The Winnipeg Jets were in for a difficult test on Saturday when they faced off against the Vancouver Canucks, the team with the best record in the NHL. Let’s see how they fared in an important clash between two of Canada’s better squads….
As might be expected when two of the league’s best defensive teams meet, the 1st period opened with the players checking tightly and the puck spending a lot of time in the neutral zone. A turnover in that zone by Ehlers resulted in a quick 2 on 1 break for Vancouver, but Hellebuyck denied two rapid shots from the top of the crease to keep the game scoreless. In a precursor of things to come, the Jets’ Barron caught the Canuck’s Zadorov with a big hit resulting in Myers responding with an elbow to Iafallo’s head. The latter hit gave Winnipeg the first of many powerplay opportunities in the game, but other than Scheifele forcefully pushing Demko and the puck across the goal crease (ruled no goal), our squad couldn’t break the scoreless game with the man-advantage. The teams traded chances when Ehlers had a good look on a rush and the Nucks ended up missing the net on an odd-man break. A cross-checking penalty to Schmidt gave Vancouver their 1st powerplay, but Winnipeg did well to severely limit chances against. However, that PK marked a shift of momentum, as the Canucks controlled the play for the remainder of the period, as MoneyPuck’s shot chart shows below.
First Period MoneyPuck Stats: Score: 0 to 0 tie, shots 13 to 7 for the Canucks, 83% Deserve To Win for the Canucks, Expected Goals – all situations (2.10-0.39 VAN), & 5 on 5 (1.35-0.32 VAN)
The Canucks started the 2nd period as they finished the opening frame and were immediately rewarded on an early rush. When a point shot was blocked in the slot, the puck bounced to Garland for a quick shot. While Hellebuyck was able to get a pad on the shot, he was unable to pull in the rebound before Juulsen netted his 1st goal of the year. After falling behind 19 seconds into the middle frame, Winnipeg tried to get physical and Dillon laid another big bodycheck. Once again, Vancouver retaliated with another elbow, this time Hoglander on Pionk, sending the Jets back to the powerplay. Our squad got set up early on the man-advantage and after a couple blocked shots, the puck worked its way to Scheifele near the mid-left boards. The center quickly moved the puck to Vilardi right to the left of Demko’s crease and the skilled winger made a quick move and shot, catching the Canuck goalie unprepared as the puck slipped through his equipment to tie the game. The game opened up a bit at this point and the teams traded some great chances (Canucks’ Myers blasts one off the post and Bucky denies Mikheyev on a breakaway, while the Jets had a great chance when Scheifele dropped a pass to Vilardi in prime slot territory). Winnipeg’s heart & soul captain did his best to gain momentum for his squad when he threw a big hit and immediately followed it with a pummeling of the Canucks’ Di Giuseppe. The officials sent the Jets to another powerplay as a result of an instigator penalty and lightning struck twice as Winnipeg scored another PP goal. This time a nice pass from Vilardi down low to Monahan for a 1 timer from the bumper spot gave the Jets a 2 to 1 lead. The hometown Nucks had another PP chance, but Hellebucyk gloved the only dangerous 1 timer with the man-advantage. The home squad was able to tie things up when Myers intercepted a long cross-ice pass by Vilardi near Winnipeg’s blueline. Connor did very little to try and stop the defender and slowly glided back to his net as Myers skated into the slot to beat Hellebucyk with a backhand through the traffic in front. Both squads had another PP look before the period ended, but neither could take advantage and the best scoring chance came at 5 on 5 when Appleton rang a slap shot off iron. Right at the end of the frame, Scheifele takes a vicious elbow to the head by Miller, but the refs laughably send them both to the box (55 somehow nailed for embellishment).
After Two Periods MoneyPuck Stats: Score: 2 to 2 tie, shots 26 to 20 for the Canucks, 69% Deserve to Win for the Canucks, Expected Goals – all situations (3.29-2.16 VAN) & 5 on 5 (2.13-0.87 VAN)
Vancouver pushed hard for the next goal early in the 3rd period, but even another powerplay couldn’t help them solve Hellebuyck to take the lead. Eventually a Winnipeg counter-attack paid dividends when Scheifele carried the puck up the ice. The Canucks’ Juulsen took himself out of position to throw a big hit on the Jets’ assistant captain, but he was able to poke the puck to Connor to continue the rush as he took the bodycheck. Winnipeg capitalized on the short 2 on 1 when #81 drew the defender’s attention before sliding the puck across for a tap in by Vilardi. The Jets quickly got another odd-man rush after taking the lead and this time Connor slid a pass across to Scheifele in the low slot. Winnipeg’s top center made no mistake, as he picked a spot between Demko’s pad & glove to make it 4 to 2 with a smidge over 10 minutes left. For the most part, the Jets stifled Vancouver’s attempts at offense from this point, but when the Canucks pulled their tender with over 2 minutes to play they were finally able to gain Winnipeg’s zone. Hellebuyck came up with a few more saves and the Jets maintained their defensive structure enough to hold on for the victory.
After Three Periods MoneyPuck Stats: 67% Deserve to Win for the Canucks, Expected Goals – all situations (4.69-3.08 VAN) & 5 on 5 (2.41-1.79 VAN)
FINAL SCORE: WINNIPEG JETS 4 VANCOUVER CANUCKS 2
SHOTS: VANCOUVER CANUCKS 37 WINNIPEG JETS 28
Game Observations:
- Another great game by Connor Hellebuyck. Probably should have that permanently saved to “cut & paste” into articles, but I don’t mind putting in the effort to type praise of our fabulous goaltender. In a supposed battle between Vezina contenders, Bucky clearly won this round (2.69 Goals Saved Above Average to Demko’s -0.92).
- After asking for the powerplay and top six to step up their games in my preview, the Jets seemed to take my words to heart. Mark Scheifele was fantastic despite being run all evening, picking up a goal and 3 assists in a great performance. Next up was Gabriel Vilardi, who once again looked like the player he could be on route to 2 goals (12th & 13th of the season) and an assist.
- The powerplay also finally ended their long drought and did it in a big way, going 2 for 4 and providing crucial goals for Winnipeg in a game our team uncharacteristically lost the 5 on 5 battle.
- A lot of Jets stepped up their physicality in a game that was close to being playoff-like. Guys like Adam Lowry, Vladislav Namestnikov, Brenden Dillon, and even an ill Morgan Barron used their bodies to show the Canucks that Winnipeg wasn’t going to be pushed around.
Far from a perfect game, but the result was rather enjoyable. As fans, we can only hope that this little offensive explosion will spur Winnipeg’s goal scorers in upcoming games.
NEXT GAME: Winnipeg Jets @ Calgary Flames – Monday, February 19th @ 3:00 pm Central
I personally found it pretty funny that the Canucks were attempting to blame the officiating for their loss last night. Both squads had equal powerplay opportunities and the officials made or missed penalties on either side, but to my eyes it was clearly Vancouver who played the dirtier game.
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