A loss with few complaints

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 26/02/2015 (3914 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

For all those doomsday-preppers who think the Winnipeg Jets have too difficult a schedule the rest of the way to survive, their hometown team pointed out a few things Thursday night at the MTS Centre.

Yes, the Jets came up short in a 2-1 shootout defeat against the St. Louis Blues, watching another valuable point go out the window.

But this game took a lot of energy and the Jets had plenty.

“I think so, I think we showed the way we can play,” said Jets centre Mark Scheifele, making the case that the how, rather than the what, was as important in the end for the Jets. “We were fast on the puck, physical, and that’s a pretty good team to be physical against. They’ve got big bodies, they play a solid game as well, and we stuck in there every shift.”

Jets coach Paul Maurice had next to nothing to complain about.

“In our room, it (the story) is going to be the way we played,” Maurice said. “It’s the template of the game that we’ve been building to since Vancouver (Feb.3).

“It was a well-played game, hard-fought game, good pace and intensity. Disciplined but hard.

“Both teams can skate, and that’s their game. That’s the way they play when they play well, and that’s the way we play when we play well.

“Not a lot of complaints here.”

The scoresheet

Patrik Berglund finished off a two-on-one late in the second period but the Jets drew even with great offensive pressure and an Andrew Ladd pass to Scheifele close in that turned into the equalizer at 3:14 of the third.

The shootout — where it’s so important to get the first goal — brought red lights from Vladimir Tarasenko, Ladd and then Alex Steen to favour the Blues.

It was the first career shootout loss for Jets goalie Michael Hutchinson, now 3-1 this season. Hutchinson had stopped all 11 shootout shots before this one-for-three night.

The race

The setback in the shootout dropped the Jets to 31-20-12, for 74 points. They are 5-2-2 in their last nine games, but on this night, they lost ground to the Blues, who surged to 82 points in second spot in the Central Division, and Chicago, which also won and moved up to 79.

And behind, Minnesota won in Nashville, closing the gap to three on the Jets. Some good news came in as Vancouver, over in the Pacific, lost in Buffalo.

The (lack of) penalties

Among the categories that showed the Jets can play the right way, and an effective way, was they afforded the Blues just two power plays on Thursday night.

The most shorthanded team in the NHL showed it does not have to play recklessly or without discipline to be competitive.

And the Jets killed both, including the minor to Scheifele in overtime. Winnipeg had two power plays of its own, including one that carried into the extra period, but also came up empty.

The hits

As we mentioned, the Jets had few complaints.

“I thought that was an exceptionally well-refereed game,” Maurice said after the game. “The ledger was good.”

That may have been true, but there might have been a little muttering after the Blues were given an overtime power play, while getting away with an awful interference by Barret Jackman and David Backes’s pull-down of Tyler Myers behind the Jets goal.

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