Jets Nation Recap: Jets Hang on in a Wild Game

Well, the game did not start how the Jets wanted. Jason Zucker scored on Hutchinson within 10 seconds of the 1st period starting and Jets Nation let out a collective sigh of frustration. But then, the Jets answered 1:12 later with a head in by Bryan Little to even up the game. At this point, the Jets took over the 1st period, showcasing their speed. Andrew Ladd would score less than 5 minutes into the first period to start the game, giving the Jets a 2-1 lead.  The game was heralded in the pre-game as being a tight checking game, but instead the first was wide open with end to end rushes and both teams showing some speed. Ehlers was all over the place and it was clear the Wild could not contain the line of Scheifele, Ehlers and Perrault. Ehlers would hit a post and a few shifts later, score on a 2 on 1. 

Less than a minute in, the Jets would continue to stick it to the Wild and see Drew Stafford score his 4th of the season. Stafford would continue his scoring ways by putting a 2nd goal in less than 5 minutes into the 2nd period. The Wild continued to show 2 major weaknesses that were evident in the 1st period. They lacked the ability to defend the transition game of the Jets and were unable to consistently defend the area around their net. However, After taking back to back penalties, the Jets started to let the Wild back into the game with a Wild power play goal and another goal scored 38 seconds later by the Wild. Fortunately, the Jets finished the 2nd with a couple of strong shifts in the Wild’s end.

The Jets did not start the 3rd period off the way they wanted to. Trouba took a hooking penalty less than a minute into the 3rd, allowing the Wild to gain more momentum. However, Hutch was clutch and kept the door shut and allowed the Jets to continue playing with a two goal lead. Throughout the 3rd, the game stayed wide open and the Wild would score their 4th goal in the 10th minute of the 3rd to make the game even more interesting. With 2:03 to play in the 3rd period, Dustin Byfuglien took a bad penalty, putting the Wild on the power play for a 4th time. Luckily, Hutchinson stood tall and the Jets were able to win 5-4 over the Wild.

Congratulations to Blake Wheeler for continuing his 8 game point streak with 2 assists in tonight’s contest and setting a franchise record with an 8 game point streak to start the season.

Speed Kills: Despite a highlight reel move by Minnesota’s Jason Zucker to open the scoring 10 seconds into the game, the Jets were not fazed and opened up their game and would quickly even up the game then go up 3-1. The second line, centred by Mark Scheifele, could not be contained by the Wild and Ehlers would score to make the game 3-1 for the Jets.

Dr Ehvil: There was a bit of a debate about whether or not Nik Ehlers deserved a nickname on Twitter and our esteemed Overlord came up with the moniker Dr. Ehvil for the 19 year old rookie. The way he is playing, he deserves the nickname, in a good way. After hitting 2 posts on Friday and a post in the first period, Ehlers scored his 3rd goal of the season in the first with a great shot on a 2 on 1.