Game Stories:

Winnipeg Free Press:  Jets lose in shootout.

Winnipeg Sun:  When going gets tough.

National Post:  Islanders put Jets’ playoff hopes on last breath in shootout.

NHL.com:  Tavares gives Islanders 5-4 shootout win.

ChrisD.ca:  Islanders hand Jets a shootout loss.

Post-game audio:

Winnipeg Jets:  Andrew Ladd, Bryan Little, Ron Hainsey, Eric Tangradi and Kyle Wellwood.

Coach Noel post-game presser. Following his team’s 5-4 shootout loss to the Islanders, coach Noel spoke with the media.

New York Islanders:  Coach Capuano, Travis Hamonic and John Tavares.

Illegal Curve Post-game podcast from the Press box: Host Drew Mindell and Analyst Richard Pollock break down the Jets play against the Islanders.

Video Highlights:

NHL.com 3 Stars

1. Bryan Little

2. Frans Nielsen

3. Kyle Wellwood

Winnipeg—It’s amazing what seven days can do. Coming into the start of this week and its accompanying three game home-stand, the Winnipeg Jets were a team with minimal confidence, and questions abound. People, in their unique expertise, were calling for wholesale changes, trade the bums, get rid of the coach. One week and three home ice victories against three of the Eastern Conference’s best, including this afternoon’s 6-4 triumph over the Flyers, and no Winnipeg Jet will have to pay for their own meal tonight.

The Jets came out exactly where they left off on Thursday, scoring the first three goals of the game before the game was barely ten minutes old. Bryan Little, who centered a new line flanked by Evander Kane and Blake Wheeler started the scoring at the 4:45 mark with a powerplay goal. Dustin Byfuglien took a hard shot from the point, and the rebound ended up on the stick of Little with an open cage in front of him. Just over two minutes later and Little had his second of the night and fourth on the season. An easy wrist shot was muffed by Flyers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky and the Jets were two goals ahead. Andrew Ladd had the third goal of the period a little over three minutes later capitalizing when the undisciplined Flyers were shorthanded, giving the Jets the man advantage for which they were more than happy to take advantage. The powerplay was clicking all night for the Jets, as they scored three goals on eight opportunities.

The second period began with the Jets holding a 3-1 lead, as the Flyers scored on their powerplay at the 13:27 mark of the 1^st period. The Flyers were on a powerplay five minutes into the second, poised to make it a 3-2 game when the Jets scored a shorthanded goal after Chris Pronger mishandled the puck at the offensive blueline. Jim Slater took advantage, zipped a shot past Bobrovsky, and rather than it being a 3-2 game, it was a 4-1 Jets lead. The Jets scored the eventual game winning goal under five minutes later, again on the powerplay, this time a two man advantage, as Dustin Byfuglien scored from a bad angle, assists going to Ladd and Welwood. The Flyers answered with Scott Hartnell’s second of the game before the period was up, and the Jets had a 5-2 lead after 40 minutes.

The third period started with the Jets trying to hold onto a third period lead for the third consecutive game, and in contrast to Tuesday v ersus Tampa and Thursday versus Washington, the Flyers would not go quietly. Two goals by Mark Read, eight and a half minutes apart made it 5-4 Jets, and caused stomachs in MTS Centre to tighten just a little bit. With the net empty, the Flyers made a terrible neutral zone turnover, and Nik Antropov capitalized, shooting the puck into the vacated goal, rounding out the scoring on this Saturday afternoon, sending the MTS Centre into a frenzy, and giving the Winnipeg Jets a three game winning streak, a well-deserved Saturday night on the town with Sunday being a day off for the team before the head out on the road for three games in four nights this next week.

The Jets proved their mettle this week on home ice, sweeping these three games.  It will be interesting if the Jets resemble the squad that swept the Lightning, Capitals and Flyers, or the squad that sleep walked to losses against the Panthers and Blue Jackets on the upcoming road trip to Washington, Carolina and Boston. For this week, the Jets looked like world beaters, and as such deserve to celebrate in kind.

Final Score:

Jets        6

Flyers    4

3 stars:

1) Dustin Byfuglien

2) Bryan Little

3) Scott Hartnell

Post-game audio:

Winnipeg Jets

Philadelphia Flyers

Next game: Winnipeg at Washington, 6:00 PM (CT), Wednesday November 23, 2011

Broadcast: TSN Jets/TSN Radio 1290

Winnipeg—Desperate times call for desperate measures, and on Monday night at MTS Centre, the less talented but more desperate of two Southeast Division rivals came away victorious. Rest assured, that in the midst of a five game losing streak, and looking beyond dispirited in their last game on Saturday night in Columbus, the Winnipeg Jets, eventual victors on Monday night by a 5-2 margin, were far more desperate than their opponents from Tampa Bay.

