Post-Game Talk: The Laine Show. Jets Win 4-3 in OT

[LowLefty]

I agree to a point, Moe has had issues with overpaying his top line in the past so I understand why some are raising the concern.

Still if Laine keeps his play up he will get his minutes and if Wheeler can't get going I would hope Moe gives him less minutes.

Yes, I know - as per my reply to @jepjepjoo, this top six may change all of that - I think it will if the line plays as well as they did last night.

 

[DRW204]

Thanks for this. The top line for the Jets was dominant. The second line will have some growing pains no doubt, but with Connor and Laine they have that quick strike offence, so they will assuredly outperform their possession.

i think Laine will be 1RW midway through the year if he is consistently playing like this, or 90% of this

we all know Ehlers' prowess

i know it's 1 game but the forwards looked good i though.

 

[cbcwpg]

So last night I set the PVR while I was parenting and thought I would catch up on the game after the kids went to bed. The Jets game was not on any of the channel's at least not that I could find on Shaw? Weird I ended up recording the local black out NHL score board?

Glad to see Pate doing what I predicted (prayed) in his first game. Hope he continues to take over the team and lead the young core and they establish themselves as the top guys this season.

Glad they won its nice to get the 2 points highlights were great on TSN.

For SHAW... game was listed on a SN channel, but was blacked out. It was on TSN 3, as the Jets are still under TSN contract for regional games. Unless it's considered a "national" game, the Jets will only be on TSN 3.

 

[ps241]

For SHAW... game was listed on a SN channel, but was blacked out. It was on TSN 3, as the Jets are still under TSN contract for regional games.

Thanks for the heads up. I PVR'd the channel on SN it was listed on. Its kind of painful to have missed it that is the advantage to watching live.

 

[DEANYOUNGBLOOD17]

Maurice is crazy..... to leave Ehlers on the bench on 3-3 overtime. He is by far your fastest skater. Last year we would play the full 5 minute overtime and then head to the shootout with Ehlers not seeing the ice..... and old man Wheeler gassed from his over extended shifts.

 

[cbcwpg]

Maurice is crazy..... to leave Ehlers on the bench on 3-3 overtime. He is by far your fastest skater. Last year we would play the full 5 minute overtime and then head to the shootout with Ehlers not seeing the ice..... and old man Wheeler gassed from his over extended shifts.

Mo is gonna Mo..

Same as how many times would he start Buff on 3 on 3 yet everyone saw that Buff was a liability 3 on 3. For 3 on 3.... speed kills and you don't need to be a NHL coach for 50 years to see this.

 

[Laine5GoalGame]

I like.

 

[Bigfish]

I thought Maurice calling the time-out in the second period to give our guys a chance to rest before the 5 on 3 was huge. Then he puts 5 forwards out right after the time-out and Connor scores to tie the game up . I know alot of people hate Maurice but if that was a new coach that we hired in the off season everyone would be praising the shit out of him for those moves . Good game coach.

The fact that Maurice started Wheeler in OT over Ehlers, Connor or Laine shows how much he wants to please Wheeler. It's sickening. That's exactly why Laine wants the hell out of here.

 

[Whileee]

I'm getting used to seeing Wheeler labour in the early parts of seasons. I think it's likely partly due to getting older, but I also think he might "over-train" in weeks / days leading up to the regular season. I'm hoping / expecting that he has a good base for his stamina, and when his legs recover a bit from his hard training he'll have more jump. All speculation, of course, but it fits his pattern.

 

[PhilJets]

Next 4 games


Leafs
Sens

Sens

Sens


Before taking on the Oilers for 2 games.

Hopefully Jets can go on a winning streak this early...

 

[Jet]

Wow what a game! Obviously the whole team looked a bit rusty and tentative in the first but man something changed in that first intermission. My thoughts:

Ehlers was absolutely fantastic. I don't think he's going to give up that first line spot any time soon
Second line had some great chemistry, despite people worried that having two shooters in Laine and Connor wasn't going to work. Of course, Laine being more rounded and an underrated passer helps.

I guess old dogs can learn new tricks? Coaching improvements were very noticible in this game. 4 line balance, roster balance was evident. Having 2 PP's and 2 PK's that can both perform really helped. I loved the quick changes, really seemed like a focus.

I thought Poolman started slow but got better, and conversely I thought Niku started very strong and faded as the game went on. Poolman is not a top D though, Morrissey shouldn't have to carry him all season. I'd like to see DeMelo slot up there when he gets back, and, honestly, if they don't sit Beaulieu, they should sit Poolman. I'd like to give Niku a bit of a run as it's decision time and if he can find a way to be consistently more like he was early, he has NHL value (if not to us, as trade chip).

