Well, someone had to come out. But, did it have to be potential Tanev replacement Jansen Harkins? Well, who do you want? I’m probably making the same move as Maurice in this situation too sadly. Nick Shore could be spared some would say, but you’ll get my take on that later. Who else is there?
The Coyotes have been really hit-and-miss ever since their acquisition of the supposedly most important free agent of the year Taylor Hall. Not saying he’s the problem, but he doesn’t want to stay there and that must make it kind of hard to gel with his teammates.
And, laying out Lyubushkin and Hinostroza, and then sitting down the 6’4’’ 220 lbs Lawson Crouse with a flurry of fists was such a glorious way for Lowry to spend his first shift.
— Here's Your Replay ⬇️ (@HeresYourReplay) March 10, 2020
Missed you.
Five minutes in and the Jets were already asking Helle to do some heavy lifting when, Dvorak got in behind the D and fired one. It’s still Hellebuyck though, so he covered the net and confidently commanded the puck into the corner. Cool start.
A couple minutes later it was Connor’s turn to break away. Unfortunately, he was forced onto his backhand and Kuemper was able to get the angle.
Shortly after, Schmaltz waltzed right past Pionk and let one go right in the slot for the lead.
Amid speculation, Phil Kessel proved to be alive and well with assists on each of Schmaltz’s offensive successes.
2nd Period
Maurice must have had something inspiring to say in the intermission because the Jets would come out with a bit more urgency, starting with an absolute Ehlers’ beauty.
How fun is it to watch this kid accelerate and drop the shoulder? Deadly.
Arizona, attempting a comeback, got a great chance by Richardson wristing a rebound Helle had to be sharp on. As good as Hellebuyck was in the game, he appeared to offer up a few more rebounds than usual. Meh, the extra work hasn’t seemed to bother him.
Nick Shore stole a puck and wristed a shot that Kuemper shrugged off with the shoulder. It was a solid game for the fourth liner despite the desire for most to see Harkins remain in the lineup at his expense. You can’t argue with those PK numbers though, and the improvement correlates perfectly with his arrival so… not now Jansne pants, I guess.
The Jets were trading chances for most of this game, however, I’m of the opinion they were coming away with the better ones. Eventually, one of those excellent opportunities would go, when Poolman, making a very patient play, found Eakin in tight and followed him to net. The end result would be Poolman potting the rebound on the backhand by the now out-of-position goaltender.
Morrissey just about made hay when Apple fed him a perfect pass in the slot, but Kuemper was up to the challenge. Eventually, Eakin would play hero in his hometown, pulling a puck on the backhand and patiently outwaiting Kuemper to flip it in for the first Jets’ lead of the game.
It was not an easy ten minutes to watch from a Jets’ perspective. The Coyotes had chances, and like the majority of the Jets’ wins this year, Hellebuyck was probably the difference.
Scheifele went ahead and popped an empty netter, but not before a few failed zone-clears and own-zone face-offs that had the Jets on their heels. Still, got the two points.
The Wrap
The Jets are staying in the fight having put together a three-game winning streak when it was needed the most. I really do believe the extra days have aided the Jets and allowed them to turn it on a little more at times in games.
Especially enjoyable, has been seeing the Eakin line starting to gel. The Jets are going to need a reliable second line that scores if they’re going to go anywhere from here. In the last three games the line had a combined 11 points. We’ll see if they can keep that up.
Despite not scoring the Jets top line led the way with 12 shots; 6 more than the second line. I guess they’ll get the next game.
Speaking of the next one, it’s in Edmonton on Wednesday against a burgeoning young team that appears to have found some confidence. With both teams playing as they have been, I’m anticipating some kind of a showdown.
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