Back At It

The Christmas break in the NHL is done, and the Winnipeg Jets were back at it tonight against the Chicago Blackhawks.

It wasn't a total domination, as all the stats were pretty close in every department.  But it was Bryan Little's face-off percentage and the fore-checking-especially by the fourth line of Joel Armia, Adam Lowry and Shawn Matthias that helped the Jets out to a strong start and defeat the Chicago Blackhawks 3-1 at the United Centre.  Nick Petan was his usually pesky self as well, who continues to contribute and continues to be underrated.

The Jets took control in the corners and pretty much owned the neutral zone tonight.  This intelligent road-game defense is the reason why the Jets are now 8-4-2 against the Hawks in their last 14 meetings and 9-4-2 against Central division opponents this year.  The good guys are now at .500 with a 17-17-3 record for 37 points.

 In their last five games, the Jets are 4-1.  They sit fifth in the Central division and remain one point behind Los Angeles for the second wild card spot.  They trail the Calgary Flames by three points for the first wild card.  The St. Louis Blues lead the Jets by four points for the third and final divisional spot.

Blake Wheeler opened the scoring with his 12th.  Mark Scheifele apparently tipped in the winning goal from a blast from Jacob Trouba, but even on the slow-motion instant replay, it looked to me that the puck beat Blackhawks goaltender Corey Crawford clean off of Trouba's stick.  I guess the statisticians saw something I didn't.  Drew Stafford added the insurance marker 2:27 into the third.  It was Stafford's third of the season.
Dustin Byfuglien missed a glorious chance when he was in all alone on Crawford late in the second period, but the pass was just behind him and rolling, so he was unable to settle it down before he ran of real estate in front of the Chicago net-minder.

Patrik Laine almost had his 20th on an attempt at the empty net vacated by Crawford, only to deflect it off of the left post.

Connor Hellebyck continues to stifle the Hawks this season, as he made 34 saves for his third win against the Blackhawks in as many tries this campaign.  If it wasn't for his defense abandoning him on the Hawks only goal by Artem Anisimov, Helle would have garnered his second shutout over the Hawks this season.

So, How Did You Like Winnipeg?

So, many people (I use that "description" lightly, as they are simply Jets haters) have said no player wants to come to Winnipeg.  Well obviously that's not true as we have had many superstars, both past and present that had an opportunity to go elsewhere, but decided to re-sign (including Hall of Famer Dale Hawerchuck and bonafide stars Dustin Byfuglien and Blake Wheeler.)

Many ignoramuses claim they know why the Jets left (it had nothing to do with lack of fan support) and even more claim that no stars want to play in River City and moreover, they think they know why.  They don't.
Many didn't want to play for an expansion Pittsburgh Penguins or Los Angeles Kings.  Many didn't want to go to Edmonton because of the weather or high taxes.  Well, look at these franchises now.  Look at the championships they won and the winning culture they established.  Soon will it be with the Jets as well.  You'll see.

Over at The Sportster, they have compiled a list of former Winnipeg Jets that have either loved living in Winnipeg and playing for the Jets, or hated every minute of their time in the city.  For those that didn't, the heck with you.  And exactly like former captain-and now New York Islander-Andrew Ladd said of anyone that didn't, "We don't them here anyway."  Couldn't have said it better myself, Cap.

Jets Get Revenge On Canucks

Despite the Jets continuing to fill the penalty box tonight, they managed to defeat the Vancouver Canucks 4-1 at the Roger's Arena, exacting a bit of revenge for the loss to the Canucks two nights ago by the same score.

The second period finally wasn't the period from hell tonight.  It wasn't great, but at least they came out of it tied thanks to Patrik Laine's 19th goal of the season.  He continues to lead all rookies in goals.
Nikolaj Ehlers scored twice, including the game winner, to give him nine on the year and Bryan Little continues to produce after returning from injury that had him out of the line-up for the first 24 games of the season.

Micheal Hutchinson was strong and came up big in the second period.  He garnered his fourth win tonight, making 22 saves.