In beating the Lightning, the Winnipeg Jets played their most complete game of the season, for the first time making it easy on themselves in dispatching their competition. There were no third period meltdowns, no poor decisions as the Jets played their smartest game of the season.

The Jets opened the scoring at the 6:51 mark of the first period after Dustin Byfuglien, who played his best game of the year, kept the puck in at the blueline. Seconds later Evander Kane showed off his premier wrist shot, zipping it past Lightning goalie Dwayne Roloson. Less than seven minutes later, the Jets took a 2-0 nothing lead on a slap shot from the point by Dustin Byfuglien. Assist went to Evander Kane, but even though it won’t show up on the score sheet much credit must be given to Jim Slater who got away with a bit of interference on Dwayne Roloson, distracting/interfering enough to allow Byfuglien’s heavy slat shot to hit the back of the twine.

The Jets scored the eventual game winning goal at the 7:49 mark of the 2^nd period on a powerplay goal by Mark Flood, with assists to Tim Stapleton and Bryan Little. Evander Kane had a very effective screen in front of Roloson, making it much more difficult for Roloson to see the shot from the point.

The Lightning got on the scoreboard less than three minutes later when the Lightning’s dynamic trio of St. Louis, Stamkos and Lecavalier scored. It was a testament to the Jets play tonight, that for as offensively talented the Lightning are, the Jets were able to weather the Lightning’s offensive storm to the tune of two goals, including killing off a lengthy 5-3 powerplay opportunity late in the 2^nd period when the game was still up for grabs.

The Jets finished off the scoring in the second period mere minutes after the Lightning got on the scoreboard, when Andrew Ladd had a tremendous tip in goal off a shot from the corner by Johnny Oduya. Final assist on the Jets 4^th goal was given to Kyle Welwood.

The third period began with the Jets holding a 4-1 lead. Thus far in the season, the Jets have played with a lead very tentatively and like a team unsure of how to handle the advantage. Tonight was completely different, as the Jets played an intelligent, risk free third period, exactly like a team with a three goal lead should play in the NHL. They even increased their lead at the ten minute mark of the 3^rd period, on a goal by Tim Stapleton, who banked the puck in off the skate of Lightning defenseman Bruno Gervais. The Lightning added their second goal of the night on a breakway by Steven Stamkos twenty two seconds later, but that was a case of window dressing, as it was far too little, far too late for the Tampa Bay Lightning on this Monday night.

The Winnipeg Jets will have an open practice and hold their skills competition on Tuesday night at MTS Centre. Had the Jets not performed well tonight, tomorrow night’s festivities would feel a lot different, with an undercurrent of upheaval surrounding the entire festivities. Considering that the only thing the Jets screwed up on this night was the curtain call for the three star selections (Evander Kane started to emerge but then stopped before hitting the ice, Ondrej Pavelec emerged despite not being selected, and Dustin Byfuglien was nowhere to be found for his turn at the ovation), the pressure that had been suffocating the Jets is lifted for at least one night and they can enjoy the skills competition Tuesday night.

Post-game audio:

Jets dressing room.

Lightning dressing room.

Final Score:

Jets                        5

Lightning              2

3 stars:

1. Dustin Byfuglien
2. Steve Stamkos
3. Evander Kane

Winnipeg—Winnipeg Jets head coach Claude Noel was worried about an emotional letdown for the Winnipeg Jets in tonight’s first game back on home ice after their seven game road trip, and after a 5-2 loss to the Florida Panthers on Thursday night, the headman was correct in his concern.

The game started optimistically enough, as the Jets controlled the flow of the game for the first five minutes of the contest, generating a couple of quality scoring chances, and drawing a powerplay opportunity. Unfortunately, with the Jets unable to capitalize, the emotional high they started the game with, quickly dissipated, and the Florida Panthers were quick to take advantage of the letdown.

The Panthers opened the scoring at the 7:14 mark of the first period on a goal by Kris Versteeg, with assists being drawn by Tomas Fleischmann and Stephen Weiss. The Panthers gained control of the puck in their own zone, after a giveaway in the offensive zone by Blake Wheeler, continuing the right winger’s struggles in the early onset of this season.

The Panthers made it 2-0 just over ten minutes later, as Kris Versteeg scored his second of the night on a powerplay, with assists going to Brian Campbell and Tomas Fleischmann. The Panthers controlled the last 15 minutes of the first period, as the Jets mustered only four shots in the first twenty minutes of action.

