Category: Winnipeg Jets

2021-22 Team Preview – Winnipeg Jets

2020-21

Record: 56 Games Played, 30 Wins, 23 Loses, 3 Overtime Loses, 63 Points. (3rd In North Division)

Playoffs: Swept Oilers In the First Round, Swept By Canadiens In The Second Round (4 Wins, 4 Loses)

Key Losses

Mason Appleton, F
Derek Forbort, D
Tucker Poolman, D
Jordie Benn, D

Key Additions

Nate Schmidt, D
Brenden Dillon, D
Riley Nash, F

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3 Questions:

Can the new additions help on defense?

The Jets added defensive pieces via trade, bringing in the likes of Nate Schmidt and Brenden Dillon. Absolutely re-vamping the top 4. Looking to fix some of the defensive woes that occurred in the playoffs. Both Dillon and Schmidt are 30 years old and still have a couple of good years left in them. Schmidt bringing in some offensive talent on the blue line, and Dillon bringing his blue collar defensive mentality, how will it all mesh with the current defense?

Who will back up Connor Hellebuyck?

Hellebuyck is a workhorse of a goalie. He starts most games for the Jets, but for the games he’s not starting, who will be backing him up. Currently, Eric Comrie is penciled in. He has 9 starts in the NHL, posting a 3-5-0 record, with a 4.08 GAA and an .873 Save Percentage. If for some reason, things aren’t working out, who are the Jets going to turn to?

Who will step up in terms of depth scoring?

The top 2 lines in Winnipeg are set, and have good scoring capable between them. The bottom two lines is where the questions come in. The Jets bring in Riley Nash to help with it. But the likes of Andrew Copp and Adam Lowry need to step up, or there might be some trouble.

Projected Lineup:

Connor – Scheifele – Wheeler
Stastny – Dubois – Ehlers
Copp – Lowry – Vesalainen
Harkins – Gustafsson – Nash

Morrissey – Schmidt
Dillon – Pionk
Stanley – DeMelo

Hellebuyck
Comrie

Prediction:

Despite backup goalie and depth forward concerns, I still think the Jets will make the playoffs, but barely.

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Reverse Retro: Central Division

Continuing with the NHL’s Reverse Retro program, today we are going to take a look at the Central Division

Chicago Blackhawks:

The jersey the Blackhawks are going with is based off of the famous barber pole-striped jerseys as well as white alternate jersey design from 1937-1955.

Colorado Avalanche:

The Nordiques look makes its return! Well, sort of. The famous Nordiques logos and white jersey return with the difference being that they are rendered in the current Avalanche colour scheme. The fleur-de-lis which were on the waist and shoulders of the older Nordiques jersey is also featured on these jerseys as well.

Dallas Stars:

The 1999 Cup winning design makes its return for the Stars with an “icy-white” take on the jersey. There are no other featured differences other than the colour differences.

Minnesota Wild:

The Wild are getting the Minnesota North Stars treatment! The Wild logo is going with the North Stars colours, as well as the drop shadow numbers. This jersey is one of my favourites out of the bunch.

Nashville Predators:

The Predators are going with a few looks from their inaugural season in 1998. Most notably those looks are the nicks in the numbers, the striping, and the crest from that season. The only addition is the silver sleeves on the jersey.

St. Louis Blues:

The 1995 jersey, which returned last season as a third jersey, returns again. The only difference here is the colours are flipped between the blue and reds.

Winnipeg Jets:

For the Jets, they are honouring their first season in the NHL from 1979. The design here is also re-mixed and features the current colour scheme with the original design.

Tomorrow TXHT will look at the Metropolitan Division Reverse Retro jerseys.

Reverse Retro Jerseys Have Been Unveiled

Earlier today, Adidas and the NHL released the “Reverse Retro” jerseys that will be worn by all 31 teams this season.

The NHL and adidas Hockey teamed together for the first-ever League wide alternate jersey program called “Reverse Retro”. The idea behind the program is for each team to “throwback” to an era that has historical significance. According to the NHL, the design process for this began two years ago, which is when the third jerseys were brought back after being shelved during the first year of the adidas and Fanatics apparel deal.

Teams will wear these jerseys for multiple games this season against rival opponents.

This week, TXHT will break down the jerseys per division.

  • Tuesday – Pacific Division
  • Wednesday – Atlantic Division
  • Thursday – Central Division
  • Friday – Metropolitan Division
  • Saturday – Reverse Retro Jersey Rankings

The Reverse Retro jerseys will be available for purchase through the NHL Shop site, adidas.com, and adidas.ca on December 1st and at available retailers on December 6th, right in time for the holiday season.

Feature Graphic courtesy of Icethetics.

