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The Winnipeg Jets played their 9th regular season game of the 2024-25 NHL season tonight. The game was hosted on Amazon Prime’s new “Monday Night Hockey” show, marking the 1st time the Jets were featured in the weekly Monday night matchup. Puck drop was at 6:30 pm CT. When the Maple Leafs come to town, the game always seems to get more attention from media and the fans, and tonight was no exception.
Tonight was an opportunity for the Jets to win their 17th straight regular season game, dating back to last season. The Jets concluded their 2023-24 regular season with 8 straight victories, and have turned heads around the league early this season with a perfect 8-0-0 start. Special teams have been a big story for the Jets early success this season, ranking before this game as the number 1 powerplay and 6th best penalty kill in the league.
The Jets stuck with the same lineup that they’ve been using for the last 5 games, while the Maple Leafs made some changes as they entered this game on a 3 game losing streak. The Jets did not come out flying early in this one, and that may have cost them in the end. Overall, it was still a memorable game for the Jets which will help define this early part of this season. A John Tavares hat trick was the big contribution towards a 6-4 Leafs win in Winnipeg on Monday night.
1st Period
As I just mentioned, it was overall a pretty slow start in the 1st period for the Jets. The shots on goal were 19-6 for the Leafs in the 1st, but that doesn’t tell the full story of how this period went. The 1st penalty of this game is one that you typically don’t see all too often, a “closing hand on puck” call on Logan Stanley. The Jets were able to kill this penalty off thanks to some nice saves from Hellebuyck, who was sharp throughout the 1st.
The Leafs were leading in shots 12-3 with almost 8 minutes to go when they opened the scoring. After a play that had the puck bouncing and deflecting all over the place as the Jets tried to clear it out of their own zone, the Leafs eventually gained control. Max Pacioretty made a nice pass in front and John Tavares slid it past Hellebuyck for the opening goal.
Less than a minute after the Leafs 1st goal, Logan Stanley took another penalty, an interference call against Pontus Holmberg. The Jets successfully stopped the Leafs powerplay once again, and this would be the final penalty the Jets took in the game. You have to admit, the Jets have remained quite disciplined in this early part of the season, only taking 2 or 3 penalties a game.
William Nylander doubled the Leafs lead with just over 2 minutes to play in the 1st. The Jets were unable to break out of their own zone, and Pacioretty made his 2nd nice feed of the game in front for Nylander who sniped one past Hellebuyck.
The Jets trailed 2-0 after the 1st, and it definitely wasn’t anywhere near their best hockey. I also wanted to note that the Jets were “forced” to wear their away white jerseys tonight. This was due to the fact that the Leafs were wearing their alternate 3rd jerseys, which are black and blue.
2nd Period
The Leafs wasted no time building on their successful opening period, making this game 3-0 56 seconds into the 2nd. Matthew Knies found a rebound following an Auston Matthews shot, and before the Jets knew it they were down 3-0. Important to note that this goal was once again kick started by a Jets turnover in their own zone.
Not even 3 minutes later, the Leafs made it 4-0. This goal seemed to take the life and energy right out of the Winnipeg fans. This goal did not start because of a Jets turnover, but rather from a slick no look pass by Nylander to Morgan Reilly. No Jets defender was near Reilly, and he had all the time he needed to pick his spot and snipe one off the post past Hellebuyck.
The Jets got some life back in the crowd when they were awarded their 1st powerplay of the game. A Holmberg cross-check gave the #1 powerplay in the league a chance to go to work. Some textbook puck movement led to Mark Scheifele finding Kyle Connor open in prime shooting position, and he fired one past Anthony Stolarz for his 7th goal of the season.
The Jets powerplay went back to work a few minutes later but were not able to convert. A 3rd Leafs penalty in the 2nd period gave the Jets another chance to capitalize on the man advantage, and they did just that. Morrissey found Connor in yet another prime shooting position, and Connor scored past a screened Stolarz to make it 4-2. 8 goals now for Kyle Connor, a terrific start to the season for him.
The Leafs continued to apply pressure in the Jets zone as the period went on, and were able to get rewarded with a goal with just over 2 minutes left to play in the 2nd. The puck took a weird bounce off the boards and off the back of the net before finding John Tavares in front. Hellebuyck and a few players weren’t sure where the puck was at first, but Tavares batted it home to give the Leafs a 5-2 lead.
3rd Period
Shots on goal were 13-9 for Toronto in the 2nd, and the 3rd period would end up being the least “eventful” period of this game. The Jets were about to head on a 4th powerplay, but after some nice puck movement, Connor found Scheifele in his “wheelhouse”, putting home a one timer to get the Jets back to within 2 goals.
The Leafs took the only penalty of the 3rd period almost 10 minutes in, from a Simon Benoit trip on Nikolaj Ehlers. Unfortunately, the Jets did not score on this advantage, and finished the night a decent 2 for 4 on the powerplay.
You have to give some credit to the Jets, as they weren’t going to let their perfect 8-0-0 start end without a fight. After pulling the goalie with just under 4 minutes to play, the Jets made it 5-4. Ehlers found Connor in front in another prime shooting position, and you guessed it, he fired one home for what appeared to be his hat trick goal. Later tonight, this goal was changed, as it ended up being deflected in front by Gabriel Vilardi.
The Jets battled until the final whistle, but John Tavares completed his hat trick into an empty net with 25 seconds to play. A back hander from center ice sent the Toronto fans in attendance home happy, while the Jets fans had to unfortunately see the Jets 8 game winning streak come to an end.
Shots on goal in the 3rd were only 8-4 for the Jets. Final shots on goal were 36-23 for the Leafs, and it’s tough to admit it, but the better team won this game. You still have to admire the start to the season the Jets are having, and this game would have been their 17th straight regular season win going back to last season, which is quite impressive.
Tavares led the Leafs with 3 goals, and Pacioretty and Nylander had strong games with 3 points each. Kyle Connor was easily the Jets best player tonight, almost scoring a hat trick, but finishing with 2 goals and 2 assists for a 4 point night. It wasn’t Hellebuyck’s best night in net tonight, allowing 5 goals on 35 shots, but he wasn’t a big reason for why the Jets went on to lose this game.
Next Game
Next for the Jets is a mini two game road trip, beginning on Wednesday night in Detroit against the Red Wings. The Jets will have a chance to still have an amazing record of 9-1-0 after 10 games. Puck drop for this game will be the same as tonight’s game, 6:30 pm CT. November 1st at 6:00 pm CT the Jets will head to Columbus, Ohio to play the Blue Jackets.
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