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Jets Lose Lowry and the Game |
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The Chicago Blackhawks came into this one just 2 points behind the Jets, so we all knew what a loss meant. Patrick Kane was looking for his 1000th career point, all of course, as a Blackhawk. Winners in 7 of their last 10 and facing a Jets squad just 4-5-1 over theirs, it begged the question; are the Jets and Hawks comparable teams?
The big news out of Winnipeg was Coach Maurice shaking up the top six, putting Copp with Scheifele and Ehlers, leaving Laine with Connor and Wheeler. It didn’t exactly go as planned.
1st Period
Well Kulikov’s first shift would set a low bar. Thankfully, he wouldn’t get worse, though I’m not sure he got better either. Adam Lowry would get the first shot and chance in close, but Lehner kicked his wrister into the corner.
The play headed the other way, and after some sustained pressure, Alex Nylander took the Gustafsson pass, moved it to his backhand, and slid it behind Hellebuyck for the go-ahead goal.
The Hawks would follow up with some more pressure and couple shots however, Hellebuyck was still holding the fort. Ehlers missed his second good opportunity, retrieved the puck and set up Copp for him to miss in turn. When Copp did get one off, after a nice pass from Scheifele down low, Lehner aggressively came out and made the stop.
And when the Hawks got their chance, cycling in the Jets zone, Gustafsson stutter stepped and wristed one perfectly through the traffic, putting giving his team up by two.
We would learn at the start of the second period that Drake Caggiula’s hit on Lowry knocked him out of the game.
2nd Period
The Jets do well to create some scoring opportunities on the powerplay, but Lehner is on and when the Jets do get their chances, they don’t execute as we have seen them in the past.
Caggiula, the goon, would get his 7th and 8th penalty minute of the game and the Jets went to work on the PP again. Finally breaking through the Hawks netminder when Scheifele backhanded a flubbed Ehlers’ shot home to bring hi team to within one.
Mama Scheifele representing.
3rd Period
We saw Laine gain the Hawks zone with some nice hands, however like many of his teammates on the night, he missed the net. Appleton would get his chance to almost score next, and also miss his mark. It was a team affair.
Then 18 year old rookie Kirby Dach drove in on Hellebuyck, creating a rebound that he just missed with the glove, leaving it wide open for Kampf to stuff into the empty net.
And then some history was made, when Brandon Saad finished off a play that gave Patrick Kane his 1000th career point. Quite the feat!
With Hellebuyck on the bench, and a little over two minutes left, Pionk’s wrister got deflected by Connor enough to create a rebound for Laine on the doorstep. Nice to see him score.
Kubalik would add the empty netter and draw his Hawks into a tie with the Jets, albeit with a game in hand. Still, they remain 3 points out of a wildcard spot and the question of whether this is a playoff team or not is now forced.
They won’t have the easiest time trying to right the ship as they are slated for back to backs, Tuesday at 6:00 PM against the Carolina Hurricanes, and then Wednesday at 6:30 PM against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Should be a telling two games.
Winnipeg Jets Blogger • 
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