Note: The Jets five-game win streak ended last night as comeback fell short and the Predators took it 3-2. That was the first game Winnipeg has lost in regulation in over two weeks to fall to 12-6-2 at the 20-game mark of the season. They are 8-2-0 in last ten. The team is off today.
Note II: The Moose needed a good effort yesterday as they went into the final game of a six-game road trip in Grand Rapids against the Griffins having lost two straight and three of their last four after they began the road trip with two wins in three games (in three days in fact). We saw some physicality by Jets prospect Nikita Chibrikov as he show he isn’t just an offensive player. Despite finding themselves down 1-0 in the 1st they tied the game courtesy of this beauty from the knees by Jets prospect Chaz Lucius. After a big 5 on 3 kill to start the 2nd the Moose got a special team tally with this fantastic pass by Brad Lambert to leading goal scorer for Manitoba and fellow Winnipeg prospect Nikita Chibrikov. The kid from Michigan Wyatt Bongiovanni finished the scoring for the Moose with an absolute snipe top corner. Netminder Oskari Salminen was very good (29 saves on 31 shots) and they held on for a much needed 3-2 victory to end the road trip with a 3-3-0 record. They move into 4th in Central (7-9-0). Today they are off.
Jets news:
Global News: Jets better than expected at season’s quarter-mark but need improvements. As Drew said on last night’s show I don’t know how many folks had the Jets sitting close to the top of the central with a 12-6-2 record but as Kelly writes this team still needs to make some adjustments to crack that upper echelon of teams in the NHL.
Winnipeg Sun: Jets have the will, but it’s hard to have the way when goaltender struggles. Where there’s a will there’s a way generally speaking but that performance by Laurent Brossoit was not good enough. The BC product has played in five games and has just one quality start.
Photo Credit: Colby Spence (Illegal Curve)
Winnipeg Sun: Goaltending the difference as Predators halt Jets’ winning streak. No question about it the difference in that game was Saros vs Brossoit.
Winnipeg Free Press: Jets charge falls short. Wieber was inside Bridgestone Arena last night and provides you with his assessment of the game.
The Tennessean: How Nashville Predators held off Winnipeg Jets to push winning streak to five games. One team had a five-game win streak snapped and the other stretched their win streak to five games. Read about the game from the perspective of a writer who covers the Jets opponent.
Jets audio:
Illegal Curve Hockey Show: Saturday Podcast. On show this weekend we did a recap of the Jets win over the Panthers, looked at the return of head coach Rick Bowness, the admirable job done by associate coach Scott Arniel in his absence, the impending return of Gabriel Vilardi and where he might fit in, play of the Dylan Samberg/Nate Schmidt pairing, a Jets/Predators preview and a Moose week in review. Our guests included Garrett Hohl of The Five Hohl and Senior Content Manager & Beat Reporter for the Predators Emma Lingan.