The second period started much like the first period ended, with the Jets flatter than an overhead visual of the prairies, as it took until the ten minute mark of the second period before the Jets registered their first shot on net, an occasion that was met with derisive boos from the faithful packed into MTS Centre. The Panthers were not sympathetic to the Jets cause, as they made it 3-0 less than five minutes into the period with a goal off the stick of Jason Garrison, with Kris Versteeg registering his 3^rd point of the night (an assist) and Brian Campbell getting the second assist. Three goals weren’t enough for the Panthers, as they made it 4-0 before the period was up on a powerplay goal by Mike Santorelli, with yet another assist going to Brian Campbell (3^rd of the night), and impressive young defenseman Dmitri Kulikov.

To the Jets credit, they came out strong in the 3^rd period, and tried to make it a game, scoring two goals within the first 6 minutes, the first coming from Tim Stapleton on the PP (first of the year), and that being followed up 3 minutes later by a nifty tip in goal by the captain Andrew Ladd. The Jets kept the pressure up throughout the 3^rd period, getting some good opportunities to make it a one goal game, but that was as close as they would come, as Kris Versteeg scored into an empty net, giving himself the hat-trick, and rounding out the scoring on this Thursday night in downtown Winnipeg.

Every team goes through lulls where they look sluggish and disinterested, and sometimes they are able to play through them, and sometimes they are able to avoid having their opposition capitalize but tonight the Jets weren’t able to recover in time, and as a result were on the losing end of tonight’s divisional contest in Winnipeg. Considering the Jets will have to be better than the Panthers to have a realistic shot at the playoffs, home-ice defeats such as the one they suffered tonight, will be hard to overcome in their quest to continue playing after the 82 game regular season.

Final Score:

Panthers              5

Jets                        2

3 stars:

1. Kris Versteeg
2. Brian Campbell
3. Andrew Ladd

Next game: Winnipeg at Columbus, 6:00 PM (CT), Saturday November 13, 2011

Broadcast: CBC HNIC/TSN Radio 1290

Winnipeg—In the grand scheme of eighty two NHL regular season games, there will undoubtedly be nights where you deserve a better result than the actual outcome of the contest. On Monday night at MTS Centre, in what was for the most part a somewhat dull game, the Winnipeg Jets deserved better than to be at the losing end of a 2-1 defeat.

While the result was obviously not what was desired by head coach Claude Noel, there were certainly many positives to take from the game. The team has seemed to develop an identity, and has replaced the fire wagon brand of hockey they began the season playing, with a more structured, disciplined style that will suit them well. What cost them on Monday night however, was their current lack of top flight NHL goal scorers. Undoubtedly Alex Burmistrov is well on his way to becoming that player, but tonight they weren’t quite there yet, while the Rangers, despite having the play taken to them for the bulk of the contest, capitalized on the few chances they had.

The first period, which was rather dull, was played like two prize fighters feeling one another out, with the “highlight” of the period being a fight between the Jets Tanner Glass and the Rangers Brandon Prust. The first period was the first time all season at the MTS Centre that the fans could not be described as rabid, rather they appeared to be settling into a routine of watching NHL hockey, and acting appropriately at the ebbs and flows, energy wise, of the game.

The Rangers opened the scoring at the 5:51 mark of the 2^nd period, on a powerplay goal by cagey veteran Ruslan Fedotenko, who found himself alone in the slot and tipped a nifty slap pass from Dan Girardi past Jets goaltender Chris Mason. Mason certainly acquitted himself very well on this night, making some nice saves, and providing Claude Noel with the comfort that the veteran net minder appears to have bounced back from the sub-par season he had in Atlanta last year.

The Jets equalized less than ten minutes later on a wrist shot by Nikolai Antropov, zipping it over the glove hand of Rangers goalie Martin Biron. That was the only goal the Jets would get past Biron, as his tremendous goaltending was the reason why the Rangers had a chance to take the two-one lead which they would do in the third period.

The Rangers second goal, and the subsequent game winner came half way through the third period on a powerplay. Ryan Callahan was driving down the wing, and his pass in front of the net caromed off the skate of Jets defenseman Zach Bogosian, passed a helpless Chris Mason. Prior to this goal, the Jets had controlled the play in the third period, including keeping the puck deep in the Rangers zone for a solid 90 seconds despite both teams being at even strength. The game of hockey is a funny one, as immediately after the Rangers finally cleared the zone, the Jets Chris Thorburn was called for a tripping penalty, after (I believe) Fedotenko was streaking in on the left side of Chris Mason, with a potential angle at getting in for a quality scoring chance. Marty Biron made the saves, and withstood the Jets pressure, and the offense answered with the game winning goal.

