Post-Game Talk: Mustard Kitties Tamed... Jets win 5-1

[The Blue Baron]

Looked like Arvidson hurt is sucky thumb again to. hehe

 

[Skidooboy]

just amazing.

Trade deadline? what? who needs trades.

Niku just shot up the depth chart I'd doubt he sees the press box again.

 

[ffh]

if you go to the jets web site and watch the Appleton goal you might get a laugh listening to him yell at the top of his lungs after he scored "yeah f****n right boys"

 

[DRW204]

Laine in the slot compressed the D more so the outside lanes are more open, but the seam pass has disappeared. Scheif doesn’t have the same shot from the left hash that Patty does either. Only benefit is not having watch Laine turn it over at the blue line.

yea it's difficult to make a cross ice pass with Laine+all the attention he gets in the middle of the ice. Unless they have the pass coming from behind the net i think this isn't an efficient way of going about things

 

[LucianoBorsato]

Hellbuyck said it was rude!

What was the deal with a horn? Missed that part of the game

 

[Whileee]

Maurice played a hunch on his goalies this week and the results couldn't have been better. Two big wins, and perhaps more importantly, both goalies coming out with very high focus and confidence.

 

[Evil Little]

What was the deal with a horn? Missed that part of the game

(Arvidsson had a breakaway that he didn't really come close to scoring on and the horn went anyway.)

 

[None]

 

[one other person]

After watching that game, and with that effort, does anyone still think we need to give up a first rounder, a player and a prospect for a 3 month rental?
Jets have what they need to win without risking the future. That became clear last night.
When they want it bad enough, they are a championship caliber team.

The only thing they might need is veteran depth with playoff experience. I'd like to see consistency from the fourth line before ruling it out. Depends how healthy we are too. Once our injured guys get back, this team is nicely stacked.

 

[PaulPooley]

That convincing win last night in that building in Nashville should give them confidence going forward on the road.

 

[Jets 31]

Beautiful , he should get at least 5 games . He was frustrated with Scheif fighting for the puck and turned and Tomahawked Scheif right in the frigging head . I can't believe Scheif wasn't seriously hurt , pure luck .

 

[Robinson2187]

(Arvidsson had a breakaway that he didn't really come close to scoring on and the horn went anyway.)

yep with their banners and goal horns....always premature these Preds!
I'm sure their wives still love them.

 

[sipowicz]

just amazing.

Trade deadline? what? who needs trades.

Niku just shot up the depth chart I'd doubt he sees the press box again.

Niku's trajectory has been unreal, some tough decisions are going to have to be made soon!

 

[Mortimer Snerd]

Great game. High entertainment index, convincing win for the good guys. Had a hard time getting to sleep last night.

 

[sipowicz]

Beautiful , he should get at least 5 games . He was frustrated with Scheif fighting for the puck and turned and Tomahawked Scheif right in the frigging head . I can't believe Scheif wasn't seriously hurt , pure luck .

Pretty inexcusable, how exactly to do you accidently apply that much force coming down any way but intentionally and towards another players head no less, if there isn't a suspension the NHL is a joke!

 

[raideralex99]

The only thing they might need is veteran depth with playoff experience. I'd like to see consistency from the fourth line before ruling it out. Depends how healthy we are too. Once our injured guys get back, this team is nicely stacked.

I think last year's playoff run made a lot of the Jet players playoff veterans. No need to waste a first.

 

[tntkid]

Buff smash that thug Johansen on March 1st.

 

[AlphaLackey]

Maurice played a hunch on his goalies this week and the results couldn't have been better. Two big wins, and perhaps more importantly, both goalies coming out with very high focus and confidence.

I wouldn't even call it a "hunch". At least to me that word suggests guesswork or a reason not grounded in variables with any actual correlation. Like he was looking at their biorhythms and started Brossoit because all three cycles were at +100% or whatever.

