The Winnipeg Jets got blanked 2-0 against the New York Islanders, in a game where the outcome was clearly stemmed from Islanders Head Coach Barry Trotz. It's hard to say that a team had a good game in one where they just got shut-out, but the Winnipeg Jets did play well, outside of a slow start in the first period.
The hockey-world knows that the Islanders play a very boring style. It is all about defensive responsibility and plugging up the ice in the neutral zone, and in front of the net. Winnipeg's ability to get through the neutral zone was promising, but as Paul Maurice noted after the game, they needed to create more chaos in front of Ilya Sorokin. This message was sent during the game, and Blake Wheeler responded by diving at the puck in the crease. Paul Maurice says there were a few instances like that, and that the puck just wasn't going where it needed to.
One of the many positives to take away from the game include the centers continuing to dominate the circle, with the Jets winning 57.7% of draws. For the most part, this team has done very well here through the first 11 games. The defense played pretty well in their own zone too. A lot less mis-haps from miscommunication, and I will say it again. The longer this group plays together, the better they will be. They are all capable NHL defenseman and their game's really compliment each other. This team is built to succeed.
There was a lot of offense generated, but the biggest problem for the Jets offense was the finishing and making the right plays. The Islanders had 19 blocked shots, and while many of them were due to the tight coverage by the team, the Jets blue-line fired a lot of shot s in the shin-pads of New York defenders. Just a small piece to look at, and work on moving the puck more to find a lane.
The Jets forwards had 24 regitered shots, which is on the lower-end for what you hope for, but with all of the missed shots and blocks, this team really has to work on making that work. Unfortunately, Mark Scheifele and Paul Stasny could be missing to help solve that problem. In the third period Scheifele takes a hit along the boards from Islanders D Adam Pelech. It didn't look like anything bad, but in the replay it looks as if Pelech' knee or leg ends up hitting Scheifele in the upper leg, likely causing a bad bruising in that area. Paul Stasny also got hurt by blocking a shot in the foot. These can result in a lenghty recovery, or can just be a few days on a sore foot. They are very hard to predict. We will hope to hear an update when the team is back together Monday.
The star of the show this game was no doubt Eric Comrie. Despite picking up his first loss of the season, Comrie stopped 29 of 31 shots on the second half of the back-to-back, bringing him to a total of 46 saves on 49 shots the past two days. Good to see from the backup. Connor Hellebuyck will likely be ready come Tuesday when the Jets take on the Blues. An update on the two injuries and Hellebuyck will be updated here is there isn't another piece out by then.
Thank you for reading. Let me know your thoughts on the game, and what you think the Jets need to change in the offensive zone against teams built so well defensively.
By Jacob Billington Follow @JacobBillingt10