The Rangers goal seemed to take the wind out of the Jets sails (or wings as the case may be), as the rest of the game found Jets passes ending up in skates instead of on blades, and despite pulling the goalie with ninety seconds to go, they were unable to muster any real quality scoring chances in an attempt to tie up the contest. When the final horn sounded, the Jets were defeated 2-1 by the Rangers, despite out shooting them 28-17, and out chancing them throughout the course of events on Monday night at the MTS Centre. It must be said however, that the Rangers were only penalized one time throughout this game, as compared to the Jets five penalties, and for a team to only be penalized once in the “new NHL” left many in the arena grumbling about the performance of the men in the striped shirts. Nonetheless, the Rangers, and their superior goal scorers, were just the smallest bit of the difference on this night.

Final Score:

Rangers                2

Jets                         1

3 stars:

1. Martin Biron
2. Ruslan Fedotenko
3. Nik Antropov

Next game: Winnipeg at Philadelphia, 6:30 PM (CT), Thursday October 27, 2011

Broadcast: TSN Jets/TSN Radio 1290

Winnipeg—There are certain nights in a NHL season where your opponent comes to the rink pre-disposed to a defeat. Sometimes it’s the injury bug, and sometimes your opponent is on the second half of back to back road games. Such was the case for the Winnipeg Jets versus the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday night, and to their credit, the Jets took full advantage of a visibly tired Hurricanes team.

At the start of the game, it appeared the Jets wouldn’t be able to take advantage of the Hurricanes travel schedule, which saw them arrive in Winnipeg after 2:00 AM Saturday morning, as the Hurricanes jumped out to the lead, on a controversial goal following a goal mouth scramble. 60 percent of the time, the ref would have blown the play dead, but this was one of the instances where the ref viewed the puck as still being live, and Jussi Jokinen capitalized for the Canes, with assists to Chad LaRose and the dynamic Jeff Skinner.

The Hurricanes made it 2-0 a little over two minutes later after another goalmouth scramble, goal being registered by Jeff Skinner with assists to Chad LaRose and Jussi Jokinen. While neither goal could be attributed as the fault of Ondrej Pavelec, Claude Noel made the goaltender change to Chris Mason, and it enlivened the Jets.

To their credit the Jets took advantage of the Hurricanes and the terribly shoddy goaltending of Brian Boucher before the period was up, with goals scored by Alex Burmistrov and with one second left on the clock, Kyle Welwood. Both goals were on the powerplay and the struggles of the Jets PP to start the season, were officially over.

The second period is where the Jets did their most damage, as they had their third straight unanswered goal on a slapshot by Jim Slater, that simply, has to be stopped by a goaltender playing in the NHL. The fourth goal was on a shot from the point, where the puck took a wicked hop into the top corner past Brian Boucher, and the captain Andrew Ladd was on the scoreboard. The Jets fifth unanswered goal came 7:30 into the 2^nd period, potted by Evander Kane, with assists to Nik Antropov and Mark Stuart. Tremendously positive for the Jets today is that it was the Jets topline talent that did the bulk of the damage tonight. Alex Burmistrov continued his dangerous and dynamic play, but for the first time all season both Blake Wheeler and Evander Kane stepped up and played a larger role for the Jets.

The third period started with both teams appearing to just want the clock to wind down, but penalty trouble let Carolina back into the game, as the Jets took numerous third period penalties, including being two men short for almost two minutes. Had the Hurricanes capitalized on any of their numerous powerplay scoring opportunities, the final minutes of this contest would have been much more frantic, which is not to say that they weren’t anyways. Stellar saves by Chris Mason, who only had a few to make, but the ones he did make were off quality scoring opportunities, meant the Jets were going to leave MTS Centre on this Saturday night as victors, completing the double dip of Jets-Bombers victories, and putting a ribbon on one of the best sporting days in the history of this fine city.

Final Score:

Jets                        5

Hurricanes          3

3 stars:

1. Chris Mason
2. Jeff Skinner
3. Kyle Welwood

Next game: New York Rangers at Winnipeg, 7:30 PM, Monday October 24, 2011

Broadcast: TSN Jets/TSN Radio 1290

Winnipeg—The Winnipeg Jets travelling carnival arrived at its latest destination, Toronto’s Air Canada Centre, and on Wednesday night the Jets were clearly the better of the two teams for the first forty minutes. Unfortunately for fans of the Winnipeg squad, the game is sixty minutes in length, and the Jets team that took to the ice for the 3^rd period was out classed in every manner possible, so much so, that the Jets should be thankful they got one point out of the contest, after the shootout loss.

