Game Two Thoughts

I'm not saying that St. Louis Blues goaltender Joel Hofer poked the bear by remaining on the ice to prevent Winnipeg Jets forward Mark Scheifele from being the last player off the ice in warm-up, but when Scheifele barked at Hofer to get off the ice you had to wonder if that fired up Scheifele. Neither player will admit to this being a factor in the Jets' 2-1 victory over St. Louis tonight, but Scheifele scored and had an assist while playing gritty and hard-nosed all game. The edge he showed made him effective every time he was on the ice, and the thought of Hofer annoying Scheifele in warm-up suddenly seemed like it could have been a catalyst to Scheifele's performance tonight. In any case, Winnipeg is up 2-0 in the series.

I get that tonight's game may have been the best game of the season by a large margin for Logan Stanley, but we need to temper the enthusiasm for Stanley's physical presence. Yes, he was very good at picking his spots tonight, but it was one game. Did Logan Stanley earn a shot to play in Game Three? Absolutely. But let's tone down the building of statues for #64 until tonight's play becomes more regular. One game does not make him a Conn Smythe Trophy winner.

Stanley's play was definitely part of the larger effort shown by the Jets defenders who had an outstanding game. I liked Josh Morrissey's spicy play where he was good offensively, threw a few big hits, and showed great defensive responsibility. Dylan DeMelo and Dylan Samberg were their usual steady selves, keeping the Blues to the outside and limiting chances. Neal Pionk had a strong game as he was jumping into plays and into passing lanes to break up plays, and Luke Schenn was a mountain of a man for the Blues to get around, climb over, or make their way past. That was solid Winnipeg defence.

There seems to be a lot of chatter on social media about Connor Hellebuyck's game and how he hasn't looked sharp in the first two games, and I'd like to say that those opinions are wrong. Has he stolen a game from the Blues at this point? No, but he hasn't had to yet either. Yes, his .897 save percentage is 28 points lower than what he posted in the regular season, but you know that Hellebuyck will see that number and immediately want to improve upon it. Giving him motivation to be better won't be an issue. He'll find it.

The stars have been very good for Winnipeg as well. Scheifele, Connor, Perfetti, and Lowry have done some excellent work in generating chances and putting pucks on net. Iafallo, Niederreiter, Tanev, Barron, and Anderson-Dolan have been the nose-to-the-grindstone, "Charlie Hustle" players that the Jets have been adding who can play 200-foot games, add some physicality, and contribute a little offence. Vladislav Namestnikov has shown the ability to stick-handle in a phone booth, but I'm waiting for that offensive flair of his to appear. He and David Gustafsson have had their chances at the offensive end, but neither has been able to dent twine yet.

The one player who has concerned me up front is Mason Appleton as he looks lost on some shifts. I know that he was supposed to be doing what Brandon Tanev is currently doing on that line - hard forechecks, physical play, and causing chaos - but he has not looked comfortable since Nino Niederreiter was moved to the second line and Tanev was bumped up to the third line. He did give a puck away tonight that forced him to make a great recovery to prevent a goal, but something is off with Appleton's game right now.

While the Jets' power-play numbers are decent and certainly can be improved, it's the penalty-killing that needed some focus. It did bounce back with a good effort tonight, but a 57.1% efficiency is nowhere close to where the Jets want or expect to be. There were some positives seen as the Jets killed three of four penalties in this game, but this is one area where the Jets needs to shut down the Blues. Giving up power-play goals in a tightly-checked series is how the Blues can find their way back into the series.

The difference, if one takes away the empty-net goal in Game One, is one goal in each of the games. Winnipeg will tell everyone they don't mind winning those one-goal games as that's their type of hockey, but opening up a two- or three-goal lead at times would be nice. St. Louis hasn't looked out of any game, though, and a bounce here or a deflection there could have them tied 1-1 heading home.

The series will shift to the Gateway to the West on Thursday as St. Louis looks to continue their winning ways at home. The Blues boast a 24-14-3 regular-season home record, including 12 consecutive victories as the Enterprise Center has been unfriendly to visiting teams. Both sides will tell you that no one worries in the playoffs until they lose a home game, but Winnipeg will look to take a stranglehold with a third-straight win in this series after winning both games in St. Louis in the regular season this year.

St. Louis may be singing the blues if this series continues in Missouri in the same way that it played out in the Manitoba capital. The Jets have looked solid in opening up a two-game lead, but it seems clear that both sides know that this series is far from being over.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!