Too late to write last night but it's also a good to have some rest to distill some thoughts about the game. Here's a few takeaways from last night.
Connor Hellebucyk may have had one of his better games this season and he still allowed 3 goals but finished with .930 save percentage. That's not bad but it's more of an indictment of what was going on around and in front of him. At even strength the Jets only had 32% of the shot attempt share, 32% of the scoring chances and 29% of high danger scoring chances. This game was a big step backwards in terms of possession and control but it was also one where Hellebuyck had to keep his team in it, and he sort of did.
Mason Appleton had his first career NHL goal with an assist from- oh Nic Petan! I'll let you all draw your own conclusions about how that fits together and what it means. Why was Petan in? Lowry was out and Roslovic moved up to the 3rd line. Say what you want about Petan when he's on the ice more offense happens. In fact the line of Petan, Appleton and Lemieux was the only one or players above water in possession and they were well above.
Nik Ehlers had his 2nd hat trick on the year and now has 15 goals in 35 games and is suddenly back on a 30 goal pace. The turn around with Ehlers has happened quickly after a mighty slow start and whether he's on the top line or second line he's making things happen again. His first was a bit lucky as a strange bounce brought it out front and Ehlers had a near empty net Jones flailed in his attempt to get back between the pipes. That scenario would happen again with the eventual game winner as Scheifele picked up a lose puck and faked a shot before sliding it to Wheeler- then things got pretty and ugly.
Wheeler held on to the puck and Jones kept sliding, waaaaaay our of his crease and then took out Braun with him. By then it was too late as Wheeler had passed Ehlers the puck for another open net. The final goal is the easiest Ehlers will ever score- or not score. Streaking down the left side with an empty net waiting Pavelski decided to try the most obvious hook ever that basically turned into a trip and the referee awarded the goal right then. So Ehlers had to goals with no goalie in the net and one where he was awarded the goal- that's a strange hat trick.
The Laine issue is a alive and well and the term lazy is being used by many. He had a tough game and he's had a few lately but using 'lazy' to describe his game seems incorrect. Laine isn't lazy as much as he's careless and probably unfocussed at times. Sure you can say 'lazy' but that is being just as 'lazy' as saying Laine is.
Laine's issues are more about trying to do too much and not the simple thing. He wants to do a lot but he needs to focus on doing the right things not the coolest things. He overplays the puck, he tries ill-timed passes or once that should not be made and he's not involved in the play at times. When Laine was on his goal scoring tear one thing he was doing was getting involved in the play, read rush, earlier in his own end and participating in the full cliche 200' game. When he's not focused on that he has to try his tricks to get him out of trouble. This is an experience thing and he has to learn where to be and when to be there so he keeps himself out of trouble. Due to his long stride he's an easier guy to pin down when not at speed so teams do this- he's now challenged to figure out way to counter that. He will and the coaches will keep on him too I would imagine.
Don't look now but Blake Wheeler had three assists last night and is now tied for first in the league with Rantanen at 42. He's also tied with Marner and Gaudreau for points with 47 and one behind 5th overall Mark Scheifele.
I saw a tweet yesterday that said the league average save percentage was .908 and after checking NHL.com it indeed is. Connor Hellebuyck sits at .909 as of today.
Hellebuyck is 3rd overall in wins too with 16.
For the 21 goalies who have played more than 1000 5vs5 minutes Hellebuyck has the 17 best save percentage and ahead of Fleury who leads in wins and shutouts. Hellebuyck has the 4th closest goal distance in the league and also the 4th worst High Danger save percentage. Last year Hellebuyck had a .820 HD save percent and it's currently at .795 so at some point there's hope he might trend back to historical for him, even though it's a brief history.
Moving on to Vancouver to wrap up before Christmas is a nice way to enjoy some west coast weather before the chill of winter hits. While not playing very pretty the Winnipeg Jets are 1st in the west and 3rd overall. Not a bad place to be and if successful on Saturday could have 50 points in 36 games which puts them at 114 point pace. Remember it was not until after Christmas that the Jets really turned in on last year. One can hope for more right?