Winnipeg Jets vs. St. Louis Blues - Calgary Winnipeg Jets
1. Winnipeg Jets vs. St. Louis Blues - Calgary Winnipeg Jets
With history and divisional pride and points behind them, the Winnipeg Jets and St. Louis Blues
tangled at the MTS Centre Sunday for the first time during the 2014-15 season.
The year for the two clubs were polar opposites expectation wise. The Blues were regarded as
Stanley Cup contenders while the Jets were Lottery Pick propsects. The Jets, however, have
exceeded expectations to this point, contending for a playoff spot, while the Blues were sitting fourth
in the Western Conference.
The goaltending matchup proved to be interesting, as Jake Allen and Ondrej Pavelec squared off.
First Period
The Jets game out hard early, putting pressure on Jake Allen who stood up admirably. The early
prewssure - which saw five Jets shots before the 2:30 mark - led to some rough stuff which ended up
with a powerplay opportunity for the Jets as Chris Butler went to the sin bin for two minutes. The
powerplay, unfortunately proved fruitless for the Jets.
Finally, on the eighth shot of the period, the Jets were able to crack Allen, as Bryan Little put home
an Andrew Ladd rebound on the doorstep for the tally. Blake Wheeler drew the second assist. 1-0
Winnipeg Jets
The chippy play continued through the period but neither team was able to crack the net. The hard
style, however, snake bit the Jets as Blake Wheeler went to the box for two after a boarding
infraction. The Blues, however, were unable to capitalize and the period finished with little in true
opportunities. Shots by the end of the frame favoured Winnipeg 12-9.
Winnipeg Jets 1 St. Louis Blues 0
2. Second Period
The push-and-pull play continued in the early seconds between the clubs, albeit more disciplined.
The Blues, however, were showing more life and began to put more pressure on Ondrej Pavelec,
something that could prove to quickly undo the Jets' lead.
The opportunity to capitalize on the momentum shift came just under five minutes into the frame wit
Adam Lowry going to the box for two minutes. The Blues capitalized with a goal by Jaden Scwhartz
of an Alex Steen slapshot. Joakim Lindstrom drew the second assist. 1-1 Tie
As the game drew towards midway point, momentum had squarely shifted to St. Louis, that is until
Dustin Byfuglien was able to get a partial breakaway. On the ensuing faceoff, Matt Halischuk won
the draw and pressure from the Jets resulted in a Jim Slater goal (his first of the season). Halischuk
and Chris Thorburn drew the assists. 2-1 Winnipeg Jets
Despite the Jets goal, the Blues didn't relent and seemed to regain their pressure, staying even with
the Jets on shots on goal.
Towards the end of the period, Evander Kane got a hit in on Barret Jackman that drew a penalty as
he took the St. Louis Blues d-man into the boards with a high elbow. On the powerplay, Alex Steen
sent David Backes in on a breakaway and the St. Louis captain made no mistake, beating Ondrej
Pavelec. 2-2 Tie
With momentum now on St. Louis' side the Jets were happy for the intermission to come. A couple
final shots, including a point blast fro Zach Bogosian, couldn't solve Jake Allen, but gave the Jets a
little momentum back going into the locker room.
Winnipeg Jets 2 St. Louis Blues 2
Third Period
The Blues and Jets emerged from the locker room ready for a fight, and the Blues came out with the
first strike with hometown boy Ryan Reaves tallying. 3-2 St. Louis Blues
As the period continued, the Jets looked to get some more moentum going but couldn't get a string
of scoring chances together. More so, the shots were one-offs.
3. As the period got into the second half, the frustration of the Jets began to boil over. Evander Kane
took a bad penalty, getting 4 minutes in the bin for high sticking. Fortunately, the Jets were able to
kill off the penalty before more harm was done on the score sheet, and even had a decent shot at a
short-handed marker.
As time wound down, the Winnipeg faithful, who already had been on the referees during the game
for perceived poor calls, were getting more restless. The Winnipeg Jets, however, settled down and
were playing better hockey. With 2:25 left, Ondrej Pavelec readied himself for the dart to the bench
for the extra attacker advantage but the Blues kept the pressure on. Eventually, Pav did leave the
net but the Jets had trouble establishing themselves in the Blues' end of the rink as they took their
30 second timeout.
With the play resumed, the Blues poured on the pressure, and with just under 40 seconds left, Paul
Stastny put the game on ice with an empty netter. 4-2 St. Louis Blues
Final Score: St. Louis Blues 4 Winnipeg Jets 2
http://www.examiner.com/article/winnipeg-jets-vs-st-louis-blues
