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It doesn’t take much to make the Winnipeg Jets and their fans happy. A 3-1 win with an empty net insurance goal was all it took to keep the airwaves and twittersphere calm. It’s also amazing how few fans seem to pay attention to the game in great detail.
The third period was a hot mess for the Jets. Noel was line juggling like a busker in the Forks market on a hot July day. He and his cohorts were using any trick they could to find a way to ignite some fire in the bellies of the players to ride out the game and seal a win, one that came in regulation with a clean two points. They did it, but not without a looking like they were trying to survive.
The Devils owned the Jets from the second on but made it that much more obvious in the third and the Fenwick chart from Extra Skater shows just how bad it was.
Tonight the Jets face the Isles and a sole simple question exists if any success is to happen- can the Jets play a full 60 minutes?
It’s the same question that everyone from bloggers to probably the GM and owner are tired of asking yet it persists. It’s the one consistent trait or character of this team that never, ever changes…EVER.
If we go back and look at comparable Fenwick between the two opponents the Islanders lead the Jets by a measly 1.2%. The standings say something different though as Jets have 26 points in 26 games while the Islanders are sitting at 19 in 24 games. They are however both 3 from the bottom of their respective conferences.
The other telling difference is the two teams are scoring about the same albeit the Isles seem to have a bit more offense based on total goals for per game at 2.83 vs 2.65 for the Jets. The Isles to give up .5 goals more per game thus far at 3.41 vs 2.92 and that may be the point at which the Jets can capitalize.
When looking at all situation the Isles are playing at 8.7% shooting average which is historically where the league sits year over year but the Jets are a full % below that at 7.7%. The Isles give up more goals but the Jets don’t shoot with as much success at least right now. That’s luck and if anyone knows about luck it’s Jets fans as they have experienced the pain and frustration of bounces, rebounds etc all seeming to force OT or a shootout.
Based on this simple and limited look at some stats I’d say the Jets and Isles play a tight game, perhaps similar to what happened in Jersey on Tuesday night with either team getting up and holding on.
Kid Rock
Lots of praise has been given to Jacob Trouba in the last couple of days after he returned from a 17 games absence. He played nearly 20 minutes and did not look out of place or all that rusty. The kid is a rock and being from Michigan it makes sense to hang him with a moniker of another famous Michiganer.
He plays with an edge and has some game in all areas of the ice and seems entirely unflappable in almost any situation he faces. Some might call him the anti-Scheifele but I think it’s fair to say he’s going to be the foundation of the franchise soon and that means rock, and he’s still a kid.
Perhaps going so far as too refer to him, as an “American Bad Ass… is premature but with every game he plays the kid impresses those who watch.
Evander Kane came off a scoring slump with a goal against Jersey and is it any coincidence that he scored against an eastern team? Probably not, as he has 3 of his 7 goals against the east, all of which against the Devils. In the last full season of hockey played 2011-12 Kane had 21 of his 30 goals against eastern conference teams. While the Jets were in the east then it is still a shocking difference compared to his success against the west. It’s something that might make for an interesting thing to watch as this season progresses.
With some recent rumours again coming out of Montreal that Kane is being looked at one should wonder if teams in the East are far more interested due to his type of game and what is played in that conference compared to the tighter west.
Expect a tight game again with ebb and flow to the course of play with one team hanging on to win. That’s how it goes for the ‘lesser-thens’ in the league when it’s all said and done. The wins aren’t as pretty and the losses can be rather ugly and perhaps the Islanders, one of the few teams worse off than the Jets, can be positive stepping stone for some consistency. That starts with 60 minutes of determination but you already know that.