But the down side is, once again, the Jets allowed a team under them in the standings to be competitive.  The Jet aren't doing great this season, but the Canucks are supposed to be worse.  At least that's the impression I get every time I see the NHL Western Conference standings.

So with this, the Jets now go into the Christmas break one game under .500.  They now sit tied for fourth with the Nashville Predators with 35 points in the Central division, one point out of the second wild card spot behind the Calgary Flames.
The good news is, with this mostly disappointing season thus far, the Jets are still in the playoff hunt.
Again, they are only a three or four wins in a row away from a division spot in the standings.  The problem with that is, the Jets are yet to put three or more consecutive victories together this season.

Their next opponent is the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday, Dec. 27 at the United Center.  The Jets are 2-0 against the Hawks and they always seem to give them a fight.
Mark Scheifele is in a bit of a goal drought.  He hasn't scored since since Dec. 8 against the New York Rangers, although he did get an assist on Laine's goal.

Jets Fans Invade NHL Arenas, Improve Enemies' Box Office

Here`s a rare hockey story. 


Normally, when a sub-par or small-market hockey club comes to a city who`s market or team is bigger or more successful, most of the average home team ticket buyers will stay away.  They'd rather wait for the likes of Sidney Crosby, Alex Ovechkin, or Connor McDavid to spend their hard-earned cash.


But as is the case for a small-market, lower-based salary structure team like the Jets, apparently the owners of said big-market clubs don`t mind hosting a team like the Jets (even though they have no choice due to scheduling of course.)  But it seems that the Jets are in a unique situation of their own.  Everybody knows Winnipeg Jets fans are one of (if not the most) loudest, knowledgeable and rabid fan basis in the hockey universe.  And to prove that even more, Paul Wiecek of the Winnipeg Free Press has discovered that the high number of Jets fans that follow the team on the road, not only let a loud vocal support to the Jets that can clearly be heard on television (and by the players) but these same Jets fans actually benefit the opposing teams box office as well:


VANCOUVER — Two games in three days against the same small-market Canadian team, all in the week before Christmas.

That schedule would be an attendance-killer in a lot of buildings in the NHL, but in Vancouver, the Canucks were willing to oblige a rare two-game set against the Winnipeg Jets this week.

That’s because in Vancouver — as in Calgary, Edmonton, St. Paul, Minn., Miami and Glendale, Ariz. — the Jets are box office boffo.

While Winnipeg will never be the scalpers’ bonanza NHL teams such as the Chicago Blackhawks, Pittsburgh Penguins and Montreal Canadiens are, the little old Jets — thanks in large part to fiercely loyal communities of Winnipeg expatriates — have increasingly carved out a niche of their own as a visiting team that can be good for the home team’s business.

According to the online ticket re-seller Vivid Seats, the Jets punch above their weight class — and small Canadian market status — when it comes to selling tickets in other NHL cities.
According to the website, the Jets are tied for 17th in the NHL in terms of the effect they have on median ticket prices in the buildings they visit.

That’s well behind the likes of Chicago — the NHL’s best road draw, by a mile — but still ahead of some other big-market Central Division rivals, including the Dallas Stars, St. Louis Blues, Nashville Predators and Colorado Avalanche.
In Calgary, for instance, Flames staffers now rank the Jets as their fourth-best draw in the NHL, behind only the Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal and the Edmonton Oilers.
 In Arizona, the Jets have long been the Coyotes’ single-best draw in a U.S. state where many Winnipeg snowbirds vacation and/or have winter homes.

And then there’s Minnesota, where Jets fans show up in such huge numbers the Wild two seasons ago had the Canadian anthem performed in French prior to one game against the Jets just to prevent Winnipeggers in the building from announcing their presence with a full-throated "True North!"
A note on that "True North" thing, a calling card in visiting buildings from Jets fans: yes, the Jets players hear you. And yeah, they think it’s pretty cool.

"It lets us know Jets fans are in the building. And it’s unique — no other team has that," Jets defenceman Ben Chiarot said Tuesday. "Yeah, we hear it. And in some buildings, it’s really loud."
Those loud buildings include the one in B.C., a province that is home to huge swaths of former Winnipeggers — retired and otherwise — who have long taken advantage of Jets visits to the Lower Mainland to head out to Rogers Arena and cheer on their "home" team.

