Winnipeg can breathe for a little while as the Jets (32-27-8) have downed the Buffalo Sabres (30-28-8) 3-1 in an extremely important Eastern Conference matchup. The win now puts the Jets within 2 points of the division lead and three points ahead of the Washington Capitals for eight in the conference.
The Sabres came into this game as arguably the hottest team in the league with a three game winning streak and 6-2-2 in their last ten. However, the Jets haven't been so bad themselves either earning 10 of a possible 14 points before the conclusion of this homestand. Brian Little lead the team with a career high 3 points, all assists. Goal scorers were Andrew Ladd, Blake Wheeler, and Chris Thorburn. Tobias Enstrom also pitched in with an assist.
Quick Analysis:
The Jets has now played two complete games in a row, in my opinion, for the first time this season. They usually have a bad period here and there even during hot streaks but these last two games have cemented the first line of Little, Wheeler, and Ladd as a legit NHL top line. Kane played with lots of speed despite not getting any points. Thorburn's goal was as pretty as it gets. The team just seems to get it right now. Although now they have a lot of tough road games, I'm more confident now in this team than ever before. During the hot streak in December, that was mostly a result of the play of Ondre Pavalec. This time it appears the Jets finally have a solid top two lines, the GST line continues to produce, and the fourth line isn't making mistakes and letting the rest of the lines have breaks.
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