The Winnipeg Jets suffered a blowout loss on Friday night to the Anaheim Ducks in a game that, on paper, looked like it would be closer.
When a team loses 5-1, the assumption is that they allowed a lot of shots on goal and didn’t generate many themselves. In Friday night’s loss to Anaheim, the Jets allowed just 17 shots on goal.
That meant the Ducks scored on 29.4 percent of their shots overall. Clay Stevenson got the start and saved 12 out of 16 before the Ducks tipped one in on an empty-netter.
The Jets, meanwhile, got 16 shots on net. But here’s where things get interesting: Anaheim blocked 20 shots. It wasn’t that the Jets hesitated to take shots — they shot the puck; it just didn’t reach the net more than half the time. And that doesn’t even count shots that missed the net.
Winnipeg Jets Suffered A Bizarre Blowout Loss Despite Similar Shot Total
The NHL season lasts 84 games, so there are plenty of opportunities for bizarre matchups to occur. But you won’t see many four-goal blowouts where both teams combined for just 33 shots on goal.
Here’s where things get even more interesting: three players who scored for the Ducks averaged 12 minutes or less of ice time heading into Friday’s matchup.
Judd Caulfield opened the scoring, and he’s known more for his physical play at the moment. Caulfield also landed another three hits, giving him 10 on the season. His goal was also the first of his career.
Sam Colangelo scored at the 4:25 mark of the third period, and he came into Friday’s contest averaging just 11:59 of ice time across 45 career games. Nikita Nesterenko padded Anaheim’s scoring with an empty-netter to make the game 5-1. Nesterenko averaged 11:07 per game before Friday and has a career average of 11:42.
Only Tim Washe and Mikael Granlund were scorers who are clocking in top-six minutes per game. So the Jets not only allowed 17 shots on goal, but 60 percent of their goals allowed came from players who typically record bottom-six minutes. That was a shocker, given Winnipeg’s stellar defensive play over their previous three games.
Kyle Connor Gave The Jets Some Normalcy
Given the way the Jets-Ducks contest went on Friday night, one would think that Isak Rosen broke through and found the back of the net to prevent the shutout. But that wasn’t the case. Instead, Kyle Connor landed his sixth goal of the season.
It’s almost becoming routine to see Connor score, with Mark Scheifele getting the primary assist. So the game didn’t come with a complete rundown of bizarre twists, thanks to Connor’s goal.
While a 5-1 loss is still a blowout, a bad game, and one to forget, you won’t find many blowout losses like what the Jets saw on Friday night. It’s one of those games when a team looks back and asks itself, “How did we manage to give up so many goals on so few shots?”
The Jets are also probably asking another critical question: How do we keep this from happening again? That’s a question they will answer when they take the ice again on Tuesday, Oct. 13, when they square off vs. the Minnesota Wild.
Winnipeg Jets’ Blowout Loss Comes With Bizarre Statistical Twist