Laine was the player we all hoped he would be. He was carrying the puck with confidence, reminded me of the guy who we drafted second overall. More than that, he's brought grit, defensive awareness and a power forward mentality which makes him even more terrifying for opponents. No matter if we keep or trade him, a Laine who plays like this every night is such great news for the Jets.

Connor doesn't look like he's missed a beat - his speed, quick hands and shooting instints are sublime.

Schiefele struggled a bit, but even a struggling Brighteyes is still very good.

Wheeler looked slow and clutzy, but he starts every season like that so no surprise.

Perreault just isn't worth his contract. Another dumb penalty, and though you can see he really wants to get shit done out there, he just can't execute consistently enough. I'd rather have Vesalainen on that line.

The Copp Lowry Lewis line was a load. Man can you imagine if Copp and Lowry had a bit better scoring touch? They could have scored at least a pair.

I thought Forbert was pretty dang good. He did have a couple of gaffes but for the most part he moved the puck out quick and was physical for a purpose.

Pionk looked really shaky, I'd imagine that will even out. What I did like about his game is that he made it a mission to try and hit Gaudreau at every chance. I think that's important to try and neutralize him.

Morrissey was excellent. Beaulieu looks really solid for stretches and then just does such spastic things. It's really too bad - he has the tools to be one of the best, but his brain lets him down.

Hellebuyck was really rusty to start, that PP goal was awful - his lateral movement was gross, and should have stopped that one, but he really settled in after the third goal and played quite well.

 

[Tommigun]

Straight from the NHL box score. It does seem off... was there a shift Chef fell down and couldn't get off the ice for 5 minutes? He did spend 07:06 on the PP and Calgary only had 4 penalties ( including the 5 on 3 ) so it looks like Chef never came off the ice when the Jets had the PP.

Iirc it wasn’t until 5 mins+ into the third period when the second line had their first shift, so for some reason they skipped one of their shifts.

I thought they were benched for a while. So that’s probably why the ice time is what it was.

 

[Tommigun]

It’s a crime against humanity that Ehlers is only on the third pairing in OT.
He should be on the first with Scheifele. What is up with that, is he still in Maurice’s dog house?
He’s fast and defensively responsible so he’d be perfect for the OT.

 

[Royale With Cheese]

Put this in Laine thread but had to post it here too. His pressers are hilarious, listening to him post game about first blowing a defensive assignment then skating slow up ice then faking himself out and scoring was priceless! And did he call Ehlers a b$%*tch when the reporter told him he was chirping him for not having a fight?
I want to watch him and Ehlers for years to come please and thanks.

I think it was "pidge", as in pigeon. Apparently, players call each other this all the time. News to me until this morning.

 

[BoneDocUK]

Yep. Thought Copp also had himself a pretty good game, Schief looked decent too.

Not sure what to make of the defense at all. I liked a lot of what Niku was doing offensively - guy has crazy talent. But defensively seems pretty easy to play against.


I know it won't happen but would love to see a young guy with a bit of speed up with Ehlers and Schief; they do it all and just need a dude who can keep up. Put Appleton or Harkins up there and see what happens.

Agree that he still needs work in his own zone, but he's a high-event player, and his transition play and passing were strong. Deserves a longer look, IMO, and not sure he was any worse than Poolman overall, and much better in the N and OZ. Still think that confidence is a major factor in his game -- if he's still turning over the puck regularly in his 4th or 5th game on the trot, then we worry. But that may well have been his chance.

That was a fun game after a sluggish start. Speed and skill are lethal weapons, and the Jets have more of it than most. We started the game in 2019-20 mode, and ended it in 2017, and if we play that uptempo, positive hockey across a more balanced lineup with a more rounded D corps, we should win more than we lose, and in entertaining fashion.

Laine was terrific, Nik was terrific, Scheif and Copp had good games also. Liked Forbert for the most part (that save for Helle was a thing of beauty) and Lewis on the PK after he'd settled in, Thompson seems like a slightly smaller Hendricks and while he wasn't awful there's no way he should take a spot from Harkins, Vesa or Apples -- I can see him platooning in or on the taxi squad but he shouldn't be a regular on this team IMO -- which doesn't mean he won't be. Beaulieu was his usual mostly-bad patchy self, and JMo did what he could to drag his partner around and try to cover the worst of his plays but he got better as PM did, especially in the 3rd. He needs to play with DeMelo as part of an actual top pairing. Pionk was a bit of an adventure -- he seemed to be playing as a winger for large parts of the game -- but his passing and mobility were def on display, and far better than last year's play-in.