Flames Torch the Jets to Advance

 

The Calgary Flames look to win the series 3-1 after the Flames won Game 3 6-2 Tuesday evening.  The Winnipeg Jets look to tie the series with a potential win-or-go home scenario for Game 5 Saturday.
Calgary Flames Projected Lines and Defenceman Pairings

Johnny Gaudreau Sean Monahan Elias Lindholm
Andrew Mangiapane Mikael Backlund Matthew Tkachuk
Milan Lucic Sam Bennett Dillon Dube
Mark Jankowski Derek Ryan Tobias Rieder
Mark Giordano TJ Brodie
Noah Hanifin Rasmus Andersson
Derek Forbort Erik Gustafsson
Cam Talbot
David Rittich

Unfit to Play: None

Scratched:

Austin Czarnik Byron Froese Alan Quine Zac Rinaldo Buddy Robinson
Oliver Kylington Michael Stone Juuso Valimaki Alexander Yelesin Jon Gillies
Artyom Zagidulin

Winnipeg Jets Projected Lines and Defenceman Pairings:

Kyle Connor Blake Wheeler Nikolaj Ehlers
Jansen Harkins Cody Eakin Mathieu Perreault
Andrew Copp Adam Lowry Jack Roslovic
Gabriel Bourque Nicholas Shore Logan Shaw
Josh Morrissey Dylan DeMelo
Dmitry Kulikov Neal Pionk
Nathan Beaulieu Tucker Poolman
Connor Hellebuyck
Laurent Brossoit

Unfit to Play:

Bryan Little Mark Scheifele Patrik Laine Mason Appleton

Scratched:

David Gustafsson Anthony Bitetto Carl Dahlstrom Mark Letestu Sami Niku
Luca Sbisa Mikhail Berdin Eric Comrie

1st Period Summary and Analysis:

Right at the faceoff a fight would break out between Calgary’s Milan Lucic and Winnipeg’s Nathan Beaulieu at the :02 mark.  Dillon Dube would score his first goal of the postseason at the 3:21 mark, assisted by Erik Gustafsson and Sean Monahan, their third and fourth assists respectively.

Calgary’s Matthew Tkachuk would had down the tunnel for a bit of maintenance after taking an awkward puck shot at the 12:15 mark in the period but would return for his next shift so things look to be fine for Tkachuk.

Calgary would have made it a 2-0 contest had a Monahan shot not gone off the goalpost and gained possession for the Jets.  At 15:45, Tkachuk would have a great deflection to avoid a tie game at 1-1, with puck possession being on their blue line.

The first few minutes in the period were quite eventful but after things settled down, the Flames would score with 00.7 left to head to the first intermission leading 2-0.

 

1st Period Results:

CGY Pen Milan Lucic for Fighting 5 min major 0:02
WPG Pen Nathan Beaulieu for Fighting 5 min major 0:02
CGY Goal Dillon Dube (1) Assisted by: Erik Gustafsson (3) Sean Monahan (4) 3:21
CGY Goal Sam Bennett (2) Assisted by: Noah Hanifin (2) Matthew Tkachuk (1) 19:59

 

1st Period Stats:

Calgary Winnipeg
Faceoffs 10/20 10/20
Power Play 0/0 0/0
Shots 8 11
Hits 9 17

 

2nd Period Summary and Analysis:

Things are far more calm to start of the period, despite having a few faceoffs in the first two minutes of the period.

Calgary would go on their first Power Play of the game after a penalty is called on the Jets’ Jansen Harkins at 3:54 for boarding.  Midway through the period, the play is still going well as Winnipeg is still battling to get enough puck possession so they can get on the board.   However, the Flames are all over Winnipeg.  The Jets aren’t able to get the puck around to the players on the ice.

Winnipeg gets the chance to get on the board at 8:14 but Calgary skates up the ice to stop Jack Roslovic from scoring.

Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck prevents Calgary from making the contest 3-0 at the 4:40 mark after two shots in front of the crease, stopping Dube from having his second goal of the evening.

Clearly there is frustration as well as desperation showing from the Jets as everything they are trying to get in the net is not going their way.  Going into the second intermission, they will all need to get on the same page if they expect to get pucks in the net and advance to a Game 5 or their season will come to a close.

2nd Period Results:

WPG Pen Jansen Harkins for Boarding 2 min minor

2nd Period Stats:

Calgary Winnipeg
Faceoffs 23/46 23/46
Power Play 0/1 0/0
Shots 27 19
Hits 22 27

3rd Period Summary and Analysis:

Winnipeg’s Nikolaj Ehlers tries to get the Jets on the board again with a nice breakaway attempt but the shot ends up a few feet above the the net.  Winnipeg will end up on the penalty kill when Dmitry Kulikov is called for a high stick on the Flames Tkachuk at the 1:26 mark in the period.  Kulikov will return to the penalty box after he is called on an interference penalty at the 4:20 mark.

Winnipeg goes on their first power play of the contest when Calgary’s Rasmus Andersson is whistled for a tripping penalty at the 6:49 mark.

At 11:07, the Flames are yet again called for a Tripping penalty with TJ Brodie shown the penalty box for the infraction.

