Coming into this one after consecutive losses where the accumulated score was 12- 3, the Jets were eager to get back on the good foot. Having had their players only meeting (ooh! Players only) it appeared the boys were primed for a comeback game of sorts.
The deck chairs had to be shuffled of course, after Adam Lowry was confirmed to be out for the next four weeks with an upper body injury. That meant Jack Roslovic was back up on the second line to start the game and Harkins was back in. Mason Appleton would also get a chance to play a little higher up in the lineup, and for all those fans of young players playing; welp, you got it.
1st Period
Hurricanes put on the pressure early and came up with a quick one when Necas, taking a deftly deflected pass off the boards, pulled the puck onto his backhand and tucked it in behind Hellebuyck. That’s a tempting piece of poke-check bait right there.
With Niku in the box, Carolina would set up in the Jets zone and Justin “Old Man” Williams, fresh off his extra long summer holiday, deflected in a perfect slap pass from Teravainen along the wall.
56 seconds later, the top line would go to work as Connor dug out a puck in the corner, got it over to Scheifele behind the net, who did what he’s quickly becoming known for, and backhanded one over to Laine in the slot for the finish.
Patrik Laine gets the #NHLJets on the board with some nice work in the corner from Kyle Connor.
The Jets seemed to find their legs after Laine’s 17th, and the third line followed with some excellent cycling resulting in a couple chances. And yet, it still seemed as though the Jets were being kept to the outside again in this contest.
The one odd-man rush that the Jets did create in the period, ended with Scheifele shovelling the puck into the guts of Jaccob Slavin. Next, a powerplay resulting in zero shots, however yielded two Laine blasts to Hurricane player’s guts, and therefore a mild form of amusement. Shortly after, Laine was gifted an opportunity in front of the net when the puck was over-skated by a Hurricane defender. He got off one of his six shots on the night, but wouldn’t solve Mrazek with the snapper.
The final face-off of the period, with four seconds left, would be won decisively by Wheeler, back to Laine who let it go immediately, making Petr “What E?” Mrazek make a significant save.
2nd Period
Under two minutes into the second, Roslovoic would take a quick pass approaching the Hurricanes blue line and coast in alone on Mrazek. Sadly, he was neither able to score nor punish guts. Wheeler’s line would not let up, creating a number of potential scoring opportunities. Still, it seemed the team was lingering along the outskirts of the opposition’s zone.
I watched the second period, and stuff did happen, but if it’s my job to make it newsworthy, my apologies. A blast into someone’s guts would have been alright, but it took fifteen minutes just for Hellebuyck to face a shot. Don’t these guys know they’re in the entertainment business? Here, enjoy an interlude. It’s in no way related.
3rd Period
Ugh! Where to start with this one? At one point the Jets, trailing by three goals, allowed the Hurricanes to take 15 unanswered shots. What the crap?!
Yeah, about that other goals. Old Man Williams doing his thing:
In the end, it would prove to be of little significance because no guts were blasted.
It’s been the same story for a spell here now. The Jets fall behind early, they take chances to get back in it, they give up more goals. Then there’s that other theory, and maybe it intersects, but it’s the theory of regressing PDO. With save and shooting percentages coming back down to Earth, the Jets are starting to look somewhat, I hate to say it with all the talent they have, mediocre.
The Jets get back in the saddle tomorrow at 6:30 PM against the Blue Jackets in Columbus. Let’s hope that third period we watched was them saving their legs for this one. They’ll need it against a Torts-led team that’s won 8 of their last 10 games.
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