After their emotional victory over the Dallas Stars, the Winnipeg Jets had to re-focus as they began a 3 game road trip with a match against the Seattle Kraken. Would the True Northers put up another gem of a game or will there be a let up after the statement win over the Stars??? Lets find out….
GAME RECAP
When the puck dropped to start the game, both squads began with good tenacity & speed to make the opening 5 minutes fairly even. Then former Seattle Kraken Brandon Tanev lit up Shane Wright with a huge bodycheck, which caused a bit of a ruckus afterwards and resulted in both the Kraken players & fans becoming more involved in the game. Things continued to get interesting when Matthew Beniers & Dylan DeMelo tumbled into goalie Eric Comrie, sending him flying into the net and getting him flagged for a concussion protocol review. Enter Connor Hellebuyck. Shortly after, a Winnipeg penalty sent Seattle to their first powerplay of the contest and when the Jets’ PKers overcommitted to battle in the corner, the Kraken capitalized when a pass slipped past the defender to allow a huge 1 timer that Hellebuyck couldn’t stop. SEA 1-0. With momentum firmly on their side, Seattle continued to push and get the better of the scoring chances. Winnipeg received some good news when tender Comrie was cleared to resume play, sending Bucky back to the bench for the remainder of the match. The Kraken were rewarded again for their efforts late in the first when former Jet Mikey Eyssimont broke in on Comrie and beat him high on the glove side. SEA 2-0. Things were looking pretty bleak for Winnipeg as the game entered the final minute of the 1st, but a dump in to the offensive zone saw Vladislav Namestnikov win the battle for the puck. The Russian center was able to feed the puck back to the point, where Dylan Samberg sent a shot through the traffic in front, causing a juicy rebound for Cole Perfetti to bang in to re-ignite Winnipeg’s hopes. SEA 2-1.
The Jets played a more typical style of game in the 2nd period, resulting in the shot chances on both goaltenders being limited (6-5 WPG). Yet there were still enough defensive miscues by Seattle & Winnipeg to keep the goaltenders on their toes. Just past the midway point of the middle frame, Morgan Barron intercepted a pass deep in the Jets’ end and then had the presence of mind to spin to make a long stretch pass to spring Kyle Connor on a rush the other way. Connor did what Connor does, as he walked right in before sniping a shot from the low slot and tying up the game. TIE 2-2.
The 3rd period saw Winnipeg control the shot count (11-6), yet that did not mean that the Jets’ Comrie didn’t have to make some stellar stops to keep the game knotted. The True Northers also had some looks to score the game winner, but Seattle’s Joey Daccord was also playing extremely well. The NHL’s top powerplay finally got some opportunities in the final period, but the Kraken’s less than impressive penalty killers didn’t play that way and caused issues with aggressive puck pursuit while down a man. The “prick” Perfetti continues to impress the fans, as the little winger threw a bodycheck on two Seattle players at the same time with his best Dustin Byfuglien impersonation. In the end, neither team could break the deadlock before the horn sounded, so off to OT we went.
Seattle won the opening face-off and controlled the puck for the opening minute, yet Winnipeg’s defenders kept the attack to the perimeter until the Jets regained possession. Namestnikov was able to skate the puck through the neutral zone before passing off to Perfetti on the right wing. Young Cole found himself on a 2 on 1 with his roommate Samberg rushing to the far post and was able to thread the puck through to allow the American defender the opportunity to score the game winner.
*****
FINAL SCORE: WINNIPEG JETS 3 SEATTLE KRAKEN 2 (OT)
FINAL STATS
Shots: 26-21 WPG / Hits: 37-21 WPG / Face-Offs: 50.0% TIE / x Goals: 3.34 SEA – 3.07 WPG /
MoneyPuck’s Deserve to Win: 51.5% SEA / High-Medium Danger Scoring Chances: 13 to 12 WPG
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SCORING SUMMARY from ESPN
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SHOT CHART from MoneyPuck
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ADVANCED SKATER STATS from MoneyPuck
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GOALIE STATS from ESPN & MoneyPuck
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If you would like to dive deeper into the game’s stats, follow the links below to the game pages:
MoneyPuck: Winnipeg Jets vs. Seattle Kraken – Sunday March 16 2025 – MoneyPuck.com
NaturalStatTrick: Winnipeg Jets @ Seattle Kraken, 2025-03-16
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BOJA’s Observations:
Well, it was far from a perfect game, but it was nice to see the Winnipeg Jets stay in the fight and eventually persevere to get the win. Our squad now has a travel day as they head off to British Columbia for their next contest.
UP NEXT: Winnipeg Jets @ Vancouver Canucks – Tuesday, March 18th @ 9:00 pm CST