Winnipeg, with five minutes left in the game, is still looking to fight their way to get a goal.  Winnipeg is definitely hurting after not having Patrik Laine as well as Mark Scheifele the last two contests.  Winnipeg goes with the extra attacker on the ice just a minute later to get on the board however that is unable to work right away.   Calgary scores the empty net goal a minute later at 16:59, with the goal going to Sean Monahan.  19 seconds later, Rasmus Andersson would score his first goal of the postseason, another empty net goal, giving Calgary a 4-0 lead and win over the Jets.

3rd Period Results:

WPG Pen Dmitry Kulikov for High-sticking 2 min minor 1:26
WPG Pen Dmitry Kulikov for Interference 2 min minor 4:20
CGY Pen Rasmus Andersson for Tripping 2 min minor 6:49
CGY Pen TJ Brodie for Tripping 2 min minor 11:07
CGY ENG Sean Monahan Assisted by Tobias Rieder (1) Derek Ryan (1) 16:59
CGY ENG Rasmus Andersson Assisted by Milan Lucic (3) Sam Bennett (1) 17:18

3rd Period Stats:

Calgary Winnipeg
Faceoffs 33/70 37/70
Power Play 0/3 0/2
Shots 34 31
Hits 31 35

Up Next:

Calgary: qualifies for the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs with the opponent TBD

Winnipeg:  2020-21 Season

Qualifying Round Preview: Calgary Flames vs Winnipeg Jets

This will be one of the most fun series in the play in round. Both Winnipeg and Calgary have a great dose of skill and size. While Winnipeg may have the deeper and more deadly forward corps, Calgary has the defense corps to do everything they need to do to stop them. This is going to be a series where the other team comes out battle tested and ready to take on whoever they may face in the next round. Let’s jump in. 

 

FORWARDS

This is a one series where elite forwards will be on display throughout both lineups. Both the Jets and the Flames have formidable top six forward groups. They each possess forwards that are just oozing with skill and formidable puck skills. This is going to be a fun battle to watch as these two groups go at it. Let’s begin with the Winnipeg Jets who posses one of the scariest forward corps in the entire league. It all start with their captain, Blake Wheeler. He is a strong leader who leads with example and has turned himself into one of the league’s best power forwards over the course of his career (The Bruins just seems to love giving up on forwards with potential huh? *coughblakewheelerandtylerseguincough*). Wheeler has topped 90 points twice and has over 700 points in 931 NHL games. Not to be forgotten is number one center, Mark Schiefele. Schiefele has turned himself into one of the most elite centers in the NHL. He has eclipsed 80 points twice in his career and has 444 points in 519 games. He has the size and skill to compete with any center in the league. Scheifele has five straight 23+ goal season, eclipsing the 30 goal mark twice.

 

Following them are three sharpshooters in Kyle Connor, Patrik Laine and Nikolaj Ehlers. 

All three know how to score and can score from just about anywhere. Connor, Laine and Ehlers are all homegrown Jets players and are living proof of how well the Jets have drafted over the past decade. Laine, the 2nd overall pick in 2016, exploded onto the scene during his rookie season with 36 goals and already has three 30+ goal seasons under his belt. He was almost assured of a fourth but he had 28 goals at the season stoppage. Laine will be counted on to bring the offense. Kyle Connor had a formidable college career and has gotten better each and every year for the Jets. He currently has three straight 30+ goal seasons. Nikolaj Ehlers, while the most inconsistent of the bunch, has four straight 20+ goal seasons and is a guy who can be counted on for offense as well. Throw in Cody Eakin, Mathieu Perrault, Jack Roslovic, Andrew Copp and a few more glue guys and you can see why the Jets have such a formidable forward corps.

 

As for the Calgary Flames, they have a great top six as well but the depth is where I believe the Jets have the advantage over them. Their top line with Sean Monahan, Johnny Gaudreau and Elias Lindholm carries them but of course, Matthew Tkachuk is nothing to laugh at either. Monahan, drafted sixth overall in 2013, has six straight 20+ goal seasons eclipsing the 30 goal plateau three times. He has 411 points in 541 games. Gaudreau, also known to hockey fans as Johnny Hockey, had the best season of his career in 2018-19 when he put up 99 points. He has eclipsed the 30 goal plateau twice and has 445 points in 464 career games. What he lacks in height and weight he more than makes up for in skill and the chemistry he has with Monahan is undeniable. Lindholm has been a revelation after coming over from the Carolina Hurricanes, along with Noah Hanifin, in a trade prior to the 2018 season. After all his season of being a 40 point player, he became a 70 point guy playing next to Monahan and Gaudreau and nearly hit 60 this year. He has become a completely different player since the trade and now has 132 points in 151 games for the Flames. Matthew Tkachuk is one of the most hard nosed players in the league today and he backs up all his trash talk with a great amount of skill and scoring prowess. Tkachuk made the Flames roster right out of the gate and has three straight 20+ goal seasons, ecliping 30 goals once. His feud with Drew Doughty of the LA Kings is wildly well known. These four form the foundation of the Flames attack but beyond them, the Flames lack the depth to compete with the Jets in terms of forward depth. 

