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Jets Cap off perfect road trip |
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The Winnipeg Jets capped off their 3-game road trip with a 5-4 OT victory over the Washington Capitals on Saturday night in a battle of the top two teams in the league. Connor Hellebuyck got the win for the Jets.
First Period:
The Jets started the game fast. They dominated the play for the majority of the 1st period. Just after the half way mark of the period, Cole Perfetti banged in a Vlad Namestnikov rebound on the PP to give the Jets a 1-0 lead. Just 3 minutes later, Dylan Samberg’s point shot also found the back of the net to give the Jets a 2-0 lead heading into the 1st intermission.
Second Period:
The Caps finally came to life in the middle frame. Former Jet, Pierre-Luc Dubois scored on a rebound to cut the Jets lead to 2-1 just a minute into the period. At the 4-minute mark, Alex Iafallo tipped in a Neal Pionk point shot to put the Jets up 3-1. However, less than a minute later, Taylor Raddysh scored a sharp angle goal to make the score 3-2. That score would hold up heading into the 2nd intermission.
Third Period:
Just a minute into the final period, the Jets created a turnover in the Caps zone and Mark Scheifele got the puck to Josh Morrissey who fired a wrist shot past Logan Thompson to restore the Jets 2 goal lead. The Caps would not rollover easily. First, Tom Wilson scored from in close at the 7-minute mark to bring the score to 4-3. Then, 5 minutes later, Alex Ovechkin blasted a shot from just inside the blueline and beat Hellebuyck to tie the game at 4. The game would remain tied until the end of regulation.
OT:
At the 2-minute mark of OT, Morrissey finished a beautiful give and go with Scheifele and scored to win the game for the Jets 5-4.
Some takeaways from the game:
This game was a heavyweight tilt between the two best teams in the league. The Jets came to play in this game. After being dominated in the first period, the Caps came back strong in the 2nd and 3rd periods. The Jets now sit in sole possession of the top spot in the league standings.
The Samberg-Pionk pair had a dominant game. They combined for 4 points on the night.
Ovechkin scored career goal 877. He is now only 18 goals away from breaking Wayne Gretzky's record. Hats off to the great 8.
The Jets potent PP went 1-2 on the night and the PK killed the lone Caps PP. Special teams continue to be pivotal for the Jets success.
After going a perfect 3-0 on this road trip, the Jets will now return home and face the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday night at the Canada Life Centre.
Thanks for reading. Go Jets go!