The Winnipeg Jets were hoping to get back to winning ways in Toronto on Wednesday evening, but Auston Matthews and the Maple Leafs were hoping to give the visiting team their second straight loss. A glimpse into how well our team has played this year, a loss tonight would give Winnipeg just their second 2 game losing streak of the season (have also had two 3 game losing streaks). Let’s find out if they found a way to bounce back from the debacle in Boston.
Winnipeg opened the first period with a jump in their step and took the early play to Toronto, outshooting the Leafs 9 to 1 in the first 9 minutes. The best early scoring chance for the Jets came when Kupari stole the puck in the neutral zone before skating into the offensive zone and firing a low shot labeled for the far corner. However, Samsonov made a great stretch toe save to keep the game scoreless and Winnipeg received some bad news a bit later when Morrissey blocked a shot from close range, sending him off to the dressing room to get his “lower body” checked out, The Jets continued to control the flow of play, resulting in the Scotiabank Arena becoming eerily quiet. The visiting squad had one last great scoring opportunity in the 1st when Namestnikov rushed up the ice and set up Ehlers for a quick shot from the low slot (off goaltender’s mask and away from danger). MoneyPuck wasn’t working early in the evening, so here is where TSN said the Jets’ shots came from.
First Period MoneyPuck Stats: Score: 0 to 0 tie, shots 16 to 4 for the Jets, 70% Deserve To Win for the Jets, Expected Goals – all situations (1.50-0.59 WPG), & 5 on 5 (1.50-0.59 WPG)
The second frame saw the Maple Leafs work their way back into the game with the assistance of the officials (three straight powerplays), but the Jets’ PKers did a fantastic job to limit chances and Brossoit was there to clean up any shots that did get through while short-handed. Mid-way through the period, Winnipeg received the news that Morrissey wouldn’t be returning, so it was up to the remaining 5 defensemen to get the job done. The Jets ended up being out-shot 11 to 4 in the 2nd, but they were still getting some scoring chances at 5 on 5. That being said, Winnipeg’s best chance to open the scoring came on their 1st penalty kill, when Kupari and Lowry were sprung on an uncontested 2 on 0 breakaway. A bunch of passing back and forth ended with a good look from Lowry, but he couldn’t raise the puck over Samsonov’s butterflied pads. The rebound popped out to Kupari at the other side of the net, but once again a Winnipeg forward couldn’t raise the puck over the goaltender’s equipment. MoneyPuck is back up and running, here are the stats and shot chart after two periods.
After Two Periods MoneyPuck Stats: Score: 0 to 0 tie, shots 20 to 15 for the Jets, 66% Deserve to Win for the Jets, Expected Goals – all situations (2.35-1.35 WPG) & 5 on 5 (1.88-0.73 WPG)
Toronto opened the final frame with a couple scoring chances (Marner/Jarnkrok), but Brossoit was there to keep the game scoreless. The refs gave the Leafs their 4th straight PP early in the 3rd and while the Jets did a fairly good job, they did need their goalie to make a couple huge saves on Nylander & Matthews. Back at 5 on 5, Winnipeg had a look of their own when Kupari and Jonsson-Fjallby were sprung on a 2 on 1, but the Finnish winger couldn’t beat Samsonov with a shot from the slot. The officials were determined to help Toronto take a lead and this time sent DeMelo off for a trip, giving the Leafs their 5th straight man-advantage. This time the Jets completely shut down the PP and Nylander ended up taking the Leafs first penalty when he drove Samberg into the boards from behind. The short Winnipeg powerplay was uneventful, but the Jets received another chance when Appleton was hauled down on the forecheck with time running out. Unable to get set up before the period ended, the visitors would take their man-advantage into overtime.
After Three Periods MoneyPuck Stats: Score: 0 to 0 tie, shots 28 to 28 tie, 56% Deserve to Win for the Jets, Expected Goals – all situations (2.71-2.49 WPG) & 5 on 5 (2.23-0.84 WPG)
For the first time of the game, Winnipeg actually got set up with the 4 on 3 skater advantage, resulting in a couple shots on net from Connor and a great drag & shot by Ehlers that couldn’t get past Samsonov’s shoulder. Back at even strength, Pionk tried to force a pass through the middle of the defensive zone, but Robertson was able to bat the puck out of the air. After that, the Jets never regained possession and in the scramble to switch to defense, Matthews was allowed to find space between Pionk & Ehlers in front of the Winnipeg net. Defenseman Rielly noticed that failure in defensive structure, sending the puck to the crease for the Leafs’ leading scorer to pocket his 39th marker of the season.
FINAL SCORE: TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS 1 WINNIPEG JETS 0 OT
SHOTS: WINNIPEG JETS 32 TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS 30
Game Observations:
- A disappointing loss for sure, especially for Laurent Brossoit. He played very well throughout the game, turning aside 29 of 30 shots to earn a .976 save percentage and 1.79 Goals Saved Above Expected.
- That being said, the Winnipeg Jets as a team played a very structured, high tempo game without three of their star players on the ice (Josh Morrissey, Mark Scheifele, & Gabe Vilardi) and created enough chances to win the match. The Jets only allowed the high-powered Maple Leafs to create 0.84 expected goals (xG) at 5 on 5, as compared to Winnipeg’s 2.23 xG.
- With Morrissey only getting in 7:17 before his injury, it resulted in every defenseman except Nate Schmidt ending up with over 20 minutes of icetime.
- The lineup changes helped somewhat, as the 1st (Kyle Connor, Vlad Namestnikov, & Nik Ehlers) and 4th lines (Morgan Barron, Rasmus Kupari, & Axel Jonsson-Fjallby) owned the expected goals at 5 on 5, with 81.5% and 90% of xG respectively.
- Another rough night in the face-off circles, with Toronto coming away with the puck 64% of the time. That didn’t stop the penalty killers from an impressive outing, shutting down the Leafs on 5 straight powerplays.
Our squad came so close to being the first team to shut out the Toronto Maple Leafs in 191 attempts, the Bross-Wall deserved that honour but the boys will have to start focusing on the upcoming rematch in Winnipeg instead.
NEXT GAME: Toronto Maple Leafs @ Winnipeg Jets – Saturday, January 27th @ 6:00 pm Central
The Manitoba Moose got some good news with the return of Brad Lambert (4 shots) to the lineup, but newly recalled Thomas Milic couldn’t end the Jets’ minor league affiliate’s extended losing streak despite stopping 23 of 25 attempts (.920%).
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