The game’s recap between the Ottawa Senators and the Winnipeg Jets probably won’t tell you this, but the Jets simply didn’t deserve to win this game. The Senators played really quite well, but are still a work in progress and couldn’t hold the lead.
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In total, the Jets were outshot 41-28 during the game and, with about 10 minutes of really hard work, were able to pull out a victory. The team was coming off a 3-1 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday night and might have played a bit better. Still, it was the Senators’ game – until it wasn’t.
Head Coach Paul Maurice Knows the Deal
Even Jets’ head coach Paul Maurice admitted, ”I guess you should wrap all of us up in our goaltending. That’s the key in our game, our goaltending has been outstanding.”
Except, this time it wasn’t Vezina winner Connor Hellebuyck doing the tending, it was backup Laurent Brossoit. He was every bit as good as his goaltending partner on this night. Brossoit registered the victory in his first start of the 2020-21 season by making 38 saves in Tuesday’s 4-3 overtime victory over the Senators.
It Ended Better than It Started for Brossoit
Brossoit was shaky during his first start of the season and gave up two goals just after the first period was about halfway over. However, he was able to find his focus and the rest was history. He stood up to the test during the remainder of the game to allow the Jets a chance to claw back into the contest.
Hellebuyck obviously remains the starter, but Brossoit will likely see more work during the shortened and condensed season with a number of back-to-back games. He’ll likely play more games than he did last season, even with the team playing fewer games overall. In fact, the team has another back-to-back looming this weekend against the Senators once again on Saturday and then against Edmonton on Sunday.
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The Jets Need Better Defensive Play
Given his workload against the Senators, it was a good night for Brossoit. The Senators took advantage of a really poor Jets’ defense and whaled shot after shot on Brossoit for most of the first and second periods. He allowed three goals, but that wasn’t entirely his fault. His team did him no favors.
Brossoit’s strong game the Jets their second win of the season. However, if the team’s sloppy defensive play can’t be fixed, the team might be in trouble facing some of the highly-offensive teams the North Division has to offer.