 

EDGE: Jets

 

DEFENSE

This is where the Calgary Flames have the big advantage on the Winnipeg Jets. After the departures of Jacob Trouba (traded to the New York Rangers), Dustin Byfuglien (contract termination) and Tyler Myers (signed with the Vancouver Canucks), their defense corps was depleted this season. They did get good seasons out of who they did have, including the surprising Neal Pionk who put together a nice campaign with 45 points in 71 games but the Flames just have them beat in terms of experience and skill on the backend. Josh Morrissey and Dmitry Kulikov lead the Jets defense at the moment and I don’t see that being enough, along with their lack of depth to give them the edge here over the Flames. 

 

The Flames on the other hand have a fairly good defence corps with Norris trophy winner Mark Giordano leading the way. Giordano had 74 points in 78 games last season and followed it up with 31 in 60 this year. Obviously not as good but he still has a great offensive skill set to work with. Giordano has 483 points in 893 games. Following him are T.J. Brodie and Noah Hanifin who can provide the Flames with solid defense and budding young defenseman Rasmus Andersson. Erik Gustaffson and Derek Forbort are also good in their own end. The edge here is quite simple. 

 

EDGE: Flames

 

GOALTENDING

Gonna make this real simple here and this might be the shortest category I write for any of these matchup previews: Connor Hellebuyck has turned himself into one of the goaltenders in the entire National Hockey League and this season, many thought he could even be in the Hart Trophy conversation. He won 31 games and had a .922 save percentage. Cam Talbot and David Rittich are both more than capable goaltenders but Hellebuyck, along with fellow US countrymen John Gibson, are going to competing for the starting job at the Olympics in a few years. 

 

EDGE: Jets

 

Series Prediction: Jets in Four

 

CAL-WIN.png

 

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Stanley Cup Playoffs Team Preview: Winnipeg Jets

Regular season record: 37-28-6 80pts (4th place Central Division, 9th place in Western Conference)

Today, we’re going to take a look at the Winnipeg Jets heading into the 24 team playoff. The Jets are about where they were statistically a year ago before the global pandemic put a pause on the NHL season. Offensively, the Jets core players of Kyle Connor, Mark Scheifle, and Blake Wheeler were producing about what they usually produce. Even Patrik Laine was in the middle of a rebound year compared to the previous season. Laine would’ve surpassed thirty goals and potentially put up around 70-80 points. We know the Jets have the ability to score and put the puck in the back of the net.

Special Teams though is a whole different story. The Jets power play was at the middle of the pack (ranked 15th) with a 20.5% success rate. However, the penalty kill was atrocious. The Jets penalty kill (ranked 22nd) was below eighty percent and had a 77.6% success rate. In order for the Jets to go far, they’re gonna have to greatly improve their special teams.

Goaltending was really rock solid and stellar again. Especially from their number one goalie Connor Hellebuyck. It certainly is possible he could enter the Vezina trophy conversation posting up a 31-21-5 record, 2.57 goals against average, .922 save percentage, and leading the NHL in shutouts with six.  The only question mark goaltending wise for the Jets is their backup Laurent Brossoit. Brossoit has not shown to be a capable backup ready to start when needed in his six seasons so far in the league. Basically, the Jets better hope and pray nothing happens to Connor Hellebuyck.

Defensively, the Jets best defenseman this season was Neil Pionk who they acquired from the New York Rangers in the Jacob Trouba trade. With more ice time and responsibility, he showed improved he is a capable top pairing defenseman. Jack Roslovic was showing major improvement and having a nice season for himself. Josh Morrissey was having another typical solid season. However, Dmitry Kulikov was a weak link on the back end for the Jets. He dealt with injuries and inconsistent play when in the lineup. The Jets went out and acquired Dylan DeMelo to give Morrissey a consistent and reliable defense partner.

Playoff outlook for the Winnipeg Jets

The Jets have the potential to go as far as they want to go. Just two years ago, they made it all the way to the Western Conference finals. They have plenty of offense and great goaltending. Only thing holding them back is their defense. The Jets need a lot of things to go right to win a Stanley Cup. They need their best players to produce, defense to defend, special teams need to improve, and goalie Connor Hellebuyck to help get them all the way to the top of the hockey playoff mountain. Do I think they’ll win the Stanley Cup? I don’t see it happening. However, I do see them going beyond the qualifying round with the potential to make it to the second round.

 

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Game Recap – 2/27/2020 – Washington Capitals v. Winnipeg Jets

Washington Capitals (39-18-6 84pts) v. Winnipeg Jets (32-27-6 70pts)

 

Game Recap:

In the second game of their home and home with the Winnipeg Jets, the Washington Capitals travel to Winnipeg looking to sweep the series with the Jets and earn their third consecutive victory. In the first period the Jets would be buzzing to start the game as they would quickly apply pressure in the Capitals zone. The Capitals would get some chances, but the Jets would score first as Dmitry Kulikov would blast a bomb from the point that a screened Ilya Samsonov would not see until it was too late as the Jets took the 1-0 lead. immediately after the goal was scored the Capitals would take a pair of penalties within a five second span to give the Jets an almost full two minute two man advantage. However, the Capitals penalty kill would be up to the task as they killed both penalties and kept the Jets lead to one.

