Recap: Winnipeg Jets @ Philadelphia Flyers
The Winnipeg Jets were looking to end a rare losing streak when they visited the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday evening. They were also probably hoping to get some revenge for Philly’s 2-1 shoot out loss in the Peg, so lets find out if they were successful.
GAME RECAP
Winnipeg started off the game strong and were doing an effective job of pursuing the puck all over the ice, helping the Jets to spend the majority of the time in the offensive zone during the early part of the match. 7 minutes in, Philadelphia’s hyped rookie Matvei Michkov made a bone-headed play as he skating right through the crease and into the Jets’ Eric Comrie. The goalie interference penalty gave the True Northers’ powerplay an opportunity to shine, after finally breaking through with a 2 for 3 night against the NY Islanders. Winnipeg’s top PP unit controlled the puck and got set up in the offensive zone, shifting the puck around the perimeter before Gabriel Vilardi was set up for a shot from the bumper spot. The big winger couldn’t beat the Flyers’ Samuel Ersson, but the rebound bounced out to Mark Scheifele for his 35th marker of the campaign. 1-0 WPG. The Jets continued to have the better of play after that, though Philadelphia started to get some long to mid-ranged shots of their own. As the match neared the 15 minute mark, Neal Pionk spun in the defensive end to avoid a check and that resulted in the Flyer forechecker tripping him up. The second Winnipeg PP started off with a clear by the penalty killers, but they quickly regained the offensive zone to start the cycle. This time the man-advantage unit got a little break as a cross seam pass to Scheifele was almost intercepted, but the center whacked the puck towards the net with a second effort. Fortunately for the Jets, Nikolaj Ehlers was standing uncovered at the side of the net for the easy goal. 2-0 WPG. In the end, the extra skater played a big role in the opening frame as Winnipeg only beat Philadelphia 0.56 to 0.38 in expected goals at 5 on 5 (1.95 to 0.39 overall).
The Jets continued to play well to start the 2nd period, getting the first 6 shots in the middle frame and putting the Flyers on their heels. Around the 5 minute mark, Winnipeg’s pressure paid off when Scheifele threaded a neutral zone pass through the defenders to spring a speeding Kyle Connor for a rush on the right wing. Almost exactly at the face-off dot, the sniper quickly snapped a shot that sent the puck just over the tender’s pad on the far side. 3-0 WPG. Now 9 minutes into the 2nd period and Philadelphia still hadn’t sent a shot on Comrie and the Jets added to their lead when Mason Appleton skated up the right wing before finding an uncovered Adam Lowry right in front of the Flyers’ net. A tap in and it was 4-0 WPG. The hometown squad finally tested Winnipeg’s goalie with a rush shortly after, but a sprawling Comrie kept the puck out amidst the scramble in front of him. After a little pushback from Philadelphia, the Jets got some more scoring chances when Nino Niederreiter hit the post and Vilardi was denied on a 2 on 1 opportunity. A late elbowing penalty by Winnipeg gave the home squad a chance to get back into the game on the powerplay, but they were limited to one good shot from the right face-off circle before the horn sounded to end the middle frame.
The Jets entered the final period with a healthy lead and of course they took the foot off the gas a bit. However that doesn’t mean that the Flyers were spending large chunks of time in Winnipeg’s end. A lot of play was in the neutral zone, though Philadelphia did have a good press near the middle of the period. Fortunately for us fans, Comrie was playing extremely well and kept making the saves when he was called upon. The Scheifele line followed that up with an offensive zone cycle and the match got back to neither franchise creating any scoring chances. The Philly fans were unimpressed by their team and the boos began to ring out as the game neared its conclusion. The Flyers did finally give the people watching the game at the Wells Fargo Center something to see when their star rookie Michkov skated down the left wing before firing the puck by Comrie, who certainly played well enough to earn a shutout but it wasn’t in the cards.
FINAL SCORE: WINNIPEG JETS 4 PHILADELPHIA FLYERS 1
FINAL STATS
Shots: 27-22 WPG / Hits: 29-6 PHI / Face-Offs: 51.1% WPG / x Goals: 3.91 WPG – 1.87 PHI /
MoneyPuck’s Deserve to Win: 82.3% WPG / High-Medium Danger Scoring Chances: 12 to 7 WPG
*****
SCORING SUMMARY from ESPN
SHOT CHART from MoneyPuck
ADVANCED SKATER STATS from MoneyPuck
GOALIE STATS from ESPN & MoneyPuck
If you would like to dive deeper into the game’s stats, follow the links below to the game pages:
MoneyPuck: Winnipeg Jets vs. Philadelphia Flyers – Thursday March 6 2025 – MoneyPuck.com
NaturalStatTrick: Winnipeg Jets @ Philadelphia Flyers, 2025-03-06
*****
BOJA’s Observations:
The Winnipeg Jets were able to end their losing streak by breezing to an easy victory over the Philadelphia Flyers. The powerplay were successful on their only 2 powerplays of the contest and that gave them an early lead. After going 0 for 16, the PP has now gone 4 for 5 in the past two matches.
Mark Scheifele got his 35th goal and 70th point of the year tonight, working his way closer to his idol’s point total with the Jets’ franchise. Still 141 points back of Dale Hawerchuk’s 929 total with Winnipeg, but certainly reachable with a couple seasons.
Nice to see some 5 on 5 scoring as well, as the top line got a goal from Kyle Connor (32nd) on a rush and then the 3rd line did the same thing when Mason Appleton gifted captain Adam Lowry (12th) an easy goal. Winnipeg won the expected goals battle at even strength: 2.52 WPG to 1.71 PHI.
Our squad got outhit 28-6 in tonight’s game. Yes, the Jets did have the puck a lot. But there is no doubt that added some physicality wouldn’t be a bad thing before the post-season. Perhaps Seattle’s Brandon Tanev would help somewhat, but some size would be nice too.
An excellent game by backup goaltender Eric Comrie, as he turned aside 21 of 22 shots for a .955 save percentage and a +0.87 Goals Saved Above Expected.
The 2nd line of Nikolaj Ehlers, Vladislav Namestnikov, & Cole Perfetti were Winnipeg’s best forward unit tonight, getting 82.9% of the expected goals and outshooting the Flyers 13 to 1.
No rest for the boys tonight, as they will hop on some form of transportation and work their way to New Jersey. The Devils are ranked 12th in the NHL at this point, but have been struggling a bit lately (4-6-0) and have just lost star player Jack Hughes for the rest of the year. See you all tomorrow.
UP NEXT: Winnipeg Jets @ New Jersey Devils – Friday, March 7th @ 6:00 pm CST...
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