After what may have been a nothing game for both teams turned into an 11 goal outburst for no apparent reason other than it happened. The Jets opened up a 3 goal, first period lead and then sat back and let Ottawa claw back in the game. This happened over and over until time ran out and Ottawa was left hanging.
Two notable things happened in that game last night:
First, Mark Scheifele did his best to set Kyle Connor up for his 30th of the year. This was to the detriment of his own points and perhaps the Jets own score. The reason- Connor has a $215,000 bonus if he scores 30 goals.
Second, Erik Karlsson took the puck out of the net after Adam Lowry tried to bury a late empty-net goal but was too late. The puck was a symbol for Karlsson who may have played his last home game as a Senator.
In the end the 6-5 win for the Jets seals the deal for Winnipeg and likely assured them a first round match-up with the Wild who just lost Ryan Suter who has undergone surgery for an apparent fractured fibula.
Tonight the Jets take on the Canadiens and it's expected that the roster will see some changes most notably will be the NHL debut of Sami Niku. If you are on any of the Jets social media and aware you will know that there is a large segment who have anxiously been waiting for this moment.
Niku was a 7th round pick in the 2015 entry draft, a left shot defence man who many see as the heir apparent to Toby Enstrom, and there's good reason to think so. In fact there might be even more offensive upside. In his AHL/professional debut Niku has 15 goals and 37 assists so far this season for the Manitoba Moose. Niku is tied for the AHL lead in points by a defence man but he's 4th overall in scoring for all rookies and tied for 20th overall amongst all skaters in the entire league.
Niku is not a large player measuring 6' tall and approximately 170lbs, speed and offence are his game and he likely would have loved the game last night. Will the Canadiens play a similar open style with a shutdown mentality on Laine?
Last night Paul Maurice rolled his lines well with only one forward Lowry over 16 minutes in ice time and only two defence men over 20 minutes, Trouba and Morrissey. Expect more of the same tonight with Trouba likely getting more ice time as he comes back from relative inactivity after his injury then subsequent concussion a few games after his return. Maurice did mention that the ice time would go back up once the Jets got home in an attempt to amp up the pace and team prior to the short break before playoffs begin.
If there was an expectation for the Jets, most importantly Niku, tonight what is it? Who should Niku be paired with? How much ice time should he get- PP, PK minutes?
We'll find out tonight before the Jets open the next four games at home which includes the first two of the opening playoff round.