It struck me as a conscious effort to increase Brossoit's # of starts and quality of starts, both because he seemed more than capable of handling it and because it would also improve Hellebuyck's performance.

But one thing there's no disagreeing on: you're absolutely right that it worked out better than anyone could have imagined, and *just like that* in two games, I suspect both goalies have improved their confidence. We already had the 5th best goaltending in the league going forward, just imagine if that continues to improve?! Hoo boy.

And add the sudden amelioration of Niku to the mix? I'm not going to jinx it, or at least I hope not but if it keeps up, we've found our "rental D" and we can go shopping for small depth pieces. Imagine if we can get a penalty killing wizard for the 4th line on the cheap?

The prospects are dizzying and the year is only half done!

 

[Mortimer Snerd]

The best part was beating the Preds in their building - after their injury excuse and during ours.

But the 2nd best part was the performances from our rookies. Roslovic is really starting to look like he belongs. Appleton is not too far behind him. Lemieux has been gradually improving. His goals last night were earned by good play. No asterisks. He is now clearly ahead of Petan.

I thought Petan should have been playing all season ahead of him and maybe, if he had, he would have progressed to stay ahead. That didn't happen and Lemieux has taken advantage of the opportunity to earn a spot. At least so far (since his suspension), he has behaved himself while still playing physically. He has done everything I always said he had to do.

Niku just gets better every game. He is playing well, on his off-side (yes, I know he has played right side quite a bit before), while having Morrow as a partner. He is the only waiver exempt D when Buff and Chia come back. That may mean being sent down again but I expect him to be called up after the TD. He has shown he can play in the NHL. LHD may not be quite the priority it has been up till now.

Laine is not in the same group as those guys but he is even younger and played a very good game too. Nice to see.

And then there was Helle. That might have been his best game this year. If not, it was close. Great if we can go forward with 2 strong, reliable goalies.

Q: Should the Jets have the dads in attendance at every game? Or maybe just every playoff road game?

 

[CaptainChef]

• Paul Maurice and the Dad's (or guests, whatever) must have inspired the whole team tonight because everyone looked to play fast-paced hockey and generally had the Preds on their heels all game. An impressive showing, especially with the responses from some key players tonight: notably Morrow, Lemieux, and Appleton (and Hellebuyck for you naysayers, I guess).
  • I think to quickly summarize, the one key thing I saw the most was the Jets players making quick passes out of their zone, but maintaining possession and coming with speed over the opponent's blueline way more often than they have previously. Those two skillsets are killer and can make the opposing team fall over themselves as they try to get back into the play. It was good to get that early lead so Laviolette couldn't fall into the 1-3-1 trap which seems to stop any sort of Jets momentum.

• The Connor-Scheifele-Wheeler line was generally rolling given the matchup against Johanson, but Wheeler was playing like he was one or two years younger again. If this is the whole idea that he's trying to rest up for a long playoff run and gave us a show of how he can turn it up on a whim, sign me up.

• Laine-Little-Roslovic also had themselves a game, Laine especially more noticeably than not. He feels like he's a game or two away from going back on a tear, and with the player/all-star break coming up before another span of 11 games in 20 days or something like that, he'll definitely be counted on to take those high danger shots he has been. The xG for their line was dominant over what we've seen in the past little while.

• A noticeably not pretty numbers-wise game for the Perreault-Lowry-Tanev line which honestly surprised me a bit as I didn't feel that totally reflected the game on the ice tonight, but both of their matchups (Johansen and Jarnkrok lines) outshot them generally 2-to-1. I think it might have been a combination of expiring power plays and them not taking as many shots as they have the previous game (5ish adjusted CF is pretty low), but Tanev's strikes me as especially odd but worrisome. 18ish CA is... not very good. This would be a game where I would like to dive back into the video before making any swift assumptions here.

