McDavid makes the difference

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 18/03/2021 (1634 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Following his team’s 4-3 overtime win over the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday, and with another game the next night, Jets head coach Paul Maurice pointed to two key factors in winning the second half of back-to-back games.

Maurice said you must have trust in your backup goaltender, which the Jets have. Laurent Brossoit has been solid in relief of starter Connor Hellebuyck all season, including just one loss in six starts. Then you need, according to Maurice, a solid effort from the fourth line, enough to relieve some pressure of the Jets’ top forwards.

On Thursday, the Jets got both. But it still wasn’t enough, as it was the Edmonton Oilers who skated to a 2-1 victory at Rogers Place. It was a disappointing start to a seven-game road trip for the Jets, who dropped to 18-10-2 with the loss.

The Oilers improved to 20-13-0 with the win and are tied for top spot in the all-Canadian division with the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Jets are just two points behind, with three games in hand on the Oilers and even with the Leafs.

“If this game was played tomorrow night we’d be back to big chances at both ends of the ice. I think both teams beat the hell out of the puck tonight,” Maurice said after the game. “We were pretty good systematically, they battled hard, everybody worked very hard, but if you’re going to run the schedule that both teams are running and then you put them back-to-back, on travel, there’s not going to be a lot of silkiness to what gets done out there.”

Indeed, with both teams playing the previous night, it wasn’t the usual offensive outburst these two teams have become accustomed to this season. In their previous four games, they’ve averaged a combined 8.25 goals per game. The game had a combined 36 shots.

With only three goals scored, all of which came in the second period and none from the Jets top two lines or power-play units, gave this one a much different feel than usual. It seemed especially disappointing that the Jets’ top guns were also shooting blanks.

“Obviously we’re paid to produce. All of our lines had some chances. We wish we would have had more or capitalized on them when we had the chance,” centre Mark Scheifele said after the game. “That’s the way it goes sometimes. You can’t get them every night, so we have to regroup and be ready for the next one.”

Brossoit finished the game stopping 19 of 21 shots. His two blemishes came off the stick of the NHL’s top player in Connor McDavid. McDavid scored twice in the middle frame, with his second marker coming just 38 seconds after Mathieu Perreault tied the game 1-1.

With the pair of goals, McDavid became the fastest Oiler to reach 20 goals in a season since Mark Messier did the same during the 1989-90 campaign. For those keeping track, that’s the same year the Oilers went on to win the Stanley Cup.

“He’s the most explosive player in our league for a reason. You saw that tonight. You give him a little bit of space and he’ll make you pay,” Scheifele said. “He’s going to make the teammates around him better. That’s something you always have to be aware of when you’re playing against him, and he proved that tonight.”

The first period acted as a feeling-out process between the teams, with neither side able to find the back of the net through 20 minutes.

Edmonton’s Jesse Puljujarvi had the best opportunity of the frame, taking a puck in the slot in the dying seconds but firing the puck high past Brossoit. The Jets had the edge in shots, 6-4, with Nikolaj Ehlers having the best scoring chance. But Ehlers, too, couldn’t finish on a shot from in close, with the rebound missing the net to keep it scoreless.

The Jets got a scare late in the period when Scheifele extended his right leg to block a shot. The blast appeared to connect at his high ankle, with Scheifele limping to the dressing room in clear discomfort. He was OK to play the rest of the game, and dismissed it being an issue to reporters afterwards.

Edmonton opened the scoring 3:53 into the second period with McDavid’s 19th goal of the season. McDavid had just left the Oilers bench, picking up a turnover on the sideboards before driving the net and besting Brossoit with a high shot.

“It’s pretty obvious you don’t want to give him any time and space. When he does have it, he’s a pure goal scorer,” Brossoit said. “He picked a good shot, a good spot. He’s got a deceptive release. I mean, you can compliment him all you want, it’s almost unnecessary. We all know it.”

Given what Maurice had said after the win over Montreal, it was fitting that the Jets tied the game with a goal from Mathieu Perreault, with assists going to the two players on the fourth line in Nate Thompson and Trevor Lewis. Thompson drove up the right side before firing a shot towards a driving Perreault, who tipped the puck through the legs of Mikko Koskinen.

But it wouldn’t be enough on this night. The good news for the Jets is they’ve had an impressive ability to bounce back after losses, with a record of 8-0-1 in 2021 following defeat.

The Jets won’t have to wait long for a chance at revenge, as they’ll be right back at Rogers Place to play the Oilers Saturday night, before moving on to a pair of games in Vancouver against the Canucks.

 

jeff.hamilton@freepress.mb.ca

twitter: @jeffkhamilton