Hurricanes spoil Thomas Milic’s NHL debut, causing Jets to lose four games
There were no changes to the Jets lineup tonight as they tried to build chemistry with the new line combinations they formed before the last game. Tanner Pearson and Cole Perfetti were centered by Vladislav Namestnikov on line 2, Adam Lowry centered Nino Niederreiter and Alex Iafallo on line 3, and Toews stayed on the 4th line to center Morgan Barron and Gustav Nyquist. Elias Salomonsson remained on the 2nd pair with Dylan Samberg, replacing the still injured Neal Pionk. Colin Miller remained on the 3rd pairing (above Luke Schenn) with Logan Stanley.
Eric Comrie was expected to get the start in goal, which would have been his fourth straight start since the Jets announced Hellebuyck will be out four to six weeks. Instead, Thomas Milic was announced as the starting goaltender 40 minutes before the game started, making his NHL debut in Carolina. Milic came into tonight’s game with a 5-2-2 record (with the Manitoba Moose), a 2.14 GAA and an impressive .921 SV%. Tonight’s game started with the Hurricanes in front, but the Jets fought back to tie the game in the 2nd. Ultimately, it was the Hurricanes who won this Friday evening.
1st Period
Milic was fantastic in the first twenty minutes of his NHL debut. The Jets took two penalties in the first 10 minutes, Dylan DeMelo for a 4:36 trip, followed by a Colin Miller trip less than 4 minutes later. The Jets penalty killers (and Milic) kept the Hurricanes from scoring the opening goal of the game on the power play.
With about 4 minutes left in the 1st, Sebastian Aho entered the Jets zone and made a drop pass to Shayne Gostisbehere. Seth Jarvis was in front, grabbed the puck and quickly fired one past Milic, giving the Hurricanes a 1-0 lead.
Ghost with the pass, Jarvy with the finish 😮💨
The Jets were unable to generate much offense after this goal and the first period ended with the home team leading 1-0. The shots on goal changed (as the NHL controls what is shown on TV), and the Hurricanes ultimately defeated the Jets 10-5. Most other game statistics were somewhat in favor of the Jets, but the Hurricanes looked like the better team overall in the first twenty minutes.
2nd Period
The second period started with the Jets on the power play after Andrei Svechnikov was called for interference on Gabriel Vilardi just 49 seconds into the second. Similar to the previous match, the Jets continued to struggle to get shots on goal, and the match remained 1–0. Midway through tonight’s game, the Jets only had seven shots on goal as they still couldn’t generate any offense outside the first line.
Moments later, Gabriel Vilardi sent Mark Scheifele into a breakaway after intercepting a pass from Andrei Svechnikov. Scheifele waited and fired a wrister over the glove of Brandon Bussi, tying this game at 1 on the Jets’ 8th shot.
Less than 3 minutes later, already with some momentum from the tying goal, the Jets went back on the power play. Jackson Blake was called for hooking up with Colin Miller, but just like on the last power play, the Jets couldn’t get much going, and this game remained tied. Forty seconds after the penalty expired, Thomas Milic was called for stoppage of play – illegal play by the goalkeeper. Milic inadvertently covered the puck just outside the trapezium behind the net, setting up the Hurricanes on their third power play of the night.
The Hurricanes were unsuccessful and this game remained tied at 1 for the remainder of the second period. With just over a minute remaining, Gabriel Vilardi and Jordan Martinook got into a wrestling match near center ice, resulting in both teams being awarded two penalties. Shots on goal after 40 minutes were now 20-10 for the Hurricanes, and the third period would start with the score still just 1-1.
3rd Period
Both teams traded scoring opportunities to open the final twenty minutes. Elias Salomonsson almost scored his first career goal, but his shot went straight off the post. Dylan DeMelo was called for hooking with 15 minutes left, but the Jets again eliminated the Hurricanes on their power pay. Kyle Connor had a brief breakaway opportunity, but he couldn’t put the puck all the way past Bussi.
The excitement in the crowd (and on the ice) increased and you felt that the next goal could be the ultimate winner of the game. The Hurricanes took the lead with 8 minutes to go. Shayne Gostisbehere passed behind the net to Mark Jankowski. Jordan Martinook was in front and after getting the puck, he fired one past Milic to give the Hurricanes a 2-1 lead.
Marty with the quick release 💪
Less than a minute later, the Hurricanes doubled their lead. Andrei Svechnikov and Keandre Miller put Seth Jarvis in the front of the slot, and he fired another nice shot past Milic for his 14th of the season and 2nd of the night.
The Jets pulled the goalie with just over 2 1/2 minutes remaining. After almost being set up, the puck was turned over and sent onto the ice. Seth Jarvis ran onto the ice and slid the puck into the empty net to complete his second career hat trick. The Hurricanes added another goal with 23 seconds left from Alexander Nikishin, held on and won this match 5-1, heavily outscoring the Jets 35-13. Outside of the first line, the Jets disappointed again, and are now on a four-game losing streak.
Next
With the Jets’ five-game road streak now two games behind them, the Jets’ regular season schedule continues with a game tomorrow afternoon against the Nashville Predators. Puck drop for this game will take place just after 6:00 PM CT. Stay up to date with all the latest Jets news, plus previews and recaps of every Jets game this season, right here at Jets Nation.
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