Vladislav Namestnikov and the Winnipeg Jets were in Florida to take on his former team on Wednesday evening, with the Russian forward hoping to pick up a win on his birthday. Both franchises were coming in on winning streaks, so this one should be good. Let’s see how it went….
Tampa Bay & Winnipeg traded opportunities early in the 1st period, with Connor setting up Scheifele for a dangerous 1 timer and Hellebuyck denying a similar chance from the Lightnings’ Hagel. After that, the Bolts started to take control of the game, testing the Winnipeg tender on multiple occasions, including a breakaway glove save off a Hagel shot. The Namestnikov line responded for the Jets and they spent their shift in TB’s zone cycling the puck. Eventually the puck worked its way to the point and a DeMelo wrister through traffic resulted in a large rebound. Morrissey had been in deep on the cycle and opted to stay down low, being in the perfect spot to hammer the puck into a yawning cage to give the visitors a 1-0 lead early in the game. Scoring the first goal in the game is a great sign for Winnipeg, as they are 7-1-1 when scoring first. The Lightning went back to heavily pressing the Jets’ defense, but Bucky and a good defensive stick kept them off the scoreboard. Fortunately for Winnipeg, the Namestnikov trio was able to spend most of their shifts in Tampa’s zone and they were able to draw the Jets’ 1st powerplay when Ehlers was hauled down in the corner. The top PP unit struggled to get set up, having difficulties gaining the offensive zone with puck possession. After setting up Perfetti for a 1 timer, they were able to maintain possession as the PP time dwindled away. Morrissey ended up sending a wrister towards the net and Scheifele was able to re-direct the puck from 22 feet out and Tampa’s Johansson couldn’t react in time as Winnipeg took a 2 goal lead. The hometown Bolts went back on the offensive trying to get on the board, challenging Hellebuyck on multiple occasions. The former Vezina winner was on his game and kept the puck out of his net, but the pressure resulted in Tampa’s first PP of the game. The NHL’s 4th best units came onto the ice and were immediately given a break when Appleton was hit with a shot attempt from Kucherov. While Apples was able to get back into the play, he was far from 100% and was caught out of position on a Stamkos’ 1 timer. The long-time Bolts’ shot found the smallest of spaces above Hellebuyck’s shoulder, bringing Tampa Bay to within 1 goal with 2 minutes to play. Winnipeg attempted to respond before the period expired with a nice give & go play between Connor & Scheifele, but a back-checking Kucherov was enough to disrupt the scoring chance.
First Period Stats: Score: 2 to 1 for the Jets, shots 14 to 10 for the Lightning, 50.5% Deserve To Win for the Lightning, Expected Goals – all situations (1.12-1.09 WPG), & 5 on 5 (0.99-0.55 TB)
Going into the 2nd period, both team’s 4th lines had only been on for 3 shifts each, as Tampa & Winnipeg heavily relied on their top three lines. The Lightning had an early chance on the Jets, but good defensive play by the top line saw all three forwards down low to break up the opportunity. After Pionk set up Scheifele for a 1 timer that resulted in a good pad save, the Bolts were back to pressuring for the equalizer. Hellebuyck had to come up big with 2 quick saves, but the puck trickled in behind him. Fortunately for Winnipeg, DeMelo was there to scoop it under the sprawled goalie as Lightning players descended on the puck. The ref blew the whistle just as Jeannot dug the biscuit from under Bucky and jammed it into the net. The striped men had a discussion that oddly ended with a decision that the Tampa Bay player interfered with the Jets’ goaltender instead of going with the fact that the puck was covered & one of them blew the whistle prior to the goal. Lightning coach Cooper had the option to challenge, but probably rightly choose to pass because I can’t see how the play could have ever been ruled a good goal. The Bolts weren’t deterred and pinned Winnipeg’s top line in their own end on the next shift. Scheifele had a chance to get the puck out, but his attempt up the boards to Connor was denied, prolonging the pressure of the Jets’ defense. Hagel took advantage of the confusion and found Point all alone to the left of the slot. The center was able to walk right in on Hellebuyck before firing the perfect shot over the goalie’s left shoulder to tie the game up. Winnipeg had been getting dominated in the 2nd to that point, but began to pick up their play. The Lowry line almost got lucky with a deflection off a defender’s skate and the Namestnikov line spent a couple shifts in the offensive end. The best look they had was when Ehlers threw a cross-ice pass to find Perfetti parked at the backdoor, but a great slide across by Johansson denied the shot with a pad save. In the 9 minutes of play since the game was tied, the Jets had outshot the Lightning 5 to 2 and they kept coming with a couple more scoring chances for the Namestnikov trio. The Bolts countered for a bit and once again Hellebuyck came up big on a shot from the slot, then Ehlers made a great defensive play by diving to break up a cross-ice pass attempt. After being dominated for most of the period, Winnipeg started to show signs of life and we will see if they could carry that into the final frame.
