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JNR: Morrissey-less Jets Struggle In 4-1 Loss To Islanders
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Photo credit: © Dennis Schneidler-USA TODAY Sports
Art Middleton
Oct 6, 2019, 21:43 EDTUpdated: Oct 6, 2019, 21:44 EDT
We knew there was trouble the moment the Jets tweeted out that @Josh Morrissey was not going to be in the game and with a very thin lineup on defense and playing their third game in four nights, the Jets couldn’t survive the New York Islanders attack in the second period, dropping a 4-1 loss on Long Island.

First Period

The first period in life without Morrissey wasn’t as big a disaster as many would have thought as the teams played to a 0-0 draw through the first 20 minutes. The Jets actually led in shots 15-9 as there sure seemed to be a concerted effort by the forward to make sure they peeled back and assisted the very inexperienced defense to make zone exits and cover the Islanders third forward down low.
The best scoring chance – if you can call it that – did belong to the Islanders as @Leo Komarov took advantage of a bad puck bounce to get a short-handed breakaway that was coolly stopped by @Laurent Brossoit.

Second Period

It’s kind of like someone reminded the Islanders that the Jets were playing a group of AHL level defensemen.
The Islanders blitzed the Jets early and often in the middle frame and raced out to a 2-0 lead within the first five minutes of the game.
The Jets did right the ship a little bit and it was in large part due to the goaltending of Laurent Brossoit who was keeping the Jets in the game with some amazing stops.
But the Islanders kept coming and got the game to 3-0 on a nifty back heel deflection in front of the Jets.
As the Islanders took a three goal lead, head coach Paul Maurice switched up the lines and put @Patrik Laine on the top unit with @Mark Scheifele and @Blake Wheeler. Almost right away results started showing up with Laine’s first of the season.
Shots in the second were 19-9 for New York.

Third Period

It was a pretty quiet period all things considered with this game all but decided through the first two periods. The Islanders added one more to make the final score what it was and really put a lid on any potential thoughts of a second Jets comeback.
The Jets did out-shoot the Islanders 12-5 in the third period (hooray score effects!!) and there were at least some @Kyle Connor chances that were sprung by some nice @Ville Heinola passes.
It’s important to find little bright spots in what is an otherwise brutal game.

TL;DR Why the Jets Lost

*looks at the defensive lineup the Jets iced tonight*
Nuff said.

JetsNation’s Top Gun

Maybe he gets the votes out of sympathy, but as noted by Patrik Laine between the second and third period, the game could have been 6 or 7 to 0 for the Isles had it not been for Brossoit’s effort.

Boxscore

Next Flight…

The Jets have one more road game to play on this season opening road trip as they head into Pennsylvania to take on @Brandon Tanev and the Pittsburgh Penguins. The game is on Tuesday, October 10 and puck drop is 6pm CST.