• Appleton-Copp-Lemieux, after everyone proclaimed them as the worst 4th line combination since GST, decided to score 3 goals on their own tonight, and quite quickly. Lemieux blew by Subban and Rinne bit on the shot and was too late moving laterally; Morrow easily found Appleton sweeping across the middle after that possession was nearly a Niku-highlight show; and Lemieux iced it with an awkward bounce off a skate that most people would have crucified Hellebuyck for if he didn't make that save. What was most impressive was that first goal coming against the top line and top pairing of the Preds giving the Jets freedom to play their game, and they ate up Hamhuis-Weber badly for the rest of the evening. Lemieux cooled off considerably after his previous 2-goal game, but the kids showed why Maurice keeps wanting to put them in the lineup.

• Morrissey-Trouba do what they do. Nothing less. Byfuglien's return to the lineup should free up their time to contribute more offensively, but these two read off each other so well and everyone can easily see it with how crisp their breakouts are from behind-the-net, not being afraid to take it directly in front of their netminder or passing it across their zone as they rarely make the big mistake.

• Kulikov-Myers - so, Kulikov stood out to me super well tonight from an eye-test perspective, and his xG seems to match up with that considerably. There were numerous battles along the boards that he won and any speed / near-breakaway against, he swept away and didn't commit a penalty to do it. I was super impressed. Myers didn't make any considerable gaffes, so an easy thumbs-up from me.

• After Morrow's worst possible game ever against Vegas, he puts up two assists and looked strong - but sorry Morrow, this space is occupied for the #FreeNiku paragraph. The kid easily had his best game as a Jet tonight as his offensive instincts were on display and contributed very impressively defensively, although there were some hiccups which is expected when he's playing on his offhand trying to keep pucks in the zone or passing off his backhand sometimes. But, he showed his worth against a team we're likely going to see again for 4-7 more games in April to June in that they can try to beat him up but he's too quick and reads you too easily and has already pushed the puck up the ice and the play is behind the opponent against the goaltender. He probably still has to beat Chiarot and might not pair well with Byfuglien in Maurice's eyes, but I think everyone can see him sitting in the press box or going back to the AHL won't do much good for him anymore.

Chief's final eyetest says: Nashville is pretty injured and missing some key players, but the dynamic will stay the same in terms of how the Jets can beat them, so still checkmarks for the Jets from me on that front. Rinne appears to have run out of his earlier season magic (again, IMO - I've always thought Saros has been better than Rinne for the most part).

Now, thats the TOIs that one needs to see -- no forwards much over 15 & none much less than 10 (even the 4th line). That and a solid game from everyone - how can you beat it. That & the worst corsi for the night belonging to 3rd line forwards, and top two D - definitely a strong game from all the lesser lights. Very impressed with Niku lately as well.

 

[one other person]

I think last year's playoff run made a lot of the Jet players playoff veterans. No need to waste a first.

For veteran depth, no way I'd part with a first either.

 

[nobody imp0rtant]

Great game. High entertainment index, convincing win for the good guys. Had a hard time getting to sleep last night.

Time to feed parakeet.

 

[PaulPooley]

After a game like last night and considering the injuries it’s conceivable that Chevy sits back and says to himself, “I don’t necessarily need to add much to this organization at this point”

 

[CaptainChef]

Rinne seems to be mentally broken against the Jets, maybe due to his playoff meltdown last year.

Helle seems to be mentally unfocused if he doesn't have another keeper on the Jets bench biting at his heels for the starting spot.

Rinne definitely not the one I'm worrying about the Preds starting against the Jets in the POs. Saros, now that scares me!!

 

[Tommigun]

Maybe the best game I’ve seen the Jets play, utterly dominant. The entire team played well, no one had a bad game.

Best players:
Lemieux (had him penned in even before his second goal), Niku, Laine.

The game could have easily ended 10-1. What were the Preds doing?

Pa. Helle should hurry back to the crease when he’s behind the net, he gives me heart attacks. But great game from him also, nice to see him bounce back!