Only eight times this season has Winnipeg's opponent scored five-or-more goals on the Jets including tonight, and the Jets had lost each of the previous seven games. Despite finding themselves down 1-0 early, the Jets rode the power of the Whiteout to seven tallies tonight in their victory despite the last couple of minutes being a little tense. Nevertheless, the Jets prevailed, and are 15 wins after from the promised land and three wins from the second round.
Shockingly, defensive hockey was tossed out the window early by both teams as the track meet began in the first period thanks to a few giveaways, some questionable passes, and solid team play. Valeri Nichuskin put the Avalanche up 1-0 just past the six-minute mark, but the roof nearly came off the Canada Life Centre at 8:02 when the Whiteout exploded on Josh Morrissey's marker. Watch and listen to this crowd reaction in Winnipeg as the Jets tie the game!
I'm not saying that the Avalanche need a goalie, but Alexandar Georgiev needed to make a couple of key saves in this game to give his team a chance. Instead, Georgiev's struggles in the last two-and-a-half weeks continued, and his .696 save percentage in this game certainly isn't good enough at any point in the season, but specifically in the postseason. Take nothing away from the Jets, but Georgiev has to be much, much better if the Avalanche are going to have a chance.
A 3-3 game after 20 minutes became a 4-3 game through 40 minutes of play, but the Jets seemingly turned on the afterburners in the third period when Adam Lowry scored his second goal of the game at 3:31 and Kyle Conner ripped a power-play goal home 2:20 later to make it a 6-3 game. Artturi Lehkonen's power-play goal made it 6-4 just 38 seconds after Connor had scored, but Connor would strike again at 8:54 to make it a 7-4 game. The Avs wouldn't go quietly, though, as Cale Makar scored just past the midway point of the period and Casey Mittelstadt made it a one-goal game with 30 seconds to play, but the Jets would lock down the final half-minute to secure the win in front of 15,225 fans.
As I mentioned, NHL.com's game notes stated that "[o]nly two other Game 1s in an opening-round series have combined for at least 13 goals" which is pretty crazy when one thinks of all the Game Ones that have taken place in the NHL's history. According to the history posted, "[t]he Edmonton Oilers and Los Angeles Kings combined for 18 in 1982, and the Chicago Blackhawks and Detroit Red Wings scored 14 in 1985," so the Jets and Avalanche still needed a few more goals to reach those lofty scores, but having the third-highest scoring Game One in NHL history is pretty incredible.
I'm sure both coaches will want to tighten things up heading into Game Two, so we'll have to see how the teams respond. Will Jared Bednar go back to Alexandar Georgiev after a rought night, or will Justus Annunen be ready after missing tonight's contest with an illness? Does Rick Bowness look to upgrade his blue line defensively with veterans Colin Miller and/or Nate Schmidt ready to go? Decisions will be made, practices will be skated, and we'll see how things look on Tuesday. I'm almost certain, though, that neither coach wants a second track meet like tonight's contest!
The Whiteout will fill the Canada Life Centre and cover the streets surrounding the arena on Tuesday night, and the Jets will look put the Avalanche in a 2-0 hole in their series. 15,225 people inside the building will be loud as they push the Jets to repeat their seven-goal performance tonight while 20 players in white will try to quiet the crowd. Playoff hockey is alive in Winnipeg once more, and Jets fans are putting the league on notice when it comes to the decibel level inside the barn!
Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!
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