Vancouver could use all the box office help it can get right now. The Canucks are a bit of a tire fire this season, with an aging and slow lineup, and the locals have grown increasingly indifferent judging by the numbers of empty seats visible at Rogers Arena for Vancouver’s last home game, Sunday against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Two home games against the Jets this week with Rogers Arena full of Winnipeggers might not be great for the psyche of the Canucks players, but it certainly won’t hurt the team’s bottom line.
The question still to be answered, however, is whether there will come a time when the Jets can draw fans in visiting cities who aren’t former or current Winnipeggers.

With budding superstars such as Patrik Laine and Mark Scheifele, it’s not beyond the realm of possibility the Jets at some point become like the Edmonton Oilers of the 1980s: an otherwise obscure Canadian team you desperately want to see play live because of its star power.
That prospect might look a long way off with the Jets mired around .500, but then who’d have guessed a year ago the Jets would now have an 18-year-old rookie who is third in the NHL in goals and the third-leading vote-getter in the Central Division in all-star balloting?

It’s all pieces towards the building of what team owner True North Sports & Entertainment Ltd. hopes will eventually become a unique "Jets brand" that extends its appeal well beyond the Perimeter Highway — one part vintage Oilers, one part current Blackhawks, with a splash of the small-market miracle that is the NFL’s Green Bay Packers.

Or, as a Jets staffer likened it for me this week: "Not trying to be Pepsi or Coke. Just trying to be the best Dr. Pepper we can be."


paul.wiecek@freepress.mb.ca

Jets Fail To Capitalize On Slumping Canucks

I've said it before (as have many others) and I'll continue to say it; when you can't beat a lesser team, especially those below you in the standings, you can't consider yourself a playoff team.  It's the National Hockey League, any team can beat any other team on any given night, so no victories are forgone conclusions.


Once again the second period monster reared it's ugly head at the Jets last night and as has become a custom to the Winnipeg Jets this season, the little team from River City decided to stop playing for the rest of the game.  After a nice effort from captain Blake Wheeler to open the scoring, the Jets once again forgot why they were there and fell to the lowly Vancouver Canucks 4-1.


I'm starting to get the impression that Patrik Laine is only able to score within the confines of the MTS Centre.  With only four goals on the road as of this writing, it seems that Laine hasn't found his scoring niche outside of Winnipeg.  Mark Scheifele's stick seems to have cooled off as well.  Now the Jets should have beaten the Canucks hands down last night even without any offensive contributions from the Jets top scorers, but if these two don't get back on their game (Scheifele moreover than Laine at this time) the Jets will be in some serious trouble.


It's to the point now (even though it's only the end of December) that Jets fans consoling themselves after an embarrassing loss or "should have won" loss by saying "it's only one game," where that's just not enough.  Yes, they're a young and, overall, an inexperienced team.  But they have enough talent and a decent, experienced enough coach that they should have more w's in the win column.


This type of play cannot sustain itself.  Eventually, the teams under the Jets will start winning and surpass them.  They may not get into the playoffs themselves, but they'll be higher than the Jets in the standings.  I know.  That will give them a better chance at a draft pick.  But do they need a top-tier prospect right now anyways?  The Jets prospect pool is one of, if not the best systems in the entire NHL.  Other than some stellar goalie that the Jets may draft in the later rounds a la Martin Brodeur, the Jets would seemingly be better off trading player-for-player or player-for-prospects.  One such theory put forth was by someone writing under the name Alex H.  He has penned a list of what he thinks are 15 potential trades that could be made before the trade deadline.  If you`re not interested in all 15 and just want to see who he thinks Kevin Cheveldayoff should ship out for a trade, just scroll down to number one (and try to ignore the wrestling article on the same page)


The Canucks are up again tomorrow night from the same Rogers Arena venue.  Seriously, if the Jets don`t come out swinging and keep it up until the final buzzer, this may be the mold of their play for the rest of the season.  Being under .500 at the Christmas break is not exactly conducive to earning a playoff spot.

