It ain’t over until the fat lady sings, but the Winnipeg Jets are now down two games to one against a Colorado Avalanche that looks like they have a good handle on how to beat the Jets.
To make things worse, the Jets coaching staff doesn’t seem to have a good answer to the Avs’ adjustments.
Aside Note: Tonight’s game was very late, and so I was unable to get my normal editor to edit beyond what I do myself. I also am unsure what time tomorrow’s post will go out. Finally, Sunday I have something I need to attend to for family so I will miss a good chunk of the game. Because of that, the post game results will be delayed.
The Winnipeg Jets actually created quite a few chances this game and honestly were pretty decent at 5v5 for moments. However, their special teams stunk, Connor Hellebuyck has not been his normal Vezina self—although he’s been not as bad as many have stated—and the team can’t stay out of the box.
At one point the score was 2-1 and the Winnipeg Jets had the bulk of the chances. Consolation prizes don’t exist in the playoffs, but this was the first game Winnipeg actually won the “expected goal battle” for 5v5.
Unfortunately, it’s the team with the most goals that wins, and goalies and special teams are still a big part of the game.
Every single Jet essentially saw at least one even-strength goal against. I have some criticism of the Jets’ deployment and some coaching decisions, but it’s not like any Jets played well enough to stand out enough to argue anything anyways.
I don’t think the refs called an unfair game, but the sequence in when they let things go a bit versus when they called penalties tilted things heavily in Colorado’s favor. However, in the end, the Jets are responsible for their actions. Not the referees.
There were a few questions and concerns going into this series:
A top line that has been outchanced and outscored throughout the season
A struggling second pair that has arguably the Jets’ largest negative impact player struggling
A team that went on a winning streak but depended a lot on PDO (shooting and save percentage performance) to win
I don’t think the top line played poorly, but they were blanked at even strength and allowed two against. Meanwhile, Neal Pionk had four goals scored against him while he was on the ice.
The Jets at 5v5 were not bad, as mentioned previously. That said, they weren’t without their weak pieces. The fourth line played low event but lost their matchups, and the second pair struggled a lot as well.
In fact, they struggled a lot:
The Jets have not buried the Avs with their depth as many had suspected. Nor have they suffocated Colorado and prevented speed and entry. In fact, it’s been the Avs speed that has slowed down the Jets.
Let’s look at the transitional stats for the game, but before you do, if you do like this type of content please subscribe, like, and share as it helps us grow at The Five Hohl!
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