The Winnipeg Jets silenced the Golden Knights' fortress at T-Mobile Arena, taking a 5-1 victory over Vegas to take a 1-0 series lead in the first round.
If you missed the series preview published yesterday, make sure
check it out here.
Jets' Three Stars
1st Star: Pierre-Luc Dubois
2nd Star: Adam Lowry
3rd Star: Connor Hellebuyck
The Jets played a fantastic game. They controlled possession for the majority of the game, weren't afraid to get shots off, and didn't give the Golden Knights much to work with. The Jets played a very tight game, and it worked very well for them.
The first period was relatively boring, but that is to be expected with Game 1. The teams were playing safe hockey to get a feel of the strategies they would be using, how they would be playing, and playing like they are scared to give up the first goal.
Once the second period hit, the floodgates opened. Kyle Connor received a pass from Pierre-Luc Dubois and got a wicked one-timer off from between the circles. It is easy to look at the shot and think of what a nice goal it was, and that is very valid; it was a great shot. Where people need to pay more attention is that effort level from Dubois. He had a lot of pressure on him headed into the corner with pressure from Jack Eichel and Alex Pietrangelo, Dubois put the pass right onto Connor's stick for the shot in the slot.
Dubois wasted no time doubling the lead, as he and the Jets took advantage of a series of mishaps by the Golden Knights just 62 seconds after their first goal.
The Golden Knights went for a line change, and while Michael Amadio was receiving a puck on the zone entry, Blake Wheeler created an excellent turnover and stripped Amadio of the puck, sending Dubois on a partial breakaway. The skating skills that Dubois demonstrated on that play was some thing I have only seen a handful of times from him. He gained a lot of speed with consistent cross-overs after breaking the blue-line, and when he got just inside the circle, he let a rocket of a shot go, beating Brossoit cleanly and tucking the shot just below the bar.
William Karlsson got the Knights on the board with a few minutes to go in the period. The Knights had an impressive zone-entry, giving Karlsson a great look from just below the dot. It was a strong play and nice shot by them. The only critique I have from the Jets on that play would be that Pionk over-committed to a hit on the entry, and while it may often be the right play, he should have covered the pass there. Dillon was in a foot-race with Karlsson as they were both entering the zone, but Dillon couldn't keep up. You can point to that as problematic, but you also have to respect the speed and talent of Karlsson.
The rest of the game was all Winnipeg.
In the third period, chasing the game, Vegas was only able to register two shots in the period, giving them their lowest total of the season with 17 shots throughout the game.
Winnipeg was able to extend the lead when Wheeler found the loose puck out front after Nino Niederreiter swatted the puck toward him. He let a back-hand shot across the ice go in through traffic in front and goes between Brossoit's legs.
Adam Lowry scored a pair of goals in the final 100 seconds of the game, one being an empty-netter and the other on the powerplay. Lowry had a really good game overall, and with Ehlers out, the depth was going to be tested and they were able to make the best of the opportunity.
A few other notes and stats from the game:
-Morgan Barron had quite the scare, catching Brossiot's skate just above the eye. He required 75+ stitches, and after less than a full period worth of play, he returned to the ice patched up and with a cage on his helmet. The resilience Barron showed is exactly the kind of energy that the Jets can thrive on to succeed in the playoffs. Obviously, if there was any serious damage, he wouldn't be allowed back, but most players would have taken the rest of the game off after a scare like that.
-Adam Lowry led the Jets with 1.71 expected goals (nearly 46% of the Jets' totla expected goals)
-In 11:42 of ice time, the Samberg-Schmidt pairing was a duo of analytical darlings. Their expected goals percentage was 98.3% with 0.376 xGF and 0.007 xGA. Their Fenwick percentage was 91.7%, generating 8 shots while on the ice, and only allowing 1.
The Jets will be at the fortress again tomorrow for Game 2, and the Golden Knights will likely be coming at the Jets with their strongest game of the series after a very underwhelming open to the post-season.
Winnipeg Jets Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»