SMART MOVE: Vancouver Canucks On The Verge Of Signing $37 Million Goaltender….

SMART MOVE: Vancouver Canucks On The Verge Of Signing $37 Million Goaltender

Two undefeated franchises clashed on Sunday evening in Penticton when the Vancouver Canucks hosted our Jets at the Young Stars Classic. Lets find out how things played out…

To help you follow along with my recap, here were the Winnipeg Jets lines for today’s contest:

Kevin He – Brad Lambert – Ben King
Colby Barlow – Brayden Yager – Nikita Chibrikov
Markus Loponen – Jacob Julien – Luke Mistelbacher
Carson Golder – Kieran Walton – Mark Liwiski

Dmitry Kuzmin – Elias Salomonsson
Ben Zloty – Dawson Barteaux
Dylan Anhorn – Hunter Mayo

Domenic DiVincentiis
Thomas Milic

Once again, Winnipeg started a game with a quick forecheck that led to the Jets controlling the flow of play. The Canucks were on their heels for most of the opening period and that helped Winnipeg to outshoot them 13-7 while spending large chunks of time in the offensive zone. Despite the puck dominance, neither squad was really able to get to the high danger areas and the frame ended in a scoreless tie. The Jets did have a few looks: failed powerplay, both Nikita Chibrikov & Brayden Yager missing the net from prime slot territory, Ben King deflects a Brad Lambert shot to test the Nucks’ tender, Kevin He opts to pass instead of shooting from the mid-slot, and Lambert testing the goalie’s blocker off a rush.

Winnipeg continued to be the better team early in the 2nd period and it eventually paid off when He created a turnover in the neutral zone. The Chinese forward poked the puck up to Lambert and then joined him on a 2 on 1. The speedy Finn did acknowledge that a pass was the option, but once he got into the right face-off circle Lambert rocketed a shot to the top left corner to open the scoring. 1-0 WPG. The Jets used their momentum to press even more, leading to a second powerplay early in the period. This time the team was able to get set up really early and Yager was able to fire a couple shots on net. Later in the man-advantage, Chibrikov stopped a clearing attempt near the blueline and passed off to Lambert on the left wing. Lambo bought a bit of time before sliding a lovely cross-ice backhand pass back to his Russian teammate. Nikita stepped in only a bit before he unleashed another shot by Vancouver’s goaltender and all of a sudden Winnipeg had a two goal lead. 2-0 WPG. It was around the middle of the period when the Canucks finally came alive when a strong forecheck resulted in them winning the puck battle down low in the Jets’ zone. After skating behind the net, a Nuck player threw a pass across the front of the crease and got a break when it hit a teammate’s shinpad to beat Dominic DiVincentiis. 2-1 WPG. Just over 2 minutes later things got worse when a cycle led to a screened point shot to tie the game. 2-2 tie. The period ended with some back & forth play that saw He getting denied on a Winnipeg 3 on 2 and DiVincentiis bailing King out after a defensive zone turnover.

The combination of Vancouver’s forecheck and poor decisions with the puck on dump ins made the final period difficult to watch as Winnipeg was stuck defending for long periods. Eventually those mistakes cost the Jets on two occasions, resulting in a snipe over DiVincentiis’ shoulder from 5 feet out (3-2 VAN) and then Dom being unable to stop a cross-crease tuck in attempt after his defenders allowed a player to walk right in front of the net (4-2 VAN). The Jets’ coaching staff did pull the goalie with 3 minutes left for the extra attacker, but the only chance they created was a Julien set up of Marcus Loponen…however his slot shot sailed over the crossbar.

Final Score: Vancouver 4 Winnipeg 2

Goals for the Jets:

1st: Lambert from He

2nd: Chibrikov from Lambert & Salomonsson

BOJA’s Observations:

• Brad Lambert was once again very noticeable and probably the best player on the ice for either squad. The Finn used his speed and puck handling skills to set up a lot of Winnipeg’s best scoring chances and has now been rewarded with a goal and two primary assists through the first 2 games.
• I don’t have the numbers to back it up, but I felt that Brayden Yager was much better at the faceoff dot in his 2nd contest. Though the newly acquired center did lose a bunch when the Jets were trying to press with the goalie pulled. An increased level of comfort helped him get involved a bit more offensively throughout the entire game against the Canucks. Wonder if he will continue to use the jersey number he picked for the tourney, as it might be nice to have an exciting #29 on the Jets again.
• Break out issues caused so many problems in the final two frames, helping to tilt the ice in Vancouver’s favour. Poor reads & passes time after time led to prolonged Canuck cycles and the eventual game winner was a direct result of this pattern.
• Nikita Chibrikov was once again his feisty self, constantly involved in battling for position while the Russian waits for the linesman to drop the puck. On the receiving & giving end of multiple bodychecks throughout the match, Chibrikov also is very good with the puck on his stick. Whether it is to cycle the offensive zone while looking for a passing opportunity or driving to a scoring area on his own, the small winger helps create dangerous scoring looks for his line. 2 goals in 2 games!
• Jacob Julien & Colby Barlow. Julien got involved and is a handful when battling in front of the crease and looked good playing in his natural center position. When it comes to Barlow, I want to see more from him other than being dangerous with the puck on his stick in a shooting position. The 1st round draft pick does have an elite shot and seems to be okay defensively & on the forecheck, but I would like to see him get a bit more involved in driving play.
• Up next, the Edmonton Oilers at 1 pm CST on Monday. With that early of a contest, the Jets’ prospects will likely have to eat their pre-game meal around 8 am. How good does a big bowl of pasta sound for breakfast?? Yummy!