 55.5% Deserve To Win for the Jets, Expected Goals – all situations (1.25-1.02 WPG), & 5 on 5 (0.73-0.47 STL)
It was the Winnipeg Jets that opened the period up strong in the 2nd with the first & fourth lines creating opportunities. The Kupari line continued their strong play on their next shift and ended up drawing a penalty when former Jet Kevin Hayes pulled down the speedy Finn. The Jets’ powerplay won the face-off to gain puck control and after some external passing, Connor let a 1 timer go from the top of the face-off circle to beat Binnington on the far side to give Winnipeg their 2 goal lead back as the PP goes 2 for 2 to start the game. The two squads traded high danger chances for the rest of the period that included some great looks for the Blues. Namestnikov absolutely robbed a player with a great block when Hellebuyck was caught out of position, Schenn missed a wide open net on a different look, and they ended the period with a 2 on 1 that couldn’t even get a shot on net. Winnipeg dominated the period for the most part though, outshooting the Blues 17 to 6 in the middle frame.
After Two Periods Stats Score: 3 to 1 for the Jets, shots 27 to 18 for the Jets, 78.2% Deserve to Win for the Jets, Expected Goals – all situations (2.72-1.37 WPG) & 5 on 5 (1.46-1.02 WPG)
Winnipeg pretty much sealed things up on an early 3rd period shift by the 1st line. Scheifele led a rush up the ice before setting up Connor for a high-danger 1 timer that Binnington was able to fight off. However, Scheifele won a battle behind the net and sent the puck out to Connor right in front for an easy goal. St. Louis showed some signs of life when Winnipeg got a bit too relaxed on a Blues’ rush and backed up too much, allowing Schenn to sneak the puck by Hellebuyck on the short-side. The Jets had the majority of scoring chances in the remainder of the 3rd period, but only could add a Perfetti empty netter when the Blues pulled their goalie.
FINAL SCORE: WINNIPEG JETS 5 ST. LOUIS BLUES 2
SHOTS: WINNIPEG JETS 37 ST. LOUIS BLUES 22
Game Observations:
- Wow, the Winnipeg Jets had a functional powerplay last night…going 2 for 3 with expected goals of 1.79. Definitely makes it easier to win games when your special teams’ units can get your team on the scoreboard.
- What a monster game by Mark Scheifele and the rest of the 1st line. The centerman combined with Alex Iafallo and Kyle Connor for a total of 10 pts, 11 shots (7 by Connor), and impressively had 77.5% of the expected goals when they were on the ice. Iafallo was a pest on the forecheck all night and was setting up teammates all night (4 assists). It was the best game I have seen from Scheifele in a while, let’s hope that continues.
- Two of the biggest saves of the night came from non-goaltenders, as both Dylan DeMelo and Vladislav Namestnikov stopped sure goals by using their bodies to block pucks.
- Loving that the forward’s ice-time was spread out well, with all the skaters getting between 18:49 (Scheifele) and 10:23 (Gustafsson) on the ice.
- Neal Pionk followed up his best game of the year with another solid performance and was rewarded with his first goal of the season.
- In opposition from most Jets’ games this year, the Lowry line was statistically the worst of the four tonight, though they still managed 55.4% of expected goals when on the ice. As noted above, the 1st line was in the 70’s, while Namestnikov’s line had 63.8% and Kupari’s line had 65.4%.
- MoneyPuck Stats: 81.7% Deserve to Win for the Jets, 4.04 to 1.64 in expected goals (all situations) for the Jets, and 2.25 to 1.3 in expected goals (5 on 5) for the Jets.
While the game was far from perfect from a Winnipeg Jets perspective, it was very entertaining to watch. The Blues were allowed some high danger chances and if it wasn’t for a bit of luck the game certainly could have been much closer. Regardless, the Jets have to be happy to go 2 for 3 on their road trip as they head home for a 5 game stand.
NEXT GAME: Nashville Predators @ Winnipeg Jets – Thursday, November 9th @ 7 pm Central
With last night’s victory, the Winnipeg Jets secured the 3rd spot in the Central Division for the time being and they will continue to face division-rivals in the next two games.