After Two Periods Stats: Score: 2 to 2 tie, shots 26 to 21 for the Lightning, 68.7% Deserve to Win for the Lightning, Expected Goals – all situations (2.89-1.50 TB) & 5 on 5 (2.78-0.92 TB)
The game definitely tightened up in the 3rd period, as neither squad wanted to waste the chance to add another 2 points to their totals and they combined for only 2 shots in the opening 4 minutes. For the Jets, the 4th line was starting to see a bit more ice-time and Barron had a couple quality looks on Tampa’s net. The Lightning had some opportunities of their own when the Kucherov-Hagel line spent a shift causing havoc in the Jets’ zone and an Ehlers’ turnover in the neutral zone led to more scoring chances. At the mid-point of the period, Tampa held a 30 to 26 shot advantage, but the visiting Jets were gaining steam. The 4th line impressed again with more o-zone time and both Gustafsson & Barron were denied from good scoring areas. The physical play started to pick up, as both teams had some big hits and Winnipeg had one last scoring chance in the 3rd when Connor made a good play in the Jets’ end before starting out on a rush. A give & go with Scheifele in the neutral zone allowed the sniper to skate into the slot and force the goaltender to make a quality toe save. The Jets didn’t allow a shot against in the final 10 minutes of play in an impressive display of shut-down defense.
After Three Periods Stats: Score: 2 to 2 tie, shots 30 to 29 for the Lightning, 56.7% Deserve to Win for the Lightning, Expected Goals – all situations (3.01-2.36 TB) & 5 on 5 (2.91-1.79 TB)
Winnipeg had the early chance in OT when Ehler flew into the slot, firing a shot that caused a big rebound. Johansson was able to deny that shot and the following rebound, allowing the Lightning to gain control of the puck. A nice back-check by Connor disrupted a Kucherov rush in the neutral zone and the Jets had puck possession once again. Lowry, Namestnikov, & Pionk jumped over the boards and the two forwards broke out on a 2 on 2 rush into Tampa’s zone. The Russian birthday boy carried the puck around the net, but was rubbed off the puck in the right corner. Pionk was supporting well and quickly swooped in to pick up the biscuit, immediately creating a mini-2 on 1 with Lowry in front of the net. The Jets’ defenseman waited patiently to find a passing lane through the defender, eventually slipping it between their stick and legs to find Winnipeg’s captain all alone. The big guy hasn’t netted a goal in a while, but he stepped up to the plate and scored the game-sealing marker to give the visiting team a valuable win.
FINAL SCORE: WINNIPEG JETS 3 TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING 2 (OT)
SHOTS: WINNIPEG JETS 32 TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING 31
Game Observations:
- Connor Hellebuyck was a star in this game, denying many high-danger shots, bringing his season save percentage up to .900% for the first time this year. Good to see that he is settling down after the excitement of signing a huge contract just prior to the season.
- Only the 4th line of David Gustafsson, Morgan Barron, & Axel Jonsson-Fjallby were advanced stat darlings in this game, putting up 79.6% of the expected goals in 6:08 of 5 on 5 ice-time. The trio were very good in the 3rd period.
- Cole Perfetti and Mark Scheifele led the Jets in shots on net (5), while picking up a point to make their yearly totals 14 & 22 pts respectively.
- While the Vladislav Namestnikov line didn’t do well in the expected goals battle, Nik Ehlers and his linemates created many quality looks throughout the game.
- The Adam Lowry, Nino Niederreiter, & Mason Appleton line wasn’t at their best, but they did an adequate job of containing some powerful Tampa lines. The group now has 38 pts combined in 18 games….not bad for a “3rd line”, eh?
- The Dylan Samberg–Nate Schmidt duo led Winnipeg’s defense in expected goals (58.7%), performing well in their 14 minutes of ice-time.
- MoneyPuck Stats: 51.7% Deserve to Win for the Lightning, 3.21 to 2.55 in expected goals (all situations) for the Lightning, and 2.96 to 1.65 in expected goals (5 on 5) for Tampa Bay.
Kind of a roller-coaster type of game with momentum going back and forward throughout. The Lightning definitely controlled the middle frame, but Winnipeg showed resiliency and out-played a strong opponent in the third period. Hellebuyck did his part in keeping the Jets in this game, the powerplay is starting to score, but the PKers did allow a goal against on the Bolts’ only PP. It wasn’t the best example of Winnipeg’s top game, but they continue to be exciting to watch.
NEXT GAME: Winnipeg Jets @ Florida Panthers – Friday, November 24th @ 7 pm Central
The Manitoba Moose got blown out again, allowing 6 goals in the opening two periods. The final frame saw Chibrikov light the lamp twice and he now sits in 15th in AHL scoring (3rd in rookie scoring). Lambert also picked up a helper, as the Jets’ top prospects continue to be offensively productive in the minors.
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