 

In the second period the Jets would take it to the Capitals and force the play in their zone, but the Capitals would get back to back powerplays. However, the Capitals would be unable to capitalize on the opportunities to tie the game, and the game would remain 1-0 for the Jets.

 

Then in the third period the Capitals would get their third straight powerplay opportunity, but would not be able to capitalize on this one either. Then later in the period Kyle Connor would wrist a bullet past Samsonov to give the Jets the 2-0 lead, and in the final minutes Mark Scheifele would get the empty netter to secure the 3-0 victory for the Jets.

 

Lineups:

Washington Capitals:

Alex Ovechkin — Evgeny Kuznetsov — Tom Wilson

Jakub Vrana — Nicklas Backstrom — T.J. Oshie

Carl Hagelin — Lars Eller — Ilya Kovalchuk

Richard Panik — Nic Dowd — Garnet Hathaway

Brenden Dillon — John Carlson

Dmitry Orlov — Nick Jensen

Michal Kempny — Radko Gudas

Ilya Samsonov

Braden Holtby

Scratched: Travis Boyd, Jonas Siegenthaler, Brendan Leipsic

Injured: None

 

Winnipeg Jets:

Kyle Connor — Mark Scheifele — Blake Wheeler

Nikolaj Ehlers — Cody Eakin — Patrik Laine

Jansen Harkins — Andrew Copp — Jack Roslovic

Gabriel Bourque — Nicholas Shore — Mason Appleton

Dmitry Kulikov — Neal Pionk

Nathan Beaulieu — Dylan DeMelo

Anthony Bitetto — Tucker Poolman

Connor Hellebuyck

Laurent Brossoit

Scratched: Logan Shaw, Nelson Nogier

Injured: Josh Morrissey (upper body), Bryan Little (head), Mathieu Perreault (upper body), Adam Lowry (upper body), Carl Dahlstrom (broken hand), Mark Letestu (heart virus), Luca Sbisa (upper body), Sami Niku (lower body)

 

First Period:

WIN Goal – 6:33 – Dmitry Kulikov (2) from Blake Wheeler (37) and Neal Pionk (37)

WAS Penalty – 8:39 – Brenden Dillion 2 minutes for Hooking

WAS Penalty – 8:44 – Radko Gudas 2 minutes for High Sticking

 

End of 1st

02-27 at WIN.png

 

Second Period:

WAS Penalty – 11:37 – Evgeny Kuznetsov 2 minutes for Cross Checking

WIN Penalty – 15:07 – Neal Pionk 2 minutes for Hooking

WIN Penalty – 17:10 – Anthony Bitetto 2 minutes for Hooking

 

End of 2nd

02-27 at WIN-2.png

 

Third Period:

WIN Penalty – 1:12 – Dylan DeMelo 2 minutes for Holding

WIN Goal – 7:20 – Kyle Connor (32) from Mark Scheifele (42) and Anthony Bitetto (7)

WIN ENG – 18:32 – Mark Scheifele (28) from Kyle Connor (34) and Jack Roslovic (16)

 

End of 3rd

02-27 at WIN-3.png

 

Next Up:

Washington (39-19-6 84pts) @ Minnesota (31-25-7 69pts)

Winnipeg (33-27-6 72pts) @ Edmonton (33-23-8 74pts)

Home & Home Cookin’: Washington Capitals vs Winnipeg Jets

Washington Capitals (39-19-5) vs Winnipeg Jets (32-28-5)

 Predicted GoaltenderRecordGAA / SV% / # SO
Washington CapitalsIlya Samsonov16-5-12.41 / .916 / 1
Winnipeg JetsConnor Hellebuyck26-20-52.72 / .918 / 4

The Washington Capitals are off to Manitoba to now take on the Jets on their home ice after defeating Winnipeg in a five-round shootout on Tuesday night.  Tom Wilson and Jakub Vrana both set career-highs the other night, as Vrana tallied his 25th goal of the season, and Wilson his 51st point of the year.

The Washington Capitals nearly lost to the Winnipeg Jets after blowing a 3-0 lead in the third period, on home ice on Tuesday night. It was Alex Ovechkin who would put Washington ahead in the shootout, and extraordinary goaltending from Braden Holtby that earned the Capitals a second straight win. Prior to puck drop, a special commemorative ceremony was held to honor Alex Ovechkin’s 700 career goals, featuring clips from teammates and other NHL greats celebrating the greatest goal-scorer of all time. It took all of 115 seconds for Ovechkin to score goal number 701, and his 43rd of the season. A strong win versus the Penguins had carried over into Tuesday’s matchup, and it was very evident that some resolve had been found in the locker room. The acquisition of Ilya Kovalchuk up front and Brenden Dillon on the blue-line ahead of the trade deadline has bolstered the Caps’ roster, and fans are enthusiastic to see how deep of a run Washington can make this year.