Jets Down Avs

A close to dominating game by the Winnipeg Jets today, as they defeated the Colorado Avalanche 4-1 at the MTS Centre.  They played all sixty minutes with Connor Hellebyuck almost recording the donut if not for a late six-on-four power-play by the Avs with goaltender Calvin Pickard on the bench for the extra attacker.

Patrik Laine scored his eighteenth of the year and Nikolaj Ehlers, after being continuously robbed by Roberto Luongo on Thursday after a six-shot, puck-on-a-string performance, scored twice (the second being an empty-netter) to increase his output to seven goals on the season thus far.  Mark Scheifele ended up with a two-point night with him assisting on both of Ehlers markers and Laine got himself three points this afternoon with his goal and the secondary helper on both of Ehlers goals as well.

Ehlers has been robbed so many times this season (both by goaltenders gloves and goalposts) that now that he's got a taste for the net again, I'm hoping that he'll fill the net over the next few games like when a scorer of his calibre goes long enough without scoring

With this victory, the Jets springboard over the Dallas Stars into fourth in the Central division, one point behind both the Los Angeles Kings and Calgary Flames with 33 points for a wildcard spot.  The Jets remain five points behind the St. Louis Blues for third in the Central.

Morrissey Quietly Being Noticed

A few posts back I linked an article from Paul Friesen about Kyle Connor, the Winnipeg Jets rookie, who although has been recently sent to the Manitoba Moose of the American Hockey League for playing time and to retrieve his confidence and scoring touch, I believed was going to turn some heads this season. Connor did enough to make the opening night roster, but had only scored one goal in 17 games at the time of his "demotion."

Of course being in the shadow of Patrik Laine and all the media obsession over the 2016 second overall pick is probably a little too much to overcome for a young rookie.

  But this post is simply another link to an article espousing the grit, determination and quiet patience of Moose graduate Joshua Morrissey.  The young defenseman has certainly made strides in his quest to the NHL.  And those strides have paid off.

Team Blue Victorious At Jets Skills Competition

The Winnipeg Jets held their annual Skills Competition on Friday, with rookie sensation Patrik Laine stealing the show in the accuracy portion of the afternoon (who else?) if not the win for Team White.  That was left to Nikolaj Ehlers who gave Team Blue the win with the fastest skater competition.  

Again, other than Blake Wheeler, who else is the fastest on the roster?

Apparently a good time was had by all.

Jets Tame Cats, End Four Game Skid

It wasn't pretty.  But it was entertaining.  And by that I mean it was another exciting come back win by the Winnipeg Jets, this time over the Florida Panthers 4-3 in a shoot-out.  This one was much needed.

It wasn't the blow-out I was more or less predicting based on Patrik Laine going balistic after his own-goal on Sunday in Edmonton, although Laine did register a point with an assist on Dustin Byfuglien's first period goal that opened the scoring.  Mark Scheifele was also held goalless.

Nikolaj Elhers was the sniper-that-wasn't tonight.  He had six shots tonight with some beautiful  dangling through most of the Florida defense core.  But as he has been the last dozen games or so, he just couldn't find the back of the net.  A strong performance by Roberto Luongo didn't help matters.
Matheiu Perreault ended it in the seventh round of the shootout to end the Jets four-game winless skid (0-3-1) and give the Jets their 14th win of the season and a much-delayed 31st point to place them fourth in the Central division and one point behind the Los Angeles Kings for the second and last wild card spot in the West.

Connor Hellebyuck recorded his second-highest save performance this season with 41 denials.

Sh*t Happens, Says Laine

Everybody keeps saying that Patrik Laine will be o.k.  It was a blip in the grand scheme of what will be a stellar NHL career.

The fact that Laine scored on his own net in the third period of a 2-2 game between the Winnipeg Jets and the Edmonton Oilers is not a big deal.  It was at the time, but by the new year no one will remember or even care.  Jets fans certainly won't, so why would anyone else.  Except the naysayers that is.  Perhaps fans of the Toronto Maple Leafs who secretly wish the Leafs had selected Laine instead of Austen Matthews. Maybe even Oilers fans who are still miffed that the Jets moved up four spots to steal number two from them in last summer's draft.

