Playoff Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down: Jets On the Board!

It was a great performance from the Winnipeg Jets who put together a full, 60 minute effort in game three. There was a lot to like about the game as the Jets were great both offensively and defensively. Even though they played excellent, there are always some good and bad things throughout the game. Because it was such an excellent effort, we will stick to mostly positive thoughts for this edition of the thumbs up, thumbs down.

Thumbs up to three strong periods. The Jets were finally able to string together a full game as they seemed to take control from the very beginning. Even though they fell behind in the first, they had a great second period before finishing the game with a really solid third period. It was a complete effort from the Jets which is exactly what they needed to get back on track.

Thumbs down to penalties once again. The Jets had no trouble defending at five on five during this game as they kept most of the pressure to the outside. The one issue they did have is the amount of penalties they took. The first two Blues goals came on the powerplay and the Jets almost allowed the Blues back in the game with their penalties in the third period. The Jets need to stay out of the box because the Blues have been using their powerplay to build momentum for the rest of the game.

It was a gorgeous play by Byfuglien who made an excellent turn in the Blues end. He got free from the defender and saw an opportunity to score from behind the net. He placed the shot absolutely perfectly as he banked it off the side of Binnington’s head and into the net. It was a heads-up play that isn’t seen very often.

Thumbs down to Binnington and the rest of the Blues defense. It could be argued that Binnington was the difference maker in the first two games but he didn’t have his best performance in this one. The Jets clearly played their best game of the series, but Binnington still allowed six goals in the game. He had a few highlight-reel saves but it wasn’t enough as the Jets kept pouring on the pressure and were able to beat him multiple different ways. This isn’t as much of a thumbs down to Binnington as it is to the entire Blues defense who let the Jets walk all over them during game three.

Thumbs up to an entire team effort. The Jets mixed their lines up in game three in an effort to get some more offense flowing. While a lot of fans were critical of the changes, the end result was very positive for Winnipeg. These new combinations worked to perfection as all four lines touched the scoresheet. The’fourth’ line with Hayes, Perreault, and Roslovic opened the scoring followed by Little’s line, Lowry’s line, and finally Scheifele’s line. In the previous games it was the top line doing the scoring, but the Jets had all four lines helping out in this one.

Thumbs up to an all forward powerplay unit. The Jets rolled out the unconventional all forward powerplay unit during a 4 on 3 in the second period. It didn’t take long to strike as Connor sniped an absolute beauty over Binnington’s shoulder. Scheifele, Wheeler, Laine, and Connor were the four on the ice as the Jets scored their only powerplay goal of the game.

It was clearly the best performance from the Jets in game number three as they came away with a huge victory. There’s was plenty of positives throughout the game that Winnipeg will look to keep going as they try and claw their way back in the series.