NASHVILLE – With about four minutes left in Nashville’s 3-1 win over Winnipeg, Predators defenseman Shea Weber wound up and fired his signature slap shot, wired directly for the lower body of Jets defenseman Tyler Myers.
And as the 6-foot-8 blueliner, acquired from Buffalo Wednesday as part of a mega-deal for Evander Kane winced in pain and limped around the ice and struggled to finish his shift, there was a sense of worry and dread for the Jets.
Myers was sort of the big name the Jets got back in the trade – with all due respect to Drew Stafford. And Winnipeg also gave up defenseman Zach Bogosian. With one blast the big deal could have turned into a big dud.
Instead Myers ended up being fine – his only real wound an ice pack in his left knee area after the game. He returned after a brief locker room visit.
“I didn’t really know what to think at the time,” Myers said. “It just went completely dead on me, it was tough to stand. Looking back I maybe should have just stayed down to get a whistle, but try and fight through it. I think it’s OK now.”
Said coach Paul Maurice, “I was glad it was high enough up … (Weber) has such a big bomb back there. It’s not the first time he’s caught somebody and he went down, so he’s going to be fine.”
Besides that near disaster, the game went fine for the two new acquisitions. Myers played 21:23, and probably would have had more ice-time if he didn’t leave after the play to make sure Weber’s shot didn’t sever his lower body.
Stafford mainly tried to play a mistake-free game in 14:25 of action and 3:06 of power-play time.
“Just getting thrown in there and kind of trying to make sure I played my part and tried to work and keep it simple as much as I could,” he said.
But if there was one common theme from both after the game, it was that reality hit that they weren’t in Buffalo anymore. And they were extremely grateful to be somewhere else – at least from a hockey perspective.
No longer did they have to hear the names Connor McDavid or Jack Eichel every two seconds. They didn’t have to deal with losses, questions about ‘perceived’ tanking. They were with a team real NHL-level personnel and in a game that meant something against the NHL-leading Predators – a possible first round opponent for the Jets.
“I mean, I was playing a lot of minutes in Buffalo, and they were tough minutes back there,” Myers said. “Come in here there was a little more time in the offensive zone. Not as hard on the body. I felt pretty good.”
And overall, Winnipeg, which currently resides in the playoffs with 66 points held its own against Nashville in the Predators’ building – where teams not in yellowish gold appear to always lose. They were physical, they were strong, and if not for a standout game by Nashville netminder Pekka Rinne, the Jets could have won. Per naturalstattrick, Winnipeg out-Corsi’d the Preds 42-29 even strength and overall 65-49.
“So far so good. I’m sick of losing,” Stafford said. “But at the same time the atmosphere, the guys, the general confidence, the little bit of swagger that’s around here, they know what’s at stake. They know the type of team they have and they know they have a great chance to do some damage here and make a run at the playoffs.”
One game in February doesn’t mean much in the grand scheme of a season. But Stafford and Myers didn’t seem to have a problem fitting in. Especially Myers whose size, mobility and minute-crunching ways will make him a powerful weapon for Winnipeg as it makes its push.
“Just the range Tyler has back there in the corner, he can jump in, and I thought Drew was on the puck really well, really involved in the play,” Maurice said. “These guys have been through a lot, and there’s a lot to learn, and I think as soon as they learn they’re going to be even better.”
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Josh Cooper is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @joshuacooper
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