The Jets rolled into Tampa Bay yesterday after a decent win over the desperate Columbus Blue Jackets and not look to take on the Big Dog of the league at home. In the previous game back on December 16th the Jets won 5-4 in OT on the friendly home ice at Bell MTS Centre.
That game was a see-saw battle of lead changes before Ehlers tied it up at 14:23 of the third and then Scheifele scored the Winner with just over 40 seconds left in OT. The teams traded shots like Rocky vs Creed II 47-42 in favor of the Bolts.
Now the rematch goes down in Tampa and the Bolts are even more formidable than they were nearly two and a half months ago. They lead the league in almost every offensive category and are tops in PK and PP too. The Jets, well they are not at that level but there are no other teams like that right now.
That being said, the Bolts have only 5 regulation losses at home and 2 OT losses, so this task becomes even harder. Consider that that the Jets are also missing Lowry, second game of two game suspension, as well as Byfuglien and Morrissey and this game is even more unbalanced and that's why the Jets will play like it matters.
That's a bold statement but far too often since the calendar turned to 2019 the Jets have played to what they 'think' their opposition is. In recent weeks the Jets have shown up against the big boys beating Vegas, beating Nashville twice, and OT with San Jose, but the converse is losses to Arizona, Minnesota twice, Ottawa twice, Philadelphia and Dallas.
Certainly the Jets have expectations of themselves as a team as a level to play at but it seems this year, 2019, those expectations only show up against the teams who they deem worthy. Will this be the case tonight against the most dangerous offense the league has seen in ages?
There could be reason to dive into data and such to see if there are some areas the Jets could exploit but let's keep this high level. Maurice needs to roll his lines with consistency and try to exploit a matchup or two when he can. He also needs to make adjustments sooner rather than later and not with a blender but with some tactical insight. A tweak to the forwards if they are finding it tough sledding and see what comes based on understanding the opposition's play as much as his own forwards'.
The defence, given the injuries to Buff and Jmo, is an even more critical area for Maurice via Huddy to be wary. Stop putting Kulikov and Myers out in support of Wheeler and Scheifele where when one thing breaks down all parts seem to start breaking. Will Maurice release the Bogdan yet? Given that he has seen the Bolts a bit his season and has been a positive possession player will he be suitable to give a game to tonight or are the stakes too high?
Let's consider that Maurice is not likely to make changes so assume status quo and will that be enough?
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