Just beyond the 10-minute mark of the period, Jakub Vrana tallied his 25th goal of the season, giving Washington a two-goal lead heading into the second, something the team hasn’t held since the start of January. Neal Pionk and Nikolaj Ehlers each registered two shots on goal in the first period, but Braden Holtby was set and ready for whatever the Jets had to offer. Heading into the night, Washington was 17-0-2 after leading into the first period, and the Caps were looking to extend that to eighteen games. The Jets received the first power play of the game, as Radko Gudas was called for high-sticking. Washington’s 4th ranked penalty kill successfully kept Winnipeg off the board, thus maintaining a 2-0 lead. After Jets goaltender Laurent Brossoit robbed both Ilya Kovalchuk and Carl Hagelin of point-blank goals, Garnet Hathaway, who hasn’t scored since December 23rd versus the Bruins, gave Washington a 3-0 lead with his 7th of the season. Hathaway and Anthony Bitetto became involved after the goal, and both received matching five-minute majors for fighting. A shot from Cody Eakin slipped away from Braden Holtby and Nikolaj Ehlers potted the puck right past the veteran goaltender to spoil his shutout hopes with just over one minute remaining in the middle frame. Ehler’s goal was his 23rd of the season, and the left-winger has points in 12 of his last 14 games. Dmitry Orlov was called for interference early in the third, but the Capitals killed off that Jets power play as well. Washingtons’ penalty kill at home is the best in the league and has killed off 90% of penalties taken in their last 11 home games. The Capitals received their first power play of the evening, and unfortunately, they didn’t convert. In fact, Kyle Connor, on a breakaway, pulled Winnipeg within one with over 11 minutes remaining. Mark Scheifele then tied the game, 3-3, with his 27th of the season, with just over three minutes left in the game. Scheifele has nine points in five consecutive games.

A once-comfortable three goal lead dissipated in the blink of an eye, in a period that had typically been very kind to the Capitals. Washington would then receive a delay-of-game penalty at the 16:59 mark, that would expire with just over 60 seconds remaining, though they would kill it off. This game would require overtime, and then a shootout to determine a winner in the first game of this home-and-home series. TJ Oshie, shootout hero, successfully made his shot attempt, and Kyle Connor for the Jets was stopped by Holtby. New guy Ilya Kovalchuk took the second attempt for the Capitals, and he was stopped by Brossoit. Patrick Laine was denied by Braden Holtby, and Washington only needed to make one more shot, or stop one more Jets’ attempt. Evgeny Kuznetsov would miss, and Mark Scheifele tied it up with one successful attempt for each team. Nicklas Backstrom scored for Washington, keeping them in it, but Blake Wheeler too scored for Winnipeg. Alex Ovechkin took Washingtons’ fifth attempt, and was thankfully successful. Nikolaj Ehlers was stopped by Braden Holtby, and the Washington Capitals snagged a very important two points to re-establish a win streak. Braden Holtby made 30 saves on 33 shots, ending his night with a .909 save percentage. Laurent Brossoit allowed three goals on 37 shots, excluding the shootout, to tally his first overtime/SO loss of the season.

Ilya Samsonov is expected to start for the Capitals on Thursday night, and Connor Hellebuyck will get the nod for the Jets.

The Jets are without the following players:

  • C Bryan Little (DL, ear)
  • C Mark Letestu (DL, illness)
  • C Adam Lowry (DL, upper body)
  • LW Mathieu Perreault (DL, upper body)
  • D Josh Morrissey (OUT, upper body)
  • D Carl Dahlstrom (DL, hand)
  • D Luca Sbisa (DL, upper body)

Coverage of the game begins at 7:00pm with Caps Faceoff Live, followed by Caps Pregame Live at 7:30pm, all on NBCSN/NBCSWA, with puck drop shortly after 8:00pm.

References:

TheScore. (2020). Winnipeg Jets News & Stats. Retrieved from https://www.thescore.com/nhl/teams/11.

TheScore. (2020). Washington Capitals News & Stats. Retrieved from https://www.thescore.com/nhl/teams/15.

Game Recap – 2/25/2020 – Winnipeg Jets v. Washington Capitals

Winnipeg Jets (32-27-5 69pts) v. Washington Capitals (38-18-6 82pts)

 

Game Recap:

The Washington Capitals would play host to the Winnipeg Jets on a night where the honor Alex Ovechkin for scoring 700 career NHL goals, and less than two minutes into the game Ovechkin would net goal number 701 to give the Capitals the early 1-0 lead. Then Jakub Vrana on the break would score his 25th of the season to grow the Capitals lead to two.

 

In the second period Radko Gudas would take an early penalty, but the Capitals penalty killers would be up to the task. Then later in the period Garnet Hathaway would knock in the loose puck for his 7th of the season to give the Capitals the three goal lead. However, in the final two minutes of the period Nikolaj Ehlers would knock in the uncovered puck to get the Jets on the board and cut the Capitals lead back to two.

