Winnipeg Jets: 3 Talking Points as the Jets Beat the Flames 3-2

The Winnipeg Jets started their two-game series against the Calgary Flames with a win on home ice. Here are three talking points from the Jets win.

The Winnipeg Jets welcomed the Calgary Flames to the Canada Life Center as they started a home-and-home series with the Flames to conclude the preseason.

Winnipeg was coming into this game after making significant cuts to their training camp roster on Monday and it was the closest glimpse we have seen to what their opening night lineup may look like. Both Mark Schiefele and Logan Stanley did not dress. Schiefele is suspended for the Jets’ opening game and the Jets are preparing for the game without him, while Stanley is recovering from his injury and is day-to-day.

In comparison, the Flames also dressed a lineup that will be extremely similar to what they will employ on opening night. Some notable omissions from the Flames lineup were Johnny Gaudreau, Sean Monahan, and Tyler Pitlick.

Although the Winnipeg Jets carried the game and outshot the Calgary Flames 40-18, they needed a Nikolaj Ehlers third period goal to separate the sides.

Here are three talking points from the Jets 3-2 win versus the Flames:

3. Jets Start on the Front Foot

This game was the last time the Jets are on home ice in front of their home fans before their home opener which is still three weeks away on October 21.

After dropping their last two preseason games, the Jets were looking to change their fortunes and they started this game with great intensity and speed.

En route to a 2-0 lead at the end of the first period, the Jets outshot the Flames 17-3. For Winnipeg supporters, this was fantastic to watch.

The Jets were quick in transition and attacked Calgary’s zone with speed which was a handful for the Flames to defend against. Winnipeg also had some great cycling plays in the offensive zone and got pucks and traffic to Vladar’s net.

Another great thing to note during the first period was the Jets’ defense effort. At points during last season, the Jets faced an onslaught of shots and had to rely heavily on Connor Hellebuyck and this is an area the Jets need to improve on during the next season.

During the opening frame, the Jets limited the Flames to one-off scoring opportunities while also doing a great job of blocking shots. Winnipeg defended as a unit and did a great job of moving the puck out of their defensive zone as soon as they got possession.

All around the first period was a great team effort from the Jets. They completely dominated and controlled the pace of the game.

2. The Jets Give up their Hard Earned Lead

One thing that is extremely interesting to watch during preseason play is how different players react to playing in different situations or scenarios. One situation that the Jets have infrequently had during their exhibition games is taking a lead into the second or third period.

For only the fourth time this preseason, the Jets were taking a lead into a period. During the first game exhibition game, Winnipeg blew a 2-1 lead against Ottawa and lost that game in overtime. They responded well in their second game against Edmonton leading 1-0 at the end of the first and scored three goals to extend their lead to 4-1 at the end of two.

Unfortunately, things did not go Winnipeg’s way in the second period yesterday. A defensive lapse led to Calgary’s first goal of the game.

Matthew Tkachuk retrieved the puck in the Jets’ end, on the forecheck, and he was battling with Nathan Beaulieu for the puck. Winnipeg also had two players backchecking to the front of their own net and were in great position.

Unfortunately, the Jets back checkers were puck watching Tkachuk and were not looking for the second wave of Calgary’s attack. Tkachuk passed the puck to Gadwin who was wide open and he buried the puck past Hellebuyck to make it a one-goal game.

Under two minutes later, Calgary was able to capitalize on a man advantage to tie the game at two and have a tie going into the final period.

As it has been said many times before, a two-goal lead is the toughest lead to play with in hockey and that was shown again last night.