Just three days after Laine had "embarrassed Winnipeg," he was back in River City at the Jets practice when he told reporters, "What happened Sunday?" like he has already forgotten it as he should.  "I haven't thought about that.  It's gone.  Shit happens sometimes.  Now it was my turn."

Big points for Blake Wheeler for immediately showing support and leadership to a potentially season-damaging mistake when the Jets captain went over and hugged Laine with his left arm, after Laine had come back to the bench after he popped the puck in behind Connor Hellebyuck, and told him to forget it and use the time left in the game to redeem himself.

Laine has apparently forgotten about it.  His team mates have forgotten about it and most Winnipeg Jets fans have already forgotten about it.  Why?  Because although he is only 18 years old, he already has the mindset that indeed "shit happens."  Plus, you have to believe this will only make him more determined.  Hell, he'll probably score his third hat-trick this season against the Florida Panthers later tonight.

That could be a real possibility.  Overall, the Jets have handled the Panthers more than adequately over the past few seasons. The Cats have had a few good high-scoring games against them, but with wins of scores of 7-0, 7-2 and 8-2, Laine has an opportunity to not only right a wrong, but to erase it from any future discourse.  At least that wrong could be easily dismissed.  Of course I'm not forgetting Jaromir Jagr. He will no doubt have something to say about the outcome of tonight's match-up, but look for Laine to double his efforts and show he is the type of player that can sincerely put it behind him and keep putting pucks in the net; and seemingly at will at that.

As for all the internet "experts" who actually think Laine didn't know what end of the rink he was in and just by instinct as a pure goal scorer shot the puck at the net?  Seriously, shut down your computers and never offer an opinion ever again.
It was quite clear he was trying to clear it into the corner and the puck just hit a spot on the blade of his stick that made it veer off in the wrong direction.

Besides, it won't really matter tonight now anyways now will it?

Jets Blow It In Edmonton

Even a coach's challenge that went Paul Maurice's way to deny the Edmonton Oilers a goal near the end of the first period couldn't help the Winnipeg Jets defeat their timeless rivals last night.
Patrik Laine pulling a Nikolaj Ehlers and scoring into his own net probably didn't help matters much.

So all the Oilers needed was two goals from Mark Letestu and the gift from Laine to win 3-2 and go 3-0 against the Jets this season.

Another losing streak for the Jets.  This is the third time the Jets have lost three or more in a row this season and it's not even the end of December.

Suffice to say, the Jets are now out of a playoff spot and sliding fast.

Flames Incinerate Jets

  I was at work the other night and a co-worker asks me, "Where are the Jets playing Saturday?"
"Calgary."  I said.  Then, for some reason I just said, "I think they're gonna get their butts handed to 'em."
"What makes you say that?"  he said.
"Calgary is just the better team,"  I answered.

Now, when I said that, I wasn't just complaining that the Calgary Flames were on a five-game winning streak and that they were probably going to feast on the slumping Winnipeg Jets who were coming in losers of two in a row.  I said it, because the Calgary Flames have a better overall hockey club than the Winnipeg Jets in this 2016-2017 NHL campaign.

But when I said "they were going to get their butts handed to them," I didn't think I was being prophetic.  But when the Flames struck with four un-answered goals in the second (Hello Jets.  It's me.  You're second period nightmare.  I'm baaaaaack) I almost turned the game off and started this post.  Well, the third period hasn't started yet and I'm writing this post.  At least the game is still on.

This was a brutal non-attempt at competition by the Jets.  They were schooled all over the ice by Johnny Goudreau and company.  Starting goaltender Michael Hutchinson should have been yanked after the third goal.  As it was, Paul Maurice was at least cognizant enough to start Connor Hellebyuck for the final frame.

The showed why they had won their last five games.  They won the battles in the corners.  They clearly won the battles in front of the net and defensively, the Flames had better sticks all over the place.