Stats was slow but wiley and had some classic seasoned vet hold-up-the-puck to make a play sequences, just as advertised. Wheeler looked several steps behind the play, but he's generally a sloooooowwwww starter, so maybe just needs a few reps to catch up. He was breathing pretty hard from early on, though, which is a bit worrying. Lowry also looked a little sluggish but solid overall, and Apples I thought had a great game -- he was fast, forechecked hard and regularly worked pucks loose, took a few shots when he could and helped balance out that line with a nonstop motor and smart play in all zones -- he gets my "unsung hero" award, and shows what a quick, smart player can add.

Overall, this looks like a team that is better-balanced and less leaky than most of what we've seen over the past few years, able to compete with most of the teams we're likely to face and less liable to fold under pressure or a 2-goal deficit. In Laine we have a true game-breaker, and in Ehlers a player who carries the play at an elite level and draws a ton of D attention, leaving some room for Scheif (and maybe someday, Wheeler). Stats is more of a puck router than a player at this point, but that may be all that's needed on that line. I think the 4th line needs some speed and shooter -- enter Ves or Harkins, or both, with Lewis as a stabilizer. I don't think PoMo can afford to send young, hungry talent to the gulag this season but he will also run with a winning lineup, so rotating players out is going to be critical.

And it's a wrap. Fun start. More of that, please (maybe without scary D breakdowns).

 

[Whileee]

The objective of overtime is to score / win.

Since 2017/18, the Jets have the 6th best OT/SO record in the NHL. (TB is in a class of their own).

 

[RustyCat]

Our third and fourth lines kept the team together during the first period as our top six, except Ehlers, was a complete tire fire. I thought that the fourth line especially played an excellent game. Definitely early to tell but Thompson and Lewis are really, really nice additions. Poolman got progressively better and was impressed by Forbert. Niku was awful and Wheeler was a no show and not in step. Ehlers was excellent, Connor looked like he was stick handling a hand grenade at times, and Stastny was so-so. Nice game by Laine.

Hats off to bottom 6 six for keeping us in the game.

 

[GigaChad]

Niku Looked physically slower in the 3rd and makes me wonder if just a conditioning issue. Something that can get sorted out over some games and more practice.

Just needs more games.
He is still almost a rookie and should get better with time

 

[Jet]

seems like youth and speed wins for the jets ...not unlike a few years ago..when they they were described as being a pack of wolves.

On the surface, yes. However I think some of the vets played a pretty significant, if not flashy role in that win. The checking line(s) and PK prevented the game from getting out of reach. I am very optimistic about the roster makeup of this team and seemingly good balance through the 4 lines.

Demelo coming back should help some of the deficiencies on the back end we saw last night. Getting Poolman on the 3rd pair will be big - he really can't play 1D

 

[Jet]

a wheeler fan

FFS we should ALL be Wheeler fans, should we not?

God I haven't seen so much vitriol for a teams C and a PPG player on it's own forum. It's so sad.

Wheeler is a slow starter, he'll be fine. How easily people forget all of the fantastic play we've enjoyed from Blake over the past 10 years.

 

[Edgar Halliwax]

Don't know if this has been mentioned - but this is the first time I've had a look at the schedule. We play the flames four times in a row at the start of Feb. That will be lit

 

[Jet]

that and the national anthem....like, why bother?

One thing I have not missed is Miss nails on a chalkboard and the national anthems. That fake TRUE NORTH was corny af and you could tell the players think it's stupid too.

I don't think I can take another season of Kevin Sawyer doing color. Color guys usually blow smoke up the teams butt but Kevin is completely detatched from reality. Also, if Beyak says give and go one more time when NO ONE IS GOING, I am going to STORM THE CAPITOL!

Plays catch, return pass, back and forth, any of those are accurate. LEARN WHAT A GIVE AND GO IS DENNIS!

 

[Jet]

Hanifin hit equals suspension.

Rule change suggestion for 2021: Suspension applies to next game vs. Jets.

That is a terrific idea! You'd think the Flames could go one game without doing something skeezy, but no.

I doubt he gets any supplimentary discipline because the NHL is atrocious at that stuff. I'm still convinced they use a dartboard and when the offense is commited on a Jets player, they make the 'suspension' area microscopic, and when a Jets player is the offender, they make it like 95% of the board.

 

[snowkiddin]

Still not likening Poolman on the top pairing. Morrissey carried him pretty well tonight after the first but I would like someone steadier that can make a first pass so that Morrissey can be a bit more aggressive offensively.

Insert: Dylan DeMelo.

 

[Edgar Halliwax]

That is a terrific idea! You'd think the Flames could go one game without doing something skeezy, but no.

I doubt he gets any supplimentary discipline because the NHL is atrocious at that stuff. I'm still convinced they use a dartboard and when the offense is commited on a Jets player, they make the 'suspension' area microscopic, and when a Jets player is the offender, they make it like 95% of the board.

Good point. Does anyone believe that if was McDavid getting plastered into the boards from behind there wouldn't be a 3-5 game suspension?