WINNIPEG – This was a possible first round playoff preview between two Central Division foes as the Winnipeg Jets welcomed the St. Louis Blues to MTS Centre.
This was the first of four games between these two teams between now and the end of the season.
“It was a battle right to the end,” said Jets captain Andrew Ladd, who had an assist and led all players with 10 hits. “I thought we played a really strong game.”
Judging by the way this game went things will be nasty by the final meeting of the season.
“It was a playoff game,” Blues coach Ken Hitchcock said.
The Blues pulled out a 2-1 shootout win with a couple of nice moves in the skills competition, as Vladimir Tarasenko and Winnipeg native Alex Steen pulled the trigger on Jets goalie Michael Hutchinson who suffered his first defeat and gave up his first goals in the shootout.
This was a highly entertaining game for the fans as they got to experience what it could be like if the Jets make the post season. It was a hard hitting affair between two big fast teams. The Jets jumped out of the gates quickly as they were all over the Blues early but couldn’t find the back of the net.
“It felt a little bit like a playoff game,” Blues captain David Backes said. “Everybody was getting hit. It felt any little play could be the difference. Everything was magnified. It’s good to get that in and start playing at that level, but it’s taxing, and we’re going to need to rest [Friday] to play back-to-back.”
Bryan Little had three great chances but was robbed by Blues goalie Brian Elliott. The Blues got things going after the shaky first and started to press the Jets and Hutchinson was there to shut the door.
“We took a step today,” Hitchcock said. “We took a step, but we’re going to need to take some more steps here.”
The refs decided to let both teams play as only two power plays apiece were given. These two teams were going hard every shift as was evident with scrums after every whistle.
Hutchinson was making his 5th start in 6 games and seems to be taking over the number one job for the Jets made 28 saves including a couple huge stops in overtime to preserve the valuable point for his team.
Elliott showed why he was an All Star as he stopped 30 of 31 shots. He improves to 19-9-2 overall. He was also named the games second star.
St. Louis showed why they are one of the top teams in the West as their lone goal was scored by their 4th line with under 2 minutes to go in the second period as Paul Stastny won a draw and moved the puck to Ryan Reaves who fed Patrik Berglund who scored his 8th of the season.
The Jets got on the board in the third when Andrew Ladd found a wide open Mark Scheifele who buried his 10th goal of the year.
“They’ve got a few really good young players,” Backes said. “You’ve seen the progression already this [season]. Maybe [they were] a little bit wet behind the ears, and now they’re playing big roles and being relied on in all situations. They’ve built something the right way here, you can tell.”
The teams newest member Jiri Tlusty who was acquired from the Hurricanes yesterday for a 3rd pick in 2016 draft and a conditional 6th round pick this year made it to town this morning and dressed for Thursday’s game had two shots and played just under 17 minutes with Scheifele and Drew Stafford. AHL call up Eric O’Dell also was making his Jets season debut had a strong outing as well as he had a couple shots and made some key blocks playing 12 minutes.
The Jets will have a couple days off before the Kings come to town for a big Sunday afternoon match up.
Follow me on Twitter @hrank94
You must be logged in to post a comment.