Kyle Wellwood made Jets history as he scored 8 seconds into the game to give the Jets lead they never relinquished last night at another sold out MTS Centre. The historical part is less to do with Wellwood scoring rather the timing as it is the fastest goal scored in franchise history. In combined franchise history of versions 1.0 and 2.0 the record goes back to 1981 and is 5 seconds tying the NHL record. Tanner Glass followed Wellwood’s tally by burying a slap shot past Fleury from a great feed to the slot by Burmistrov. This lead was challenged but never handed over as the Jets one their first
After the first goal the game settled a bit before Engelland and Thorburn dropped the gloves at 6 minutes into the first. Thorburn took the decision from the hometown judges as he finished the fight with a flurry of rights to bring the anxious and raucous crowd to its feet, a continued theme throughout the night. The extra effort from Thorburn by answering the bell and going with Engelland is exactly the kind of ‘jam’ (as Scott Taylor sitting next to said) this team needs to show if it is to make life tougher for opposing teams.
Andrej Pavelec had his best outing of the season and with some spectacular and timely saves. Late in the second period Pavelec made back-to-backs sprawling pad saves on his left side following it up and a huge glove save. The crowd rose from their seats in ovation for the goalie as he gave them more than a few reasons to cheer. Pavelec had help from the likes of Oduya and Byfuglien as they both helped clear pucks from the crease on numerous occasions. This fresh effort and awareness from the rearguards was seen throughout the game and another sign that Claude Noel’s messages may be finally getting through to the team.
In the post-game press conference Noel revealed on Sunday he had a meeting with the team’s leadership- six players in total. When asked who they were he did struggled to recall who they were but eventually informed the media it was Ladd, Stuart, Enstrom, Oduya and two more. Noel also revealed he had informed the players that he did not want to go to ‘dark’ place with them should effort and performance not change, ‘they wouldn’t like what they saw’.
Tanner Glass post game.
There was much for Jets fans to like last night and despite a Penguins teams missing Crosby, Malkin and Orpik the Jets did the little things they have failed to do the previous three games. The first difference for the Jets this game was they were disrupting the Penguins play out of the neutral zone. Second, Andrej Pavelec had a solid game looking steady and seeing the puck, and standing his ground nicely in the crease- not losing position. More importantly he is not being challenged by giveaways in his own zone.
However, there are still things or players which deserve some criticism even after the first win in a solid team effort. The Jets PP is abysmal and is still firing at a league low 0.0%. There were chances but the issues seem more complex than just puck-luck. The puck is shot far too soon or eagerly in many situations with no forethought as to why or if fellow players are in position. The faceoff dot has to become far more comfortable for the team and they have to win critical draws with frequency. I suspect their offensive zone faceoff win percentage is not very good.
While Kyle Wellwood had a strong game one player who seems to be lost is Bryan Little. At times he seemed tentative to get into races for the puck let alone battles. Little is not the quickest skater but his first strides in acceleration need work as he does not get off the mark fast enough. The Jets also need some presence in front of the net other than Nik Antropov. Many of the forwards are muscled off the puck easily and this was an observation I heard by more than a few on press row.
Hainsey left the game and did not return while Mark Stuart took a puck to the face later leaving the Jets with 4 defensemen before he returned to the bench to finish the game. Later in the game Letang laid a huge hit from behind which changed the mood from then on. After his penalty was served another skirmish broke out in the Jets end. This led to Slater and Lovejoy going for a tilt with Slater landing some huge shots while Lovejoy huddled in fear on the ice. Once again players rose up to show some ‘jam’.
Other standouts were Burmitrov who worked along the boards to take a hit and then recover the puck before feeding to Glass in the slot for the eventual game winner. While not the biggest guy Burmistrov is showing some excellent skill and hockey sense and has been a bright spot for the team in the first 4 games.
For the Jets though it was easy to see they were breathing a bit easier when the media were let in post-game. Both Wellwood and Glass praised their team mates and the fortitude of the leadership on the team during and 0-3 start. Pavelec was more than relieved and clearly believed he had played the type of game he expects of himself, it didn’t hurt that he much a much better performance by the players in front of him.
Pregame Uniforms for the 'flight crew'
My view from press gondola
Team saluting fans after first win
Post game videos to follow.
For all of my random musings and thoughts follow me on Twitter HERE!
Winnipeg Jets Blogger •Winnipeg Jets Writer • 
Join the Discussion:
»