Okay been awhile since some content went up here on the Jets- my apologies but life has to make time for fun too right?
Friday night was basically a rather pedestrian effort by the Jets. The Blues countered them well through the neutral zone and the team did enough to keep the team at bay with scoring chances and more. There were good ones but not the kind of connection that needed to help the Jets bust the level of effort they were putting in. While they climbed to within 1 in the 3rd period it took almost no time for the Blues to respond and get back to a 2 goal lead before winning 5-2.
Some of the problems with play was decisions making and a level of selflessness. Too often scoring opportunities were not realized as various players were looking to make an extra pass or find a better option. Sometimes the best chances come from chaos created by lesser ones and the Jets simply were not ready to do that as a team on Friday- today's game requires more.
The basic issue that affects this team at times is a level of courtesy to one another. Having Scheifele back probably affected normal decision making and also some tactical adjustments by head coach Paul Maurice. It appears now that the with some changes the Jets will monitor Scheifele's opposition and use Perreault a as a boost.
The bigger issues remain that the Blues, with no days of rest came in and controlled the pace of the game and the Jets tactics with relative ease. One could say that Yeo simply out-coached Maurice and the Jets bench boss did not find the adjustments needed to get through the Blues.
Therein lies the underlying concern with Maurice that still exists with many fans- can he adjust and adapt when under pressure?
Today is a chance to prove that but the Jets also have to prove to themselves they are not going to coast through this rare 10 game homestead. Being at home is not an assured win anymore as the quality of the competition is far from easy.
If you were not aware the Rangers announced to their fans and the rest of the NHL that they are entering rebuild mode and that familiar names may be shipped out at the coming trade deadline. The one name that has many teams' fans drooling over is Mats Zuccarello. The stalwart winger is a good 2-way player who can put points up and support his line mates well. He matches up to a archetype first line winger well and more than exceeds the underlying numbers of a second-line winger too. It's worth watching him and how he plays because that's the kind of depth move the Jets could afford and do at the deadline that makes a lot of sense.
As discussed before the Jets could also be interested in Grabner and Nash but one name that seems to slip by is McDonagh. He's a left hand defencman who would immediately be the ideal number 2 behind Morrissey or number one as his numbers compare well with an archetype number one pairing defence man.
His acquisition would become a bit more challenging due to the fact there are no injuries on the Jets left side so who slots out? Would management even think of trading Enstrom after the favour and he did for them with the expansion draft? Sliding him out for McDonagh would be an upgrade but keeping him would also be helpful simply for depth but not to sit on the bench. It's likely far too complicated a scenario to make happen but fans can dream.
The task today though is to win and given the game against Arizona and the last one against the Blues a significant upgrade in effort and attention to detail will be imperative. Forwards expected to be:
#NHLJets line rushes: Perreault-Scheifele-Wheeler, Ehlers-Little-Laine, Connor-Copp-Armia, Dano-Petan-Roslovic
— Ken Wiebe (@WiebeSunSports) February 10, 2018
No change on defence.