 

Then in the third period both teams would trade powerplay opportunities, but neither team would be able to score, however, after the Capitals powerplay ended they would have a defensive lapse as Kyle Connor break in on Braden Holtby to score and bring the Jets within one. Then late in the period Mark Scheifele would score past a sprawling Holtby to tie the game at three and send the game to overtime.

 

After a scoreless overtime period it would be Alex Ovechkin with the game winner in the fifth round of the shootout to give the Capitals the 4-3 victory.

 

Lineups:

Winnipeg Jets:

Jansen Harkins — Mark Scheifele — Blake Wheeler

Kyle Connor — Andrew Copp — Patrik Laine

Nikolaj Ehlers — Cody Eakin — Jack Roslovic

Gabriel Bourque — Nicholas Shore — Mason Appleton

Dmitry Kulikov — Neal Pionk

Nathan Beaulieu — Dylan DeMelo

Sami Niku — Tucker Poolman

Laurent Brossoit

Connor Hellebuyck

Scratched: Anthony Bitetto, Logan Shaw

Injured: Josh Morrissey (upper body), Bryan Little (head), Mathieu Perreault (upper body), Adam Lowry (upper body), Carl Dahlstrom (broken hand), Mark Letestu (heart virus), Luca Sbisa (upper body)

 

Washington Capitals:

Alex Ovechkin — Evgeny Kuznetsov — Tom Wilson

Jakub Vrana — Nicklas Backstrom — T.J. Oshie

Carl Hagelin — Lars Eller — Ilya Kovalchuk

Richard Panik — Nic Dowd — Garnet Hathaway

Brenden Dillon — John Carlson

Dmitry Orlov — Nick Jensen

Michal Kempny — Radko Gudas

Braden Holtby

Ilya Samsonov

Scratched: Travis Boyd, Jonas Siegenthaler, Brendan Leipsic

Injured: None

 

First Period:

WAS Goal – 1:55 – Alex Ovechkin (43) from Evgeny Kuznetsov (30) and Dmitry Orlov (22)

WAS Goal – 10:07 – Jakub Vrana (25) from TJ Oshie (22) and Dmitry Orlov (23)

 

End of 1st

20200225_195248

 

Second Period:

WAS Penalty – 8:03 – Radko Gudas 2 minutes for High Sticking

WAS Goal – 13:25 – Garnet Hathaway (7) from Nic Dowd (6) and Richard Panik (9)

WIN Penalty – 13:37 – Anthony Bitetto 5 minute major for Fighting

WAS Penalty – 13:37 – Garnet Hathaway 5 minute major for Fighting

WIN Goal – 17:33 – Nikolaj Ehlers (23) from Cody Eakin (7)

 

End of 2nd

20200225_204927

 

Third Period:

WAS Penalty – 2:13 – Dmitry Orlov 2 minutes for Interference

WIN Penalty – 6:18 – Dmitry Kulikov 2 minutes for Hooking

WIN Goal – 8:39 – Kyle Connor (31) from unassisted

WIN Goal – 16:46 – Mark Scheifele (27) from Nikolaj Ehlers (29)

WAS Penalty – 16:59 – Lars Eller 2 minutes for Delay of Game

 

End of 3rd

20200225_213949

 

Overtime:

N/A

 

End of OT

20200225_215005

 

Shootout:

1. WAS – TJ Oshie – Goal

2. WIN – Kyle Connor – Save

3. WAS – Ilya Kovalchuk – Save

4. WIN – Patrik Laine – Save

5. WAS – Evgeny Kuznetsov – Missed

6. WIN – Mark Scheifele – Goal

7. WAS – Nicklas Backstrom – Goal

8. WIN – Blake Wheeler – Goal

9. WAS – Alex Ovechkin – Goal

10. WIN – Nikolaj Ehlers – Save

20200225_215625

 

Next Up:

Washington (39-18-6 84pts) @ Winnipeg (32-27-6 70pts)

Flying High: Washington Capitals vs Winnipeg Jets

Washington Capitals (38-19-5) vs Winnipeg Jets (32-27-5)

 Predicted GoaltenderRecordGAA / SV% / # SO
Washington CapitalsBraden Holtby22-13-53.13 / .897 / 0
Winnipeg JetsLaurent Brossoit6-7-03.32 / .893 / 0

The Washington Capitals ended a four-game losing streak with a gritty, hard-earned win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday to take back the top spot in the Metro. Next up, the Capitals will take on the Winnipeg Jets for the first time this season. They will then travel to Winnipeg, Manitoba to play the Jets on their home-turf for a classic home-and-home sequence. Currently, Winnipeg is sitting 4th in the Central, and in the 2nd wild card spot. Washington defeated the Jets 3-1 back on March 10th of 2019.