The game started with a flurry, as the Jets continued their up-tempo play from Monday night versus Pittsburgh, being the more aggressive of the two teams, and taking the play to the Toronto Maple Leafs in the early going. The Jets opened the scoring at the 9:49 mark of the first period, registering their elusive first power play goal, on a shot from the point by Tobias Enstrom. Assists went to Bryan Little and Dustin Byfuglien, and for fans who have been clamouring to see Big Buff in front of the opponent’s net more often, they got their desire as Byfuglien gave the puck to Enstrom at the point, then made a straight beeline to the front of the net where the only thing Leafs goalie James Reimer could see was the back of Winnipeg Jets jerseys.

The Leafs matched the Jets goal less than two minutes later when Joffrey Lupul put a puck past Ondrej Pavelec, with assists going to Phil Kessel and Tyler Bozak. The duo of Lupul and Kessel, later joined by face off savant David Steckel proved to be a headache for the Jets all game long, as every time Lupul or Kessel were on the ice, they dominated the play. If those two play this way all year, Leafs nation will be praising Brian Burke for his expertise in acquiring both individuals.

The second period started off with the Maple Leafs apparently forgetting to come out and play the period. A less motivated group of hockey players you are unlikely to see, as the Jets completely dominated the second period, resulting in boo birds emanating from the crowd at the ACC. (Admittedly, that may have been due to a poor selection of sushi in the arena—sometimes it’s hard to tell with that crowd.) The Jets capitalized on the Leafs apathy2:27 into the frame on a goal by Alex Burmistrov, assists going to his linemates Nik Antropov and Kyle Welwood. The line that played so well against Pittsburgh continued their strong play tonight in Toronto. Five minutes later, Jets rookie Mark Scheifele had his dreams come true, as he scored his first NHL regular season goal, in front of his friends and family at the Air Canada Centre. To boot, the goal came on the powerplay, meaning the Jets PP was officially on a hot streak after so much hand wringing at the beginning of the season over its struggles. After 40 minutes, the Jets had the game well in hand, and were on their way to their second consecutive victory.

Unfortunately the Jets began the third resembling the squad that played the first 3 games of the season, rather than the group that had played the last 5 periods in a more aggressive manner. Running around in their own zone, and a lack of urgency, cost the Jets, as within a span of 27 seconds shortly before the midway point of the period, the Leafs had tied the game on goals by Lupul and Phil Kessel. Both goals came on the power play, as the Jets didn’t have an answer for that duo, and it showed on the score sheet.

The rest of the third period and the overtime four on four period saw decent scoring chances by both squads, but undoubtedly, the Leafs had the better of the chances and if it wasn’t for some nifty saves by Ondrej Pavelec, the Jets would not have had the opportunity to gain a single point, never mind have the chance for the proverbial “bonus point”. The breakaway competition (i.e. shootout) saw the Leafs score on two of their three attempts, and they left the ice at the ACC as the winners on a night when they were outplayed for the bulk of the contest.

No time to dwell on what could have been for the Jets, as they have to make the quick trip up the 417 to Kanata, where the Jets will play the young, rebuilding Senators on Thursday night, with the opportunity to collect three out of a possible four points on this short two game Ontario road trip.

Final Score (in a shootout):

Maple Leafs       4

Jets                        3

3 stars:

1. Joffrey Lupul
2. Phil Kessel
3. Dustin Byfuglien

Next game: Winnipeg at Ottawa, 6:30 PM, Thursday October 20, 2011

Broadcast: TSN Jets/TSN Radio 1290

Winnipeg—With the noise reverberating off the walls of MTS Centre like a jet plane flying overhead, the Winnipeg Jets finally gave their fans what they have been clamouring for—a win. Playing by far their best game of the season thus far, the Jets came out at the start with more energy than had been seen in the first three losses. Led by the tantalizing Alex Burmistrov, the Jets couldn’t have asked for a better start, scoring a mere eight seconds into the game, after a nifty passing play deep in the Penguins end. Kyle Welwood registered his second of the season with assists to Burmistrov and to Nik Antropov.

Throughout the game, Alex Burmistrov showed the skills that made him the eighth overall pick of the 2010 entry draft. With comparisons to Pavel Datsyuk being bandied about in the press box, Burmistrov controlled the play of the game with his sleight of hand talents. He set up the Jets second goal of the first period, coming on a one timer by Tanner Glass with barely over 90 seconds to go in the first period. A better first period the Jets could not have asked for.

Even though the Penguins were not fielding their typical line-up, they still had plenty of talent dotting their roster, and with a head coach the caliber of Dan Bylsma, you knew they would not go away quietly. They largely controlled the second period, and despite scoring with eighty seconds to go in the frame, the Jets can thank Ondrej Pavelec and the goal posts behind him, for it being a one goal Jets lead into the third period.

