The Jets kicked off 2019 by dropping their first contest 4-0 to the Pittsburgh Penguins which means they fall to 25-13-2 this season after this one-game road trip out east. It was the third time this season that the Jets have been shutout. They are now 0-7-2 in Pittsburgh since Atlanta relocated to Winnipeg and 0-14-4 dating back to the Atlanta days.
For those who would like to take a deeper dive into the advanced stats here are the results from tonight’s game via Natural Stat Trick.
Gameplay:
– Early in this one Nikolaj Ehlers collided with Sidney Crosby and had to leave the game to head to the dressing room;
– Ehlers came out for another shift but had to leave the ice again;
– The Pens opened the scoring on the power play as a Olli Maatta blast from the point deflected off Wheeler and past Hellebuyck;
– 33 seconds later Dmitry Kulikov missed a check, the Pens took a shot and it deflected in off Matt Cullen;
– I do wonder if Matt Cullen is the oldest player to score against the Jets 2.0 (42);
– Cullen did score in the first round of the playoffs (when he was with the Wild) but was 41 at the time;
– Team announced during 1st intermission that Nikolaj Ehlers would not return to the game (upper body);
– Both teams traded chances in the middle frame but ultimately the Pens got one (which was initially ruled no goal);
– Had appeared to be a great save by 37 but the situation room in Toronto overturned the call on the ice;
– Pens held a 3-0 lead after 40 minutes;
– Coach Maurice pulled Connor Hellebuyck with 5:30 to go in the 3rd to try to get something going;
– Kris Letang put the Pens up 4-0 as Letang flew up the ice and took a nice Crosby pass and deposited the puck into the empty net.
– Dmitry Kulikov left the game with 2 minutes to go in the 3rd after blocking a shot with his arm.
Notable:
Big question marks will be the extent of the injuries to Nikolaj Ehlers and Dmitry Kulikov.
Audio:
Blake Wheeler
Connor Hellebuyck
Tyler Myers
Coach Maurice: Update on Nikolaj Ehlers? On the challenge of losing one of your top six forwards? What did he see from the game? On the two goals in 33 seconds, did he feel the team sagged a bit after that? What did he see on the third Pens goal? On pulling the goalie with just under six minutes to go. Further clarity on Ehlers.
All audio courtesy of TSN 1290 Winnipeg.
Health Update:
Coach Maurice was asked for an update on Nikolaj Ehlers who was hurt in the first shift of the game “Not till tomorrow. We’ll get him looked at when we get back home.”
Up Next:
The Jets are scheduled to practice tomorrow at 12 noon at Bell MTS Place. Be sure to start your day with the AM papers at 7 am on illegalcurve.com.
