Washington Capitals (13-16-1) at

Your Winnipeg Jets (16-13-2)

Last Meeting: March 21, Jets 0 – Capitals 4

Broadcast: TV – CBC 6pm (CT)

Wow. Just wow. Really Clitsome? Just 20 shots?! 3 powerplays and Steve Oleksy on the ice for 16 minutes and no goals?!?!

Breathe.

Okay. The Jets need to take this game away from the Capitals to keep control of the division, and to keep what has been an underperforming team with injuries in the basement now that they are getting healthy and showing their skill. I feel like every time I’ve made it a must win, the Jets immediately disappointed me. So I won’t say it. I will remember this come Festivus, however.

I’m not one to harp on the pyschological aspects of the game. As a fan, it’s mostly unknowable to me, and given that pros have played thousands of hours of hockey by the time they reach adulthood, it’s likely that their psychology about the whole event is less fragile than my own sitting on the couch at home. I’m sure we’ll hear a lot about being mentally tough, bounceback, and all the rest tonight. Some players will say it themselves, I’m sure. I think the real story is puck pressure. The Jets were under it all night, and they didn’t create much it when they had the chance. The Jets need to respond better to that kind of pressure (not the ‘in-your-head’ brand) with puck support rather than gumption, and need to establish sustained pressure in the offensive zone with the same.

 

 Ladd  –  Little  –  Wheeler

Kane  –  Jokinen  –  Miettinen

Wright  –  Antropov  –  Wellwood        

Tangradi  –  Burmistrov  –  Thorburn

 

Hainsey  –  Bogosian

Clitsome  –  Byfuglien

Stuart (game time decision) –  Meech

       Pavelec

Johansson  – Backstrom  –  Ovechkin

Laich  –  Ribeiro  –  Brouwer

Chimera  –  Perreault  –  Fehr

Hendricks  –  Beagle  –  Ward

 

Alzner  –  Green

Schultz  –  Carlson

Orlov  –  Hillen

      Holtby        

Hey – how about those turnovers? Maybe, uh, don’t do that.

The Jets love transition offence – Wheeler’s stop up, Byfuglien beating the back checkers up ice to be the trailer or just carrying it 200 ft, Evander Kane being amazing at hockey, Olli Jokinen crossing the blue line and showing all the kids what a chucker is. But they also have some great cycle players and big bodies. I’d like to see them work it low this game and keep it a little further away from Pavelec as much as possible. Say, like 160ft further away.

Nothing better than an early road goal to kill a crowd and team that are nervous about the outcome of a game.