As previously mentioned, the Washington Capitals grounded the flightless Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday to hand them their third straight loss. Heading into the mid-day match up, Washington held a 2-6-1 record in the month of February, the worst in all the NHL. A once comfortable lead in the Metropolitan division had dissipated in the wake of six losses in seven games, but this massive win over Pittsburgh gave them the two points they needed to retake the division. Jakub Vrana got Washington on the board first, six minutes and 12 seconds into the first period.  Tensions flared at the end of the first, as Evgeni Malkin and Brenden Dillon became involved behind the goal. Both would receive matching four-minute double minors. Washington seemingly fell asleep in the second after a wild and energy-filled first, and just short of the 15-minute mark, Patric Hornqvist tied the game 1-1 with his 15th of the season. 26 seconds later, Sidney Crosby established the Pens first lead of the game with his 13th goal of the season. Heading into the third, the Penguins had a 2-1 lead that Tom Wilson would snap 106 seconds into the final frame. Tom Wilson tied it all up with his 20th of the season, which would set another career-high for the winger of 41 points, breaking last seasons’ high of 40. Former Penguin Carl Hagelin gave Washington back their lead at the 4:41 mark of the final frame, but Evgeni Malkin washed out that lead just over four minutes later. With the secondary assist on Hagelin’s goal, John Carlson set a franchise record for most points by a defenseman, a record previously held by Calle Johansson. Malkin’s 21st goal would be the last Pittsburgh goal scored for that afternoon. TJ Oshie potted the eventual game-winning goal with his 25th of the season at the 10:40 mark, and Capital One Arena erupted in a collective sing-along of ‘Country Roads’. The Capitals successfully killed off three Pittsburgh power plays but found themselves unable to convert on their singular man-advantage. Carl Hagelin did, however, pot an empty-net goal to seal the win for Washington, marking his 2nd of the game, and 100th career goal. Washington tallied six and five shots in the first two periods, respectively, but peppered Matt Murray with 12 in the third. The Capitals were held to just 23 shots through three periods, but Braden Holtby was able to stop 33 of 36 Pittsburgh shots, earning him his 22nd win of the season, and first in four starts. Holtby will start for the Capitals against the Jets.

The Winnipeg Jets were last in action on Sunday as well, where they lost to the Buffalo Sabres, 2-1. Winnipeg has been quite inconsistent this season, and their performance this season has really fallen on their starting goaltender Connor Hellebuyck. Like Holtby, when he’s good, Hellebuyck is really good, but when he’s struggling, he’s bad. He has four shutouts, but has allowed four or more goals 17 times this season (HockeyReference). The Sabres Kyle Okposo put his team on the board first, just short of the 10-minute mark of the first period. Blake Wheeler would tie the game as the Winnipeg center-man scored his 21st of the season with just under four minutes remaining in the first period. Wheeler ranks fifth among all players in goals (20) and fourth in points (56). The Jets have five players with 20 or more goals, and 11 with assists in the double-digits. The second period was uneventful, aside from a singular Sabres power play as the goal-scorer Blake Wheeler was called for high-sticking. Winnipeg has one of the worst penalty-killing units in the league, ranking 25th of 31, though they were able to kill off all three Buffalo power plays (76.7%). The Jets however are much better on the road than they are at home, as they have allowed just 17 power play goals in 82 times short-handed. At the 7:47 mark of the third period, Okposo scored his 2nd of the game, and the eventual game-winning goal for Buffalo. Goaltender Connor Hellebuyck ended the evening with 23 saves on 25 shots to drop his fourth game in six starts. Laurent Brossoit, who is just 6-7-0 this season, is expected to start for the Jets tonight.

The Winnipeg Jets too have been plagued with injuries this season. The Jets are without the following players:

  • C Bryan Little (DL, ear)
  • C Mark Letestu (DL, illness)
  • C Adam Lowry (DL, upper body)
  • LW Mathieu Perreault (DL, upper body)
  • D Josh Morrissey (OUT, upper body)
  • D Carl Dahlstrom (DL, hand)
  • D Luca Sbisa (DL, upper body)

Early Monday, it was determined by the Jets organization that Dustin Byfuglien would not participate in the 2019-20 season to any extent.

The Washington Capitals acquired left-winger Ilya Kovalchuk from the Montreal Canadiens on Sunday evening, in exchange for a 3rd round pick in the 2020 Entry Draft. The Canadiens will retain 50% of his salary. Kovalchuk will play on the third line with Carl Hagelin and Lars Eller, as Brendan Leipsic falls out of the lineup. Jonas Siegenthaler is also out of the lineup for Washington. On Monday, Washington also traded Christian Djoos of the Hershey Bears for Daniel Sprong of the Anaheim Ducks.

Coverage of the game begins at 6:00pm with Caps Faceoff Live, followed by Caps Pregame Live at 6:30pm, all on NBCSN/NBCSWA, with puck drop shortly after 7:00pm.

References:

ESPN.com. (2020). NHL Team Special Teams Statistics – 2019-20. Retrieved from http://proxy.espn.com/nhl/statistics/team?stat=special-teams&sort=powerPlayGoalsAgainst&split=34&order=false.

HockeyReference. (2020). Connor Hellebuyck Stats. Retrieved from https://www.hockey-reference.com/players/h/helleco01.html.

TheScore. (2020). Winnipeg Jets News & Stats. Retrieved from https://www.thescore.com/nhl/teams/11.