RickDixon69

Winnipeg, MB • Canada • 42 Years Old • Male

Blackhawks down Jets 4-3

Okay.........so I was off on the score by one goal.........so sue me.

All-in-all the game was pretty much what I expected it to be. The Jets were pretty much dominated throughout the game and the score really doesn't reflect that. The Jets have a really bad habit of giving the puck up in the worst possible areas of the ice. They remind me way to much of what Ales Hemsky does constantly......try to make a move to get by a defender at the opposition blueline instead of making the smart play and just get the puck deep. It will be a looooooong wait to get a "W" if this part of their game doesn't change.

Mark Scheifele

Unfortunately, and I don't know if it was the fact he was playing at the United Center, Scheifele was non-existant last night. Completely invisible. Now I understand that he is playing on the 3rd line.......but still, he looked completely overmatched and Carcillo was making life hell for him every time he was on the ice. Worse than that was the fact that nobody stepped up after DC took 2 runs at him in his first shift. I don't know if they were trying to show him if this was what it is actually like to play in the NHL or if they just didn't want to stick up for their teammate at all. Lets hope it wasn't the latter.

Bryan Little

Little was possibly even more ineffectual than Scheifele. I'm beginning to think that this guy might drive me nuts all season long. One of those "all the talent in the world" guys who just is soooooo inconsistent that you want to take your own life. Lets hope this gets better. It is very early in the season, but looking at his career stats, it sure seems to be evident that he might just be one of those types of players.

Alex Burmistrov

I could literally watch this guy dangle all day. One problem with that though......through the 5 games I have watched him lay, I have yet to see one of his shots hit the net. First of all....he rarely shoots. Secondly, when he does shoot, it is very weak and hasn't reached the net. The kid is sick with the puck but if he doean't have an NHL caliber shot to go with those skills it makes him pretty easy to defend.

Kyle Wellwood

Let me preface this by saying I have NEVER been a Wellwood fan. I have yet to meet a guy who looks less like an NHL player than this guy. Now, in saying that, he has been the most dangerous looking Jet this year. The puck seems to find him in spots where he can do something with it. Yes I know.........HE TRIPPED OVER THE BLUE LINE!!!!! He made up for that a little later.

Ray Emery

If it weren't for Emery this game wouldn't have been close. He looked like he was fighting it all night. The game was a 4-1 or 6-1 game for sure but thanks to Emery the Jets might have a little more confidence going into Saturday's tilt with Phoenix. We'll see. If Crawford is sidelined for any period of time this year, the Hawks will be in trouble.

All-in-all there is one thing that strikes me most about this Jets club going forward. That top line of Ladd/Little/Wheeler is not an NHL caliber top line. Those players are all second liners, and good ones at that......but second liners nonetheless. This is going to be a very long season for this team. The 12th place finish predicted by most is pretty much bang on. If I was Chevy there are a few things I would tackle as soon as I could. I would try to work out a deal to get Braden Holtby out of the Washington system. He is a stud of a goaltender and quite possibly the best kept secret in the NHL. While I was at it, I would attempt to get Cody Eakin off of Mcphee as well. It only makes sense. He's a Winnipeg kid with TREMENDOUS speed and he has some scoring touch. In any case, there will have to be some pretty big changes for this team to be competitive but on the upside they can look forward to some pretty good draft picks in the off season.