At the beginning of the season, the one area most pundits thought the Jets were in solid shape in was goal, and after a couple of rough outings to begin the season, Pavelec showed why that was the prevailing opinion, making many difficult saves, and generally showing off why he is thought of as one of the up and coming netminders in the NHL. If it was not for his performance tonight, the Jets would have been hard pressed to come away with the victory. A very deserving first star, he was.

The third period began the same way much of the game was played, energetic, end to end, and with appropriate levels of determination and grit. A number of tussles unfolded, including one that cost the Jets their best faceoff man in Jim Slater for the final 5 minutes of the game, but despite his loss, and a late game penalty to Chris Thorburn, the Jets, backed by Ondrej Pavelec and Alexander Burmistrov, prevailed with their first victory in their new home in Winnipeg. With ears popping due to the deafening noise, the Jets fans saluted their victorious home squad, and let them know how much they appreciated their effort.

Despite being without Crosby and Malkin, Orpik and Kennedy, the Penguins, on paper, were the more talented of the two squads. The Jets played a smart, tough, and determined game; the type of game they will need to play on most nights to be victorious. They will need goaltending the likes of which Ondrej Pavelec provided tonight, and when on home ice, they will need the home ice advantage provided by the over 15000 who populated the stands of the MTS Centre tonight.

Final Score:

Jets                       2

Penguins             1

3 stars:

1. Ondrej Pavelec
2. Marc Andre Fleury
3. Alex Burmistrov

Next game: Winnipeg at Toronto, 6:00 PM, Wednesday October 19, 2011

Broadcast: TSN/TSN Radio 1290

Winnipeg— They say not to go to bed angry, but if the Winnipeg Jets are able to fall asleep tonight, without anger coursing through their veins, that is a serious problem. The Winnipeg Jets third contest of the season, a match-up taking place in front of thousands of Jets fans who made the trek down to Phoenix to see the contest against the former Winnipeg Jets, featured miscues, blown assignments, soppy play and enough problems to account for a few extra grey hairs on the scalp of head coach Claude Noel.

The Jets took to the ice in Glendale, to dueling chants of Go Jets Go and Let’s Go Coyotes. After two rousing national anthems, the Jets apparently were waiting around for a third national anthem to be played, as the Coyotes opened the scoring a mere 34 seconds into the contest on a goal by Daymond Langkow, assists to Ray Whitney and Shane Doan. Oliver Ekman Larsson would score the first of his two goals on the night nine minutes later after some sloppy work by the Jets in their end zone. The Jets first period resembled that of a first game of an exhibition season, rather than the third game of the regular season.

The second period began much like the first one ended, with the Jets going down by three goals after Ekman Larsson potted his second of the night, with 5 minutes to go in the period. With pleas coming from the Twitterverse for someone in a Jets uniform to step up and make the third period a period worth watching, Jets captain Andrew Ladd made a beautiful tip on a shot from the point by Tobias Enstrom, and the Jets were within two goals after 40 minutes.

Alas, that was as close as the Jets would come, as the third period saw Ray Whitney put a puck behind embattled Jets net-minder Chris Mason, who performed admirably all night long and did everything he could to keep the Jets competitive. The Jets had chances in the third period, namely a penalty shot that had been awarded to Nik Antropov, and a goal that was disallowed after the referee issued a mysterious interference penalty to Evander Kane, but all in all it was the worst effort the Jets have put forth early on in this NHL season.

Simply put, it is back to the drawing board for the Jets and head coach Claude Noel. It appears his strategy of mixing and matching line combinations on a whim, has not worked and it might be time to put his supposed horses together on the top 2 lines to see if that will turn around the Jets fortunes. It won’t be any easier, as come Monday, the Pittsburgh Penguins come to Winnipeg for the Jets second home game of this season.

Final Score:

Coyotes 4

Jets 1

3 stars:

1)      Oliver Ekman Larsson

2)      Mike Smith

3)      Shane Doan

Next game: Pittsburgh at Winnipeg, 7:30 PM, Monday October 17, 2011

The first ten minutes of the Winnipeg Jets second game provided a tantalizing taste of what this team could become, when all cylinders are firing. Hard work in the corners, controlling the flow of play resulted in two Jim Slater goals, giving the Winnipeg Jets their first lead of this young hockey season. The second ten minutes, however, were a cautionary tale in what could happen to this team throughout the season as they face off against more talented opponents like the Chicago Blackhawks. Two Blackhawks goals, from Andrew Brunette on the power-play and on a nifty one-timer by Patrick Kane potted the score at two apiece.

