Well, first of all I apologize for the delay in posting the summary, but the sleep time combination is (I stayed up late at the end of the game against the Kraken because I just bought EA's NHL 24.) and the number of articles I have to do today (Toffoli trade article summary, preview) I'm way behind. So this recap will be a lot shorter than usual, but fortunately it was a defensive affair against the Seattle Kraken, so there's no need to exaggerate too much.
When the puck dropped in the opener, I thought from the beginning that the Winnipeg Jets were clearly the better team. Our team spent most of the first period in Seattle's zone and actually had trouble penetrating the Kraken's defensive structure. The local Sea Monsters only had a few offensive looks on the counterattack due to Jets turnovers, but Brossoit had to make some quality saves to keep the game scoreless. Niederreiter likely had Winnipeg's best chance, but he missed the net from the low slot and was unable to test Daccord. It was a great defensive period, and a few plays caught my eye (A great backcheck from Scheifele ended the rush, and a great sliding pocket check from Samberg ended a 2-on-1 rush.). The shot chart below shows how the Jets were held on the perimeter in the first and where Seattle's two quality looks came from.
1st Period MoneyPuck Statistics: Score: 0 to 0Jets shot 9-8, Kraken 55% deserved win, Expected Goals – All Situations (0.48-0.28 WPG), and 5-on-5 (0.48-0.28 WPG)
The second frame saw tougher checking hockey with limited scoring opportunities for either team, but both the Jets and Kraken had one big chance. Seattle's game was scored early on a Kraken 3-on-2 rush when Beniers hit a shot right off the post, while Winnipeg's game ended when Scheifele slid a nice cross-crease pass to a pinched Morrissey. It happened, but I'm still not entirely sure how #44 played. He missed what looked like a wide open cage. If you look at the advanced stats and shot charts below, you'll see that the Jets started sending more shots in Daccord's direction, and he was eventually able to get a few from high-danger areas. . You'll also notice that Winnipeg's backups performed extremely well when called upon, although the Kraken looked a little more quality in Brossoit.
MoneyPuck stats after 2 periods: Score: 0 to 0Jets shots 17-12, Kraken 55% deserved victory, Expected Goals – All Situations (1.07-0.88 SEA) and 5-on-5 (1.07-0.88 SEA)
The Winnipeg Jets nearly lost the lead when Ehlers made a huge turnover at his own blue line, but Brossoit again came up big and blocked Bjorkstrand's shot. The Jets began to increase their intensity and slowly the ice began to tilt in their favor. Excellent forechecking by Scheifele and others allowed Winnipeg to spend multiple shifts looking for weaknesses in the Kraken. They finally succeeded when Morrissey stopped a clearance attempt at Seattle's blue line and stuck the puck to Namestnikov while fighting off the Kraken forwards. The Russian forward moved the puck to Scheifele low in the zone, and the Jets' top center quickly crossed the crease and jammed the puck with a sprawling Daccord. With 1-0 lead and 13 minutes remaining, the visitors looked to seal the game. Seattle had a great chance to tie the game with the only point-and-shoot chance of the game, but Samberg and Brossoit teamed up to block the Kraken's chance on the man advantage. Winnipeg was able to gain some breathing room when Niederreiter ran up the ice and fired a howitzer at Daccord. The goalie hit a big rebound and Appleton was there to make it 2-0. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Apples were unable to win the bid, but big man Lowry came on to set things up, adding his second goal in the last two games. Ehlers' late empty-netter clinched the game, and Brossoit delivered Winnipeg's first shutout of the year in a solid if unexciting performance. The stats and shots clearly show how the Jets swarmed the Krakens' zone in the third period.
Money Pack stats after 3 periods: 61.5% Expected Goals Worth Jets Win – All Situations (2.31-1.68 WPG) and 5-on-5 (2.31-1.44 WPG)
Final score: winnipeg jets 3 seattle kraken 0
shot: winnipeg jets 32 seattle kraken 17
Game observations:
- 4th career shutout win Laurent Brossoit, fending off all 17 shots he faced in a solid performance.It's really nice to have a backup that the coaching staff can rely on to provide relief. conor hellebike With stable performance.
- I haven't said much this season, but mark scheifele He has been very effective on both ends of the ice this season. I really enjoyed his efforts and in my opinion, no other Winnipeg forward has been as impactful for the Jets. It's a nice hang for a game-winner, but he needs to adopt a bit more of a shot-first thought process so he can make more use of his impressive shots.
- It was a pretty ugly night Nikolai Ehlers. Too many passes will result in turnovers in bad spots on the ice (Offensive blue line, neutral zone, defensive end). I (and perhaps rick bowness) I don't mind the occasional failure in the pursuit of an attack, but I have to pick my spot to make a bet.
- Another great game by Adam Lowry, Nino Niederreiter& mason appleton trio. The team led in expected goals at 73.6% and was the best forward unit against Seattle. The first line (66.8%) also did well, but the second line (49.3%) and his fourth line (14.8%) struggled a bit more.
Next Game: Winnipeg Jets @ Vancouver Canucks – Saturday, March 9th, 9pm Central
Well…two articles completed. One more to go. Maybe they'll make something to eat before finding out what newly acquired Tyler Toffoli brings to the Winnipeg Jets.
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