The Jets were down then they were up, and then it was turbulence until OT but they managed a safe landing in Calgary with a 5-4 win overtime win. The obvious stand outs were Nike Ehlers with 2 goals and rookie defenseman Sami Niku who had 2 as well. CJ Suess also had a nice goal off a Trouba slap pass that adds to his strong impression this training camp and pre-season.

Laurent Brossoit had some trouble early on, as did Trouba but the goalie and skater recovered to some measure later. This game was far from a masterpiece but two things that made fans happy eventually happened, Ehlers finally scoring since early April and the same with Niku.

One bit of information that came out about Ehlers is how head coach Paul Maurice had been talking to him about being a shooter first before anything else. It's something Ehlers knows has to happen and it's one of his strengths and perhaps it's one aspect of his game that needs to come back to to the forefront. Ehlers has improved on his goal total every season in his NHL career and that would mean cracking the 30 goal plateau this season if it were to continue.

Niku had a strong game offensively but there still was some weakness in his defensive game. Niku knew this and talked about it between periods when asked about his game in an quick interview. This is a good sign because being aware of deficiencies is the first step to improving upon them. There's probably another Jets player that comes to mind who needs this trait.

The challenge for the Jets now is how do they manage a developing player, the AHL defenseman of the year, who could fit in on the weaker left side while managing all the minutes players want? This will be something to watch and certainly not a problem Paul Maurice wants to have but isn't disappointed in having.

The Third Line.

Last season depending on injuries it was Lowry Copp and Tanev, or Copp, Lowry Tanev depending on how they lined up. Last season they emerged as a hybrid type checking line but not because they ground the opposition's top lines. It was because they simply wore down the opposition by cycling the puck and driving the play at the opposition goalie.

As a line at 5 vs 5 they looked like this:

CF: 60.43%
Shots For: 63.20%
Goals For: 66.67%
Scoring Chance For: 64.04%
High Danger SCF: 69.23%
Shooting: 8.86%
Save%: .923

This is not something anyone saw coming but when they are on the ice they are something to watch as it's almost magical but could it get better?

Here's what the players are like when with and without each other at 5 vs 5.

Lowry and Copp CF% 57.22%
Lowry and Tanev CF% 47.57%
Copp and Tanev CF% 46.13%
Lowry w/o Copp & Tanev CF%: 55.12%
Copp w/o Lowry & Tanev CF% : 50.53%
Tanev w/o Coop & Lowry CF%: 35.56%

It would appear we know where the weak link is on that line. That's the troubling part is if they are separated two of the three can manage but the third cannot yet the Jets have other options. The hope is that one or more of Copp or Lowry do not sustain an injury of any significance as they are clearly the play drivers on that line.

Now considering that Tanev is the weak link can that be improved upon? Another question needs to be answered first though, is this the Jets 3rd line this season or it's 4th? Depending on usage and what the other line will be it leaves possibilities open. Certainly updating Tanev with a Roslovic or Dano might be better but what is the downstream effect after?

As a trio with Dano they only played 2:27 of 5 vs 5 time and the results were good but hardly meaningful. The same can be said for playing with Jack Roslovic, hardly any meaningful time together but is this worth exploring more?

Should the Jets ice a line of Copp Lowry and Dano what would the final line look like? Perreault Petan and Roslovic? That's if Perreault is even still around given the state of the chemistry and dynamics on the second line right now. Another question would be if Petan has been passed by some of the other players in camp too?

The bottom remains a mystery and we still haven't explored the defense conundrums that exist either. Despite not a lot of change to the roster via personnel this past off season there could be some from internal personnel that changes the look and feel of the team.

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