Winnipeg Jets: 3 Talking Points from Last Night’s 4-3 Comeback Win
The Winnipeg Jets won a thrilling 4-3 game over the Ottawa Senators. Here are three talking points from last night’s Jets comeback victory in Ottawa.
Last night the Winnipeg Jets headed to Ottawa for the second game of their three-game Ontario Road Trip. This game was the start of a three-game series between the Jets and Senators.
The Jets were coming into this game looking for a better performance after their showing in Toronto on Monday night. On Monday, Winnipeg lost 3-1 to the Maple Leafs and the Jets were outshot 38-28 and finished zero for four on the powerplay.
Less than 24 hours later, the Jets showed resiliency to turn around Monday night’s performance and complete a great comeback victory against the Senators.
Here are three talking points from last night’s Winnipeg Jets 4-3 overtime comeback win over the Senators:
3. Jets Fall Behind Early
Going into yesterday’s game, the Jets failed to score the opening goal of the game in their two prior contests and found themselves trailing in the opening six minutes of the game.
The same thing happened again last night. Ottawa scored less than five minutes into the game to take a 1-0 lead and at the time were outshooting the Jets 9-2. Then the Senators took a two-goal lead around the midway point of the first.
The Jets ultimately got on the board courtesy of Adam Lowry in the last minutes of the opening frame to go into the dressing room down 2-1.
Regardless, the Jets need to fix this issue. It is great that they have won two of these games, but they can no longer afford to handicap themselves early in games.
The Jets need to assert their dominance from the opening puck drop and this will allow them to control games rather than chasing them.
2. Josh Morrissey Shows His Class
There is no doubt that Josh Morrissey is the Jets leader on defense and is one of their star players. He usually leads Jets defensemen in time on ice and is an extremely dynamic player. Morrissey showed this last night against Ottawa.
When the Jets were trailing in the dying stages in the game, they pulled Laurent Brossoit and called on Morrissey and five forwards to tie the game.
Morrissey received a pass at the top of the zone and delivered a perfect one-timer at the net. You could not ask for a better shot, the puck was only a couple feet of the ice, found Blake Wheeler‘s stick in front of the goal, and was redirected into the top of the net.
This was a perfectly executed six-on-five, empty-net, play and was a great example of Morrissey’s terrific shot.
Morrissey followed up his assist on the game-tying goal with a beautiful assist on Nikolaj Ehlers game winning goal.
In overtime, Morrissey delivered an absolutely stunning breakout pass over two Senators to Andrew Copp who was streaking down the far side wing. Copp then fed the puck to Ehlers who was going full-speed towards the net and the Winnipeg Jets number 27 made no doubts about it, and slotted the game winner home to give the Jets all two points.
Morrissey showed last night why he can be considered the Winnipeg Jets best defenseman, with his vision, shot, and skating ability. The twenty-five-year-old is a game changer for the Jets and will be extremely fun to watch the rest of the season.
1. No Quit from the Winnipeg Jets
We saw it last Thursday night in the Jets’ opening game of the 2021 season against the Calgary Flames and we watched it again last night, the Jets do not quit.
In both games, Winnipeg was down by a scoreline of 3-1 in the second period. Then they stormed back with one goal in the second, another goal in the third to tie it up, and then finished the contest with a game winner in overtime.
Even though the Jets are only three games into their brand new season it is fantastic to watch their resiliency and no quit attitude.
These are extremely positive signs for any hockey team and are building blocks of a successful team. Anytime the Jets can pick up a point or two in a game where they look down and out, could ultimately be the difference in making the playoffs at the end of the year, especially in a shortened season.
The Jets will be back in action and looking to take four of an available six points on their road trip against the Senators on Thursday night at 6:00 p.m. Central Time at the Canadian Tire Centre.
Winnipeg Jets Fans: How would you rate the Winnipeg Jets performance against Ottawa in yesterday’s game? Leave your comments below!
Must Read. The Winnipeg Jets Defensive Depth will get Tested on the Road. light
*All Stats and Videos Provided by the NHL*