Photo Credit: Colby Spence
Recap:
If not for Connor Hellebuyck this game would have been a bloodbath. The Jets netminder was forced to make 20 saves in the 1st period alone. Each time the Kings took the lead the Jets were able to answer until the 3rd period when Anze Kopitar made a nice move around Josh Morrissey and then put a backhand past Hellebuyck for the lead and ultimately the win. The Jets fall to 5-6-0 on the season.
For those who would like to take a deeper dive into the advanced stats here are the results from the game via Natural Stat Trick.
Notable:
– Head Coach Paul Maurice had the line blender out in the 2nd period as we saw Blake Wheeler & Mark Scheifele on different lines
– Nikolaj Ehlers had a goal and an assist
– Connor Hellebuyck made 38 saves in the loss.
Audio:
Blake Wheeler
Connor Hellebuyck
Coach Maurice: On the two early penalty kills and whether that took them out of their rhythm. Was he surprised? Is that game a microcosm of the penalty kill? Switching Wheeler and Ehlers and what does he see from Blake Wheeler right now? What has Hellebuyck done to get into a rhythm? Goalie plan. Are the last two games a function of a young team? On this being a collective team loss. Using two offensive players on the PK late in the game. On the Heritage Classic and if it is a good or bad thing.
Up next:
Kick start your day with the AM Jets papers which go live at 7 am on illegalcurve.com.