The second period began where the first one left off, as the Blackhawks scored thirty three seconds in off a shot from the point by Marion Hossa. The Jets were on their heels, and needed to recapture the energy they started the game with, before the deficit grew larger and out of reach. After a power-play failed to capitalize, despite having to go to video review to eyeball a potential goal that was eventually ruled not a goal, the Blackhawks took a 2 goal lead on a shot by David Bolland that Ondrej Pavelec simply has to save. He had made the first save, the Jets failed to clear the zone, and on the next shot, it squeaked through him for a two goal Blackhawks lead. Before the second period ended, the Jets got one of the goals back, as Kyle Welwood put one past Ray Emery, redeeming himself after he tripped over the blue line on a breakaway earlier in the second period. With twenty minutes to go, the Jets were one shot away from equalizing this contest, against a much more talented Blackhawks team.

The first ten minutes of the third period was very much like two boxers stalking one another in the ring. Neither party did much of anything for fear of leaving themselves susceptible to a knockout punch. For the Blackhawks, that tactic is fine as they were the ones with the one goal lead. For the Jets, they had to pick up the pace, given that they were trailing by the one goal. When there were opportunities, the Blackhawks had the best of them, and Ondrej Pavelec had his best period as a Winnipeg Jet, making a number of key saves to keep the margin of deficit one goal. As the Jets furiously pressed for the tying goal, they ran into a roadblock by the name of Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook, and couldn’t slip the equalizing goal past Ray Emery. The last gasp attempt went for naught and at the end of the evening’s festivities, the Jets found themselves on the losing end of a 4-3 game. For those seeking a silver lining, the Jets had a much better performance, in all aspects than the opening night jitters that were on full display on Sunday versus the Habs. The better team won tonight, but for Jets fans, there was reason for optimism at the end of the night.

Final Score:

Blackhawks 4

Jets 3

3 stars:

1)      Patrick Kane

2)      Jim Slater

3)      Duncan Keith

Next game: Winnipeg at Phoenix, 6:00 PM, Saturday October 15, 2011

Winnipeg—Waiting is the hardest part, or so the song goes, and Winnipeg hockey fans will find that out the hard way, as they wait eight long days until the regular season gets underway on October 9^th.

Before that, the Jets had one final piece of on ice game action, and that was Friday night versus the Nashville Predators.  The Predators are an interesting opponent for the Jets, as they assemble a roster in a manner very similar to how the Jets are expected to operate—strong scouting resulting in strong draft classes, well coached and a cost-conscious team who spends in the middle of the salary cap range. Both teams also have their scoring difficulties, and that was very apparent in a first period that featured a lot of action in the neutral zone, but not a lot of action in terms of scoring chances and results on the score-sheet.

The Predators opened the scoring after an offensive zone face-off win resulted in a solid shot on net from the point and the rebound managed to evade both Jets defenders, who also failed to pick up the forward who was parked in front of the net. Cal O’Reilly zipped it past a helpless Ondrej Pavelec and it was 1-0 for the boys from Music City, USA.

The second period began with a scrap 90 seconds in as Tanner Glass tested his mettle against Nashville goon Zach Stortini. A respectable effort by both gentlemen resulted in them sitting and contemplating their actions for 5 minutes each. An ensuing Jets powerplay came up empty but did provide the team with a momentum boost as they controlled the puck well on the powerplay and demonstrated an impressive forecheck in the couple of shirts following. The hard work paid off at the 5:57 mark of the 2^nd period, as, after a neutral zone turnover, Andrew Ladd knocked a rebound past Anders Lindback knotting the score at one. Assists on the goal went to Bryan Little and Blake Wheeler. That was the end of the scoring in the 2^nd period, a period dominated by the Jets, who out-shot the Preds by a 16 to 3 margin.

The Predators broke the dead lock at the 7:28 mark of the 3^rd period with a powerplay goal by David Legwand, assist to Marrias Ekholm. Despite being down 2-1, the Jets controlled the entire play and their just rewards were achieved at the 13:07 mark on a powerplay goal by Wunderkid Mark Scheifele, assists to Patrice Cormier and Johnny Oduya. The phone booth was rocking and would do so into the first overtime game in Winnipeg in over fifteen years.

The four on four overtime created exactly what you would expect from a situation with four per side on the ice—offense and scoring chances. While it may be gimmicky, there is no denying the excitement that a 4 on 4 overtime period creates. End to end rushed by both sides failed to result in a goal being scored, meaning the game would be decided by the gimmickiest of all the gimmicks—the shootout.

