© Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
That was a great hockey game. That was a great hockey game. It didn’t end the way the Jets were hoping — the Penguins scored an overtime winner with 22 seconds left — but despite a tepid start, it was one of the most exciting Jets games of the season.
The Jets came out slow in the first, ending the frame down two goals. But they looked like a completely different team in the second period, and after half a dozen highlight-reel saves Patrik Laine managed to put one past Marc-Andre Fleury off a quick passing play from Perreault and Scheifele.
The third saw two goals for the Jets and then a tying marker from Phil Kessel. Ultimately, though, tonight was the Sidney Crosby show. He scored his 1000th career point in the first period, assisted Phil Kessel’s tying third period goal, and eventually potted the OT winner. What a player.

GAME NOTES

  • Some great individual performances in this one, but none more so than Marc-Andre Fleury. The Pens veteran netminder faced 47 shots and allowed just three. If not for Fleury, this could have — and maybe should have — been a Jets win.
  • As usual, the Jets were the more physical team on the ice. And there were a handful of controversial hits in this one, including hits that probably should have been penalized from Byfuglien and Trouba. But the most controversial play tonight came from Evgeni Malkin on Blake Wheeler. 
  • At the very least, this was a high hit on a defenceless player. On replay it looks like a headshot, with Malkin making primary contact with Wheeler’s head. Should it receive supplemental discipline? Probably, yeah. But considering that this is the same Department of Player Safety that gave Gustav Nyquist just six games for an attempted filleting of Jared Spurgeon, I wouldn’t count on it. Thankfully, Wheeler returned to the ice after the hit.
  • Dustin Byfuglien’s goal was a classic Big Buff wrap-around. It was the only play he had available to him, but the Pens left him all the room he needed. It’s amazing teams still let him do this.
  • Ohmygod Sidney Crosby. What a game from an unreal player. #Blessed to get to watch him play hockey. He should win the Hart this season.
  • Some on twitter were giving Scheifele flak for his defence on the OT winner. Fair enough: he got beat inside, and his man ended up potting the game winner with 55 hanging on his back. And Trouba got overwhelmed by Malkin on the setup too. But the Penguins are just so awesome: defending Crosby, Malkin, and Letang in OT is near-impossible. There might not be anyone in the league who can handle Crosby’s strength and speed in a one-on-one scenario like that. So give Scheif a break.

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