Jets Nation Recap: Jets Hit Right Note In St. Louis

Game Notes:

• It took a while for the Jets to get going. St. Louis had the better of play and it resulted in the Blues opening the scoring as Alexander Steen’s point shot pinballed off Josh Morrissey and into the net. But the Jets seemed to get better as the period wore on and they tied it with 31 seconds left in the opening frame as Mark Scheifele and Blake Wheeler played a little give-and-go before Scheifele deposited the puck into the open net.
• Stop me if you’ve heard this before but Patrik Laine might have a future in this hockey business. The Finnish phenomenon scored his 23rd of the season with that laser-like wrist shot. It’s amazing that he’s only 18, yet he can play at such a high level. The talent is just breathtaking. 
• You know who else is good at hockey? If you said Nikolaj Ehlers, congratulations! You win a fabulous door prize that you can pick up at Jets Nation headquarters. Yes, the Dashing Dane did damage to the Blues as well. His power play goal thanks to a devastating wrist shot gave the Jets a two-goal cushion. Ehlers isn’t getting the attention Laine is, but when Ehlers is flying down the wing and can get that shot off, it’s one of the most beautiful sights in hockey.
• The Jets had chances to bury the Blues in the second but Dustin Byfuglien missed a wide open net, after taking a gorgeous feed from Laine. (He can do more than just shoot. That Laine kid. Gotta love him.) Nic Petan also had a great chance with an open net, but Robby Fabbri bailed out his goalie by making a terrific save. While it didn’t cost the Jets tonight, they will need to gain that killer instinct, when  given that opportunity.
• The Blues did nab a goal late in the second, courtesy of Vladimir Tarasenko, but the Jets regained their two-goal lead thanks to a Jacob Trouba goal that had the puck bounce around like it was on a squash court. The Blues pulled to within one very late thanks to Alex Pietrangelo’s marker but Wheeler sealed the deal with an empty netter.
• Despite the win, it wasn’t a banner night for Byfuglien. He was on the ice for two of the Blues goals and had a 48% CF. We mentioned his missed open net but he also struggled with defensive zone coverage and making proper reads in the neutral zone. There’s been a few games like this for Buff and they’re happening with a bit more frequency. Something to keep an eye on.
• Neither goalie was special tonight Ondrej Pavelec was a surprise starter and he had a mediocre game, saving 24 out of 27 shots for a pedestrian .889 save percentage. Fortunately for the Jets, Jake Allen came up with an .826 save percentage as he only made 19 saves out of 23 shots. Pavelec was bailed out by the offence tonight.

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