The game didn’t start particularly well for the Jets as they gave up a shorthanded goal to Brandon Saad just four minutes into the opening period and then eight minutes later they gave up a power play goal as Brent Seabrook put home a rebound. The Jets were outshot 13-10 by the Hawks and if not for the play of Connor Hellebuyck it could have been even worse for the visitors after 20 minutes.
The 2nd period was much better for the Jets as they looked dangerous from the outset. Nikolaj Ehlers drew a penalty on Duncan Keith and subsequently scored on a nice pass by Neal Pionk (who just before the goal had been crushed in the Jets zone). While he won’t get an assist on the play Mathieu Perreault had a perfect screen on Robin Lehner when Ehlers released his shot. Lehner would go on to make another 3-4 great stops on the Jets who kept up the pressure to tie the game. Winnipeg outshot Chicago 11-6 in that period but found themselves down 2-1 after 40 minutes.
Both teams had chances early in the 3rd. Eventually just past the mid point Kyle Connor circled the Hawks net and saw a wide open (and I mean wide open) Andrew Copp who tapped home the pass across to tie the game. Carl Dahlstrom found a good time to pick up his first point. The 3rd period would end tied at 2 with the shots favouring the Jets 10-11.
OT began with the Hawks winning possession but the best chance came when Blake Wheeler drove into the Chicago zone, put it up to Josh Morrissey who gave it right back to the captain who immediately spotted Mark Scheifele who one-timed it past Lehner to give the Jets a 3-2 win and improve to 4-2-0 on the season.
For those who would like to take a deeper dive into the advanced stats here are the results from this afternoon’s game via Natural Stat Trick.
Notable:
– Neal Pionk is up to 2G 3A in six games with the Jets;
– Carl Dahlstrom got his first point as a member of the Jets;
– Connor Hellebuyck was very good and wins his third straight game.
Audio:
Mark Scheifele
Carl Dahlstrom
Coach Maurice: What was said after that 1st period? Everybody was off with exception of his goalie? On the belief on the bench after the Nikolaj Ehlers goal? On what Andrew Copp’s line did. Does he keep the roster the same for tomorrow or keep it rolling? What’s happening with the power play? Gave everyone a boost after they got a special teams goal.
Audio courtesy of TSN 1290 Winnipeg.
Up next:
The Jets won’t have any time to rest as they fly back to Winnipeg to get ready for the Penguins who they play in Winnipeg on Sunday night for their second back-to-back of the season. The Pens are currently playing (and winning) in St. Paul against the Wild. Kick start your day with the AM Jets papers which go live at 7 am on illegalcurve.com.
