2019.R1.G5 Jets Playoff Flight Plan: Jets Back Home And Looking For A Series Lead

5 years ago

The Winnipeg Jets earned home ice advantage back over the last two games with two victories in St. Louis, but one has to wonder if the Jets wouldn’t have just preferred to stay in the Gateway To The West where they’ve been stellar all season and had all kinds of momentum with a dominant game three and their first ever playoff OT win in game four.

St. Louis Blues
@
Winnipeg Jets

Round One \ Series Tied 2-2 / Game Five
April 18, 2019 – Puck drop: 7:30 PM CST
Bell MTS Place – Winnipeg, MB
TV: CBC – Sportsnet 360 – TVA Sports – USA (US)
Radio: TSN 1290

Last Time Between These Two Teams…

A back and forth classic that saw no goals but plenty of action into the third period when the Blues scored early and the Jets tied things up midway through to force overtime. In that extra period, it didn’t take Winnipeg long to see it’s first playoff OT goal in Thrasher/Jets history as Blake Wheeler, Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor combined to even up things at two games each and make this a best of three first round series.

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Fun fact…

Not only was it the Jets first ever franchise playoff OT victory in game four, but it was also Paul Maurice’s first as the head coach of the Winnipeg Jets. PoMo isn’t unfamiliar with playoff magic though, as he has a career 13-6 OT record in games coached with the Jets (1-2) and Carolina Hurricanes (12-4). Three of Maurice’s six OT losses have needed more than a single period to be completed, but all 13 of his team’s OT victories have been settled in the first overtime period.

What The Jets Need To Win Game Five…

A better start in the first period of games would be nice.
Feed off of what should be an electric atmosphere in BMTSP, but don’t go overboard. The penalty kill has been ok in the series, but there are only so many chances you can give the Blues without getting burned by a sniper like Vladimir Tarasenko. They did well to stay out of the box in game four, that needs to carry over to game five.
Protect the front of the net and slot area. Keep the Blues limited to shots from distance and clamp down on rebounds and second chances.

Winnipeg Jet To Watch…

#37 – Connor Hellebuyck (Goalie)

Game two was a bit of a struggle, yes – although your own personal feelings on just how responsible he was for the Jets loss in that game could vary – outside of that single game, Hellebuyck has absolutely been the MVP of this series and has outplayed Jordan Binnington.

**Adding bricks to the playoff wall**
Rk	Date	G	Tm		Opp	DEC	GA	SA	SV	SV%	TOI
1	2019-04-10	1	WPG		STL	L	2	26	24	.923	58:20
2	2019-04-12	2	WPG		STL	L	4	32	28	.875	58:10
3	2019-04-14	3	WPG	@	STL	W	3	29	26	.897	60:00
4	2019-04-16	4	WPG	@	STL	W	1	32	31	.969	65:57

Provided by Hockey-Reference.com: View Original Table

What The Blues Need To Win Game Five…

Don’t fade in the game as they did in game three. Yes, the Jets steadily got better as the night progressed, but the Blues didn’t (or maybe couldn’t) match them in terms of speed or intensity of play. Maybe it was frustration from being dominant in the first period and having nothing to show for it, but St. Louis needs a full 60 minute effort.
Matching the Jets shot for shot or even out-shooting them for a period or two would be ideal.

St. Louis Blue To Watch…

#91 – Vladimir Tarasenko (Right Wing)

A three time all-star and a constant 30+ goal man over the last five seasons, it shouldn’t surprise anyone that Tarasenko is finding a way to make an impact in this series with back-to-back power play goals. His shot is one of the best and quickest in the league and he has tremendous offensive instincts. If 48 career playoff games, he has 24 goals and 34 assists.

Not that the Jets have let him skate around freely, they’ve kept him well in check, but he’s just so quick and doesn’t need much time or space to release his shot.

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What They’re Saying…

St Louis Post-Dispatch: Quick Hits: JT on the Blues – Jim Thomas fielded some tough questions from Blues fans full of concern after game four of the series and had some interesting answers for the St. Louis faithful.

Player ratings courtesy Corsica.Hockey

Be sure to check out our Twitter feed for any late mid-day updates to the game lineups!
You can also get up to the minute lineup combos for the Jets
including power play and penalty kill lines by checking out our line combo page.

St. Louis Blues Lines

LW	C	RW	Forwards
BRAYDEN SCHENN Rating: 76.3#39 LW	RYAN O’REILLY Rating: 80.7#12 C	VLADIMIR TARASENKO Rating: 84.0#2 RW	FL1 Rating Rating: 80.34#6 FL1
JADEN SCHWARTZ Rating: 76.7#29 LW	OSKAR SUNDQVIST Rating: 72.7#98 C	DAVID PERRON Rating: 75.8#31 RW	FL2 Rating Rating: 75.09#14 FL2
PATRICK MAROON Rating: 73.3#58 LW	TYLER BOZAK Rating: 74.4#57 C	ROBERT THOMAS Rating: 71.8#112 RW	FL3 Rating Rating: 73.16#8 FL3
ALEX STEEN Rating: 74.0#47 LW	IVAN BARBASHEV Rating: 72.4#101 C	ROBBY FABBRI Rating: 71.4#92 RW	FL4 Rating Rating: 72.61#4 FL4

DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS		Defense
VINCE DUNN Rating: 76.5#18 LD	ALEX PIETRANGELO Rating: 81.6#5 RD	DL1 Rating Rating: 79.06#5 DL1
JAY BOUWMEESTER Rating: 72.1#80 LD	COLTON PARAYKO Rating: 78.0#19 RD	DL2 Rating Rating: 75.03#13 DL2
JOEL EDMUNDSON Rating: 74.0#45 LD	ROBERT BORTUZZO Rating: 72.6#60 RD	DL3 Rating Rating: 73.32#5 DL3

GOALIES
JORDAN BINNINGTON Rating: 72.7#33 G1	JAKE ALLEN Rating: 68.6#59 G2

Winnipeg Jets Lines

LW	C	RW	Forwards
KYLE CONNOR Rating: 78.5#15 LW	MARK SCHEIFELE Rating: 82.4#8 C	BLAKE WHEELER Rating: 79.1#15 RW	FL1 Rating Rating: 80.01#7 FL1
NIKOLAJ EHLERS Rating: 76.4#30 LW	BRYAN LITTLE Rating: 72.8#89 C	PATRIK LAINE Rating: 77.6#21 RW	FL2 Rating Rating: 75.62#11 FL2
MATHIEU PERREAULT Rating: 73.1#61 LW	KEVIN HAYES Rating: 75.0#51 C	JACK ROSLOVIC Rating: 71.5#87 RW	FL3 Rating Rating: 73.20#6 FL3
ANDREW COPP Rating: 72.5#70 LW	ADAM LOWRY Rating: 73.0#81 C	BRANDON TANEV Rating: 71.7#81 RW	FL4 Rating Rating: 72.43#5 FL4

DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS		Defense
JOSH MORRISSEY Rating: 73.9#47 LD	JACOB TROUBA Rating: 77.4#21 RD	DL1 Rating Rating: 75.68#15 DL1
BEN CHIAROT Rating: 71.3#99 LD	DUSTIN BYFUGLIEN Rating: 80.9#8 RD	DL2 Rating Rating: 76.10#8 DL2
DMITRY KULIKOV Rating: 70.0#123 LD	TYLER MYERS Rating: 74.3#35 RD	DL3 Rating Rating: 72.12#12 DL3