The Jets sent Blake Wheeler up first to shoot, and despite a nifty move, the 6 foot 6 frame of Preds goalie Anders Lindback kept the puck from hitting the twine. First up for the Predators was Cal O’Reilly and he went glove side on Ondrej Pavelec for what turned out to be, after Lindback stopped Tim Stapleton and Bryan Little, the shootout winning and game winning goal.

Final score, Predators 3 – Jets 2.

Tonight’s 3 stars, as selected by Illegal Curve Hockey:

3^rd star: Chris Thorburn

2^nd star: Anders Lindback

1^st star: Bryan Little

Join us tomorrow from Noon – 3 PM on Sports Radio 1290 and www.illegalcurve.com for the Illegal Curve Hockey Show, where we will recap the Jets-Preds game and provide our comprehensive preview of the entire National Hockey League Season

Winnipeg—And on the 5624^th day, God said let there be NHL hockey in Winnipeg.

With the first of the Jets hitting the ice at 7:31 PM, the day that Winnipeggers have been waiting for since April 28, 1996 became a reality. No more rumors. No more innocuous chatter. The NHL has returned to the city of Winnipeg.

The game itself, the on ice action, was secondary. After all, it was an exhibition game and while the Winnipeg Jets sported a roster featuring some of their best known players, the Columbus Blue Jackets kept their best players at home in this split squad contest.

The Jets opened the scoring at 7:49 of the first period with a Power Play goal off the stick of Paul Postma, assists being recorded by Byfuglien and Ladd. If the Jets are to have significant on-ice success this season, the names of Ladd and Byfuglien will have to be on the score sheet more often than not.

The capacity crowd in the MTS Centre were brought to their feet one more time in the first period, when 2011 first round pick Mark Scheifele continued his stellar play of the Penticton Prospects Tournament, scoring his first professional goal, assists credited to Ben Maxwell and (again) Dustin Byfuglien.

No exhibition game would be complete without some meaningless fisticuffs, and both teams were eager to oblige as there were six fights in the contest. Columbus Blue Jackets forward Cody Bass was the chief combatant, dropping the gloves on 3 different occasions in the first 30 minutes of the contest, resulting in a game misconduct after the third fight. The fact Cody Bass was playing for the Blue Jackets should tell you all you need to know about the roster Columbus brought to Winnipeg.

Columbus got on the scoreboard midway through the second period after some sloppy play by the Jets. Ryan Johansen got his first goal of the pre-season, with assists going to Derek MacKenzie and Alexandre Giroux. The Jets matched the Blue Jackets scoring with 3:26 remaining in the second period when, after a nifty pass from Mark Scheifele, Kevin Clark tipped the puck past Blue Jackets goalie Curtis Sanford. The second loudest ovation of the second period, aside from the Clark goal, came with five minutes remaining when the beloved Jets fan, Dancing Gabe, made his first appearance on the Jumbotron.

The start of the third period saw David Aebischer see his first game action, replacing Ondrej Pavelec who was solid in stopping seventeen of eighteen Blue Jackets shots through the first fourty minutes. The Jets got on the score sheet early in the 3^rd period after yet another nifty pass by Mark Scheifele setting up Ivan Telegin for his first goal of the game. Second assist was credited to Mark Stuart. They potted another marker six minutes later when Mark Scheifele recorded his 2^nd goal of the game, and 4^th point, with assists going to Dustin Byfuglien (his 3^rd) and Nikolai Antropov.

Jets captain Andrew Ladd wrapped up the scoring 13:33 into the 3^rd period, scoring his first of what the Jets hope are many goals this season, with assists going to Nik Antropov and Paul Postma. A six to one final in favour of the Winnipeg Jets left the capacity crowd of 15004 fans cheering, and chanting the name of Mark Scheifele.

After the completion of the sixty minutes of play, and with more in depth analysis of tonight’s contest still to come on Illegal Curve, via the brain of Richard Pollock, the long and the short of what went down at MTS Centre tonight was a more talented Jets team, dominating the lesser weights that Columbus brought as competition. The reverse of what occurred in Columbus where a youthful Jets team was dominated by the Columbus regulars. Mark Scheifele had a magical night, proving that against this level of competition, charitably an AHL Blue Jackets roster, he belongs. Against NHL caliber it’s yet to be seen, but he has certainly given the Jets management something to ponder over the next 2 weeks of pre-season action.

3 Stars

1^st star: Mark Scheifele (2 goals, 2 assists in his professional debut)

2^nd star: Alex Burmistrov (dangled the puck and was dangerous all night long. Tantalized the fans of what yet might come

3^rd star: Dustin Byfuglien (aggressive, dominant physically. You think he had a bad day and wanted to take it out on someone?)