It was a whole lot of ugly out there last night at the MTS Centre. It was not a pretty game although some pretty goals did happen but no one is using that game as a some sort of educational module for how to play hockey.

Before the game started there was a very emotional tribute to Leonard 'Kroppy' Kropioski a fan who came in from Kenora every game and sat almost rink side. He was a veteran slated during the anthem and became a fixture for the fans on the screen. It was very moving and hardly a dry eye in the house, my own son had to ask me if I was okay.

After that was over it was down to business with the Jet opening the scoring by the new number 16 Shawn Mathias. It was downhill from there though as the Hurricanes scored four unanswered goals to take 4-1 lead into the third period with just under 15 minutes left to play.

The team looked out of sync, and to credit the Hurricanes they were taking the Jets to the woodshed in terms of owning the ice. An interesting thing to note is that the Hurricanes had hired the 'Tony Stark' of analytics, Eric Tulsky, and some information about his role has gradually seeped out. Players have mentioned how Eric has them playing more in the middle of the ice, either by moving the puck or positioning. That was evident has night as they did a very good job of keeping the Jets to the perimeter.

It worked until a point.

The Jets power play was anemic until the third period and with a near 2 man advantage managed just a shot. It was a static mess of predictable systems and approach. When compared to the Hurricanes, their special teams looked like a Hurricane with tenacious checking and frequent puck and player movement.

Again though, until a point.

That point was like so many other times in the Jets 2.0 brief history, something changed and you could literally see it with the players. They picked up the pace, pushed back a little harder and then starting driving the play and guess what came- shots!

The Jets were shorthanded goal leader last year and got one when Captain Blake Wheeler stole a Skinner pass and took it in and cut the deficit to 4-2 just after the Hurricanes had extended it to 4-1. The anemic power play came to life soon after when Kyle Connor fished a puck out of the corner and back to the point where Enstrom fed it across the ice to Patrick Laine. Fans were hoping for his bullet one-timer slap shot but instead he held the puck and delivered a laser past Ward to cut the lead to 3-2.

The Jets pressed on and late in the third with the play down low in the 'Canes end Laine fed a cross ice pass from the left corner through traffic to Blake Wheeler who slid it right back to the front were Perreault deflected it past a sprawling and confused Ward. Tie game.

It came down to OT and with a tentative start with Nik Ehlers doing some fancy laps and both teams trading chances it was an odd play where the puck was knocked up high and Wheeler brought it down at the Carolina blue line to make a two-on-one with Scheifele. After a great pass it was a 5-4 Jets win was 55 put home the winner.

Until that point the top line had been quiet aside from Wheeler and often bit disjointed trying got find their groove. Give Caroline credit though they deployed a ferocious checking game to confound the Jets.

There were adventures though and the pairing of Byfuglien and Morrissey is going to be something to watch as it develops. I wonder how long Maurice will work with it before he considers putting Enstrom back up there and taking Morrissey away from the pressure and pairing him with Myers? It might not happen but it should not be ruled out.

The rookies, including Connor looked good. I was a bit hard on Connor during the game via Twitter but he found some confidence or he shed some nerves and got more involved in the game. Laine had some nifty dangles but like a big puppy his feet seemed to not move as fast as he wanted them too... that will likely change over time. A one goal one assist game is a great way to start an NHL career and there will surely be great moments to come with him.

Tanev and Armia were great. They were tenacious and Armia practically put on a one man PK clinic during the game. While not on the score sheet they were a vital part of the win.

Hellebuyck probably wants one or two goals back but so does Ward so let's chalk that up to opening night jitters before we run anyone back to the minors.

They got it done. It was not pretty but it was a lot of fun. Next up is Minny on Saturday night and the beginning of division play.

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