Leave it to the Jets to once again raise my expectations on seeing the full uniform and making me wait just a little bit longer. You are such a tease Winnipeg. But, I respect that.
The Jets, who played in Columbus and in Winnipeg against the Blue Jackets in split-squad action, wore their white road jerseys in both arenas. So the home blues are still to be seen in their full glory on the ice.
I have to bet that we won't see them until October 9. If they aren't on the ice for the regular season home opener, something is desperately wrong.
Anyway, let's get to the games.
We start with the ugly. Columbus destroyed the Jets in Nationwide Arena with a final score of 5-1.
The Jackets scored fivegoals on 19 shots against Jets goalie Chris Mason in the first two periods and that was that.
Goalie Peter Mannino stopped all four shots he faced in the third period.
Evander Kane scored Wininpeg’s first pre-season goal at 6:21 of the second period.
Jim Slater and Keith McCambridge, the St. John’s IceCaps head coach who ran the bench for the Jets, agreed that the team was very soft in the defensive zone.
Now, don't forget that the Jets were playing with a third of the total roster in Columbus and did not exactly send all the best players to Ohio. I know it's just preseason, but a glance at the rosters between the two cities shows a lot more scoring and defensive guys in Winnipeg which tells me they wanted to win that game especially.
Wins and losses don't matter, but one has to believe that the Jets wanted to win their first game in the MTS Centre.
And they did in dramatic fashion. A 6-1 win over the Blue Jackets in front of a sellout 15,004.
There was much to cheer about, starting 37 seconds in as Big Buff and Mark Stuart got into a fight with Columbus' Dane Byers and Cody Bass (who ended up in three total fights and being assessed a game misconduct). Then, at 7:49 in the first, Greg Postma scored the first Jets goal in Winnipeg.
Pavelec was great in the nets stopping 17 of 18 shots over two periods. Backup tender Aebischer stepped in to start the third and blocked all 9 shots he saw.
The big winner of the night in Winnipeg?
Mark Scheifele. Yep. That name you've heard so much in this off-season. The seventh overall draft pick and number one for the Winnipeg squad had four points with a pair of goals and two assists. He was awarded the first star of the game.
Will he make the team?
Time will tell. He is certainly more on the management's radar than he was expected to be. All indications are that he was destined not to make the cut and be sent back to Barrie with his highest hopes to make the World Junior Hockey Championships as a member of the Canada team. But now? He is looking solid. What does Mark think of his chances?
"I think I can," said Scheifele. "I’m gong to work my hardest to do that. If I keep on working I think I can make it."
I don't think anyone could argue that. Seven points (four goals) in seven games wearing the Jets logo? That's mighty impressive.
By the end of the night, the crowd was chanting "Scheifele! Scheifele! Scheifele!"
Speaking of the crowd, they were obviously excited to finally see the team on the ice. Finally start to live the hockey dream of having a team of their own after 15 years.
The penalty comparison of the two teams shows six non-corresponding penalties for Winnipeg and seven for Columbus. There were many more penalties assessed for roughing and fighting, but I'm not looking at those as much because they happen to both teams and wipe each other out.
That is not too terribly bad discipline wise. The Jets killed all their penalties and scored twice on the power play.
The team seems to be coming together nicely. Defense is going to need some work and I'd still like to see some better net minding. I just feel like Pavelec is a really really good backup tender or a weak first choice. Mason is flakey and a second tender all the way. At least, that what I've seen of them.
The Jets needed to pick up some good defense and so far, it looks like they haven't plugged those holes (if the game in Columbus is any indicator). Scoring? They have the talent, they just need the chemistry to read the plays with each other and the experience of playing on the same lines. That is coming. Coach Ramsey had something going in the first part of the season last year and hopefully it can be dublicated throughout the entire season this year.
Go Jets Go.
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