The top two teams in the NHL's Central Division faced off last night, so let's see who took sole possession of first place.
The Winnipeg Jets started off with a bang, with Dillon and Lowry making some great checks against the Stars' Dellandrea. Dallas was a little more advanced, but the Jets did a decent job of limiting their chances against Hellebuyck. However, it was broken up by three Stars counterattacks due to Winnipeg errors in the high defensive zone or neutral zone. The first mistake was made by young Perfetti. He had plenty of time to find a better option, but he wasted the puck off the boards in the defensive zone. The puck was intercepted and one pass later, Dallas was back in control of the flow of play and took an early lead at home. Winnipeg's defensive system and Hellebuyck worked together to keep the game close for the next 10 minutes, with the Jets' best chance coming when Scheifele nearly hit a rebound out of the air (See the big blue circle on MoneyPuck's shot chart below.). A neutral zone turnover by the 1st line furthered Dallas' offensive zone cycle and resulted in a one-timer behind the Jets' goal when Conner lost defensive coverage. Less than two minutes later, rookie Stan Koven backchecked Appleton's stick into the neutral zone, and the Stars were on the offensive again. Hellebuyck was able to make a save or two initially, but the Dallas rookie was ultimately able to knock the puck home during a scramble at the front of the net. It was an ugly period where Winnipeg was consistently on the back foot, but key mistakes ended up costing them. Check out the Stars' first-period dominance with MoneyPuck's shot charts and advanced stats.
1st Period MoneyPuck Statistics: Score: 3 to 0 Stars shot 12-for-10, Jets deserved to win 70% Stars, Expected Goals – All Situations (1.40-0.72 DAL), and 5-on-5 (1.40-0.72 DAL)
The Winnipeg Jets were able to raise their game despite giving up big runs against a good defensive team, so I'd like to give them some credit. The visitors clearly controlled most of the play in the middle frame and were rewarded with their first power play attempt late in the period. There was nothing we could do with the top unit, so we passed the baton to the second group. The Jets' PP was able to set up as the penalty kill neared its end, and the cycle went towards Ehlers in the left faceoff circle. The speedy Dane cut toward the center of the ice and attempted a pass past two defenders to the side of the net for Namestnikov. Luckily, the pass was deflected off a defender's stick and hit another Stars skate, but it ended up flying to Vladi's right for an easy goal to break the shutout. MoneyPuck's advanced stats show how well Winnipeg played in Game 2, narrowly winning the actual expected goal contest.
MoneyPuck stats after 2 periods: Score: 3 to 1 Stars tied for 20-20 shots, Jets 54% deserved win, Expected Goals – All Situations (2.13-2.11 WPG) and 5-on-5 (2.11-1.43 DAL)
Winnipeg needed to break free in the third period to fight back, which gave Dallas a good chance to fight back. Even if the Stars had two power plays (Including a short 5v3 advantage) and with an extra man rush, Hellebuyck closed the door on Dallas in the final frame, giving the team hope. Unfortunately, Bucky wasn't rewarded by the rest of the team, and the Jets ended up allowing the Stars to rack up the goals they expected. In the end, the opponent's netter was empty, giving the Dallas Stars the victory and first place, ending a disappointing game for Winnipeg. Look at his absolute explosion of xG for the home team (4.29) in the third period in the stats/shot chart below.
MoneyPuck stats after 3 periods: 78.4% Deserving Win, Expected Goals – All Situations (6.40 to 2.80 DAL) and 5-on-5 (2.83 to 1.72 DAL)
Final score: dallas stars Four winnipeg jets 1
shot: dallas stars 36 winnipeg jets 26
Game observations:
- I don't have much of an opinion about the game…but it's pretty amazing conor hellebike (Save .914%) could concede 3 goals in the first period and still end the game with a better than expected 2.21 goals saved at the end of the night.
- In fact, the Jets' top six teams won the 5-on-5 expected goals battle. Kyle Connor, mark scheifele& Gabriel Bilardi The trio's scoring rate was 56.1%; Alex Iafallo, Vladislav Namestnikov& Nikolai Ehlers The group received 50.7%.
With news of Vilardi suffering an upper-body injury and Rick Bowness saying he has concerns about his availability for the next game, the coaching staff will likely have to work on some new line combinations. Dew.Will we finally see it? Nino Niederreiter Promoted to top 6?
Next game: Winnipeg Jets @ Carolina Hurricanes – Saturday, March 2, 11:30 a.m. Central
Wow, the game starts before noon. Winnipeg tends to get off to slow starts, so playing that early is a concern, especially against a quality team like the Canes.
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