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JNGD.S8.G42 Recap: Jets Win With An Avalanche Of Goals

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Photo credit:© Terrence Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Art Middleton
5 years ago
In a game where the Winnipeg Jets were out-shot 41 to 20, it was the home side that comes away with a 7-4 win against the Colorado Avalanche because hockey is a funny sport and doesn’t make sense at times.

FIRST PERIOD

Sometimes it’s not always about “how many” but “how” and while the Avalanche led the period in shots 14-7, it’s the Jets that come out of the first period with a 2-1 lead.
The Avalanche got a power play 13 seconds in which didn’t help things from a Jets momentum perspective. Even after the penalty kill, the Avalanche seemed to have the ice tilted to the Jets end.
But as things go in hockey, it’s not always about how many, but about cashing in on a good counter attack play and Brandon Tanev with Mathieu Perreault did just that on the Jets fourth shot of the game.
The Jets also took advantage of power play opportunities as they cashed in on the first one they were given.
At the end of the period though the Jets gave one back up on their own penalty kill as the Avalanche’s top unit replied.
As tough as it might be for the penalty killers, you absolutely can’t let Gabriel Landeskog stand along in front of the net like that.
Overall while the scoreboard might have been in favor of the Jets, the action on the ice was more in favor of the Avs and the heat chart after 20 was a pretty good indication of how bad it was.

SECOND PERIOD

Jets discipline – albeit some softer calls than we’d like to see – continued to be a bit of an issue as the second period started as Patrik Laine got dinged for a second penalty in the game, but again the Jets found a way to turn a negative into a positive with a beautiful short handed goal.
Something tells me the Avalanche are going to watch that one a handful of times and try to learn what a proper switch off is.
The Jets special teams wasn’t done as the second power play unit went to work.
At this point halfway into the game it sure felt like the Jets had everything under control even if they continued to be out-shot, they didn’t give up much of anything overly dangerous in the middle frame. While Winnipeg did get out-shot badly in the middle frame again, this time 15-7, the high danger chances were only at 3-2 in favor of the Avalanche.
Still, the Avs rallied at the end of the second as the Jets maybe got guilty of taking their foot off the gas and making a couple of bad mistakes.

THIRD PERIOD

Andrew Copp and the Jets fourth line – which had a pretty strong night all around – gave the team a bit of breathing room early in the third after some good forechecking forced the Avs into a couple of bad turnovers.
The Jets made it a two goal game as Wheeler and Scheifele connected one more time.
Again, you would have thought this would have been enough to ice things and get the Jets to lock things up at this point, but credit Colorado for being a pesky bunch that didn’t go away in the game. They once out-shot the Jets in the period 12-7, although one could argue that was a little bit more of score effects coming into play. Sure enough the Jets held the edge in high danger scoring chances 3-2.
The Avalanche pulled the goalie down three goals with about three minutes left and wouldn’t ya know, they got one almost right away.
Connor Hellebuyck finished the night with 37 saves on 41 shots and a lot of the goals he let in were off of deflections and screens as teams have gotten wise to creating all sorts of traffic in front of the Jets net to get scoring chances.
The Jets held on though and even with an Avalanche penalty, the Avs still pulled the goalie and the Jets for some reason passed the puck around a little more than one would think would happen with a wide open cage.
Seven goals from seven different Jets. It’s the second time it’s happened this season and the Jets scoring woes are starting to fade into memory.
Now if only they could get Patrik Laine going.

THE BOXSCORE

PLAYERS OF THE GAME

For Colorado: Gabriel Landeskog – Two goals on four shots as he was Colroado’s most dangerous player all night.
For Winnipeg: Blake Wheeler – Four point night for the captain and that included a couple of really nifty passes to end up as goals.

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