Jets couldn’t silence Ducks’ big guns

Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 17/04/2015 (3798 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Five early morning takes after a late night watching the Anaheim Ducks take a 1-zip lead over the Winnipeg Jets in the opener of their Stanley Cup playoff series…

1. The Jets were far from awful in Game 1, but when it mattered most penalties proved costly and the Ducks’ big guns – namely Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf – blasted away to be the difference makers, teaming up for three goals and seven points (Perry: 2G, 2A; Getzlaf: 1G 2A).

That was one of the storylines heading into the series for the Jets – could they limit the damage of the two superstars – and, fact is, they get an ‘F’ for their work in the opener.

That said, consider this: since the 2007-08 season only two other NHLers have scored more regular-season goals than Perry — Alex Ovechkin (377) and Steven Stamkos (276). Perry is at 266. Interestingly, for as deadly a shot as Perry possesses, both his goals Thursday night came with his stick in the blue paint.

Now, despite their star power, the Ducks power-play was just awful during the regular season – they ranked 28th at 15.7 per cent  — but it was deadly against the Jets. In the three games against Winnipeg, Anaheim was five for 16 (31.25 per cent) and was two-for-three in Game 1.

Here’s a Los Angeles Daily News piece from yesterday with the Ducks talking about their man-advantage woes heading into the series.

And, for a take from the other side, here’s an excellent game report from Mark Whicker (@MWhicker03LANG).

 

2. A concern for the Jets: too many of the guys they lean on were quiet in Game 1.

• Dustin Byfuglien played just under 21 minutes and had three shots and three hits, but wasn’t the physical force many thought he would be, nor an offensive threat.
• Bryan Little hasn’t looked right since he came back from injury. I know coming back from a long stint on the DL can be tough and, to make matters worse, he was apparently sick on the last road trip of the regular season. Little has just one assist now in the six games since he returned and had just one shot in Game 1. The stats gurus out there point out that Little was leading the Jets in Corsi after two periods before the Ducks’ explosion in the third, but his offensive jump just doesn’t seem to be there yet.
• Andrew Ladd had two shots Thursday, but he’s now gone 12 games without a goal.

 

3. A collection of names Chris Thorburn, Bryan Little and Toby Enstrom were no doubt thrilled to be removed from: the list of NHL players with the most regular-season games under their belt without a playoff appearance:

Ron Hainsey ACT 754

Guy Charron RET 734

Chris Thorburn ACT 604

Sam Gagner ACT 562

Ladislav Smid RES 561

Bryan Little ACT 556

Tobias Enstrom ACT 544

David Vyborny RET 543

Vitali Yachmenev RET 487

Tim Jackman ACT 481

(ACT: active; RET: retired)

 

4. Two numbers that have to be bugging the heck out of Paul Maurice & Co. today:

• The Jets were just 38 per cent in the face-off circle
• The Ducks fired 67 shots towards the Jets goal (33 on goal, 14 were blocked, 20 more were wide), while Winnipeg’s totals were 42 (27 on goal, six blocked, nine missed).

 

5. And, finally, Jets fans who were complaining about Ryan Kesler’s acting on a critical Mark Scheifele penalty that led to a goal, get ready for more of the same. That’s a huge part of Kesler’s game and he’ll keep doing it.

ICYMI, here’s what former NHL referee Kerry Fraser tweeted about the play Thursday night:

Kessler embellishment on Scheifele lack of discipline & experience.

— Kerry Fraser (@kfraserthecall) April 17, 2015

 

Ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @WFPEdTait