Blake Wheeler continues his scoreless streak.  Jets power couple Mark Scheifele and Patrik Laine were both held pointless and once again, the Jets continue to shoot themselves in the foot by not staying out of the box.  Lather.  Rinse.  Repeat.

Oh look, it's 5-0.  Nice.

There's a bit of light in an otherwise black hole of offensive ineffectualness, Nikolaj Ehlers finally scored to end a 15-game drought.  He hadn't scored since Nov. 10 against the Arizona Coyotes.  Jacob Trouba scored his first of the year with 0.1 seconds left in the third.  A pretty anti-climactic first goal of the season.

So this atrocity ends 6-2 with the Edmonton Oilers up tomorrow night in Edmonton.
I don't expect a different result.   I detect a divisional/conference slide coming.  Minnesota, Dallas and Los Angeles are starting to win.  The Jets are not.  The wild card is now something the Jets are looking up at along with three other clubs.

This is/was painful.

Penalties Are The Problem

What is (or are) the Winnipeg Jets main follies this year?

  After 30 games, should the Winnipeg Jets with all their hyped-up young talent-laden stars and potential fire-power be right where they are?  Were they expected to be where they are (second wild card-at the present time volleying between a wild card and a divisional ?)  Will they improve during the second of the season or falter?

The Winnipeg Sun's Paul Freisen did me a favour by already extracting some of  the Jets stats on the matter.

  My take, and it's a simple one; stay out of the box.  As it's been since the Jets arrival back in Winnipeg in 2011, the Jets main problem (as well as sub-par goaltending) is penalties.  Every team takes them and seemingly every time at the wrong moment every other team's fans will say.  But with the Jets it's true.  Very, very true.

  If you check the numbers, the Jets have been one of the top penalized teams in the league for the last five years.  A lot of them avoidable offensive zone brain farts.  They also have the distinction of being one of the most penalized teams facing five-on-three disadvantages,  The flip side is, they've managed to successfully kill those off the majority of the time.  But the real thorn in the Jets collective side is not just ill-timed avoidable penalties, but allowing late goals.

  How many times have I seen the Jets get scored on with a minute or less to go in the period?  Usually it's in the third, as the most recent game against the New York Rangers demonstrated.  Less than a minute from securing at least a point from the game, and BOOM, Kevin Hayes pops in a gift at the side of the gaping net. 2-1 Rangers.  Not only was that one at the end of the period, but it was of course, also a power-play tally.

Right now, if not officially, then theoretically, the Jets are somehow a "on-the-bubble" play-off team.  They obviously won't be with a record of four wins in a 12-game span.  Everything must improve.  The only bright spots so far seem to be Mark Scheifele and Patrik Laine.  The goal-tending has to improve (although it has slightly) they have to stay out of the box and when the game is tied and you're close to the end of regulation, how about playing for the win and not a tie?

Connor Sent To Moose

Kyle Connor, the NCAA wonder kid from one year ago and who is badly in need of restoration of his confidence and scoring touch, has been sent down to the Winnipeg Jets American Hockey League affiliate, Manitoba Moose.

I recently posted about how I thought with all eyes being on Patrik Laine and Mark Scheifele that Connor would slip in under the radar and produce quietly, but consistently.  I pegged him, in his rookie year, to notch about 12-15 goals and about 40-45 points.  I guess not.

In spite of that, I can't say I didn't see this coming.  With Connor only producing one goal and three assists this season thus far, and being a healthy scratch for the last five games, Connor was due for a short-term change of scenery,

Connor is a talented kid.  Give him about 10-15 games down on the farm and he'll be back...or not.

Late Goal Sinks Jets

The Winnipeg Jets were 1:09 from securing at least their 30th point in the Central division standings, until Ryan McDonagh slipped one past Jets goaltender Micheal Hutchinson as the New York Rangers slipped past the Winnipeg Jets 2-1 at the MTS Centre last night.

Mark Scheifele returned to the line-up after missing the last two games with an upper-body injury.  He notted the Jets only marker this night on assists from Paul Postma and Dustin Byfuglien.  Scheifele now has 14 goals on the season.

The Rangers were without star winger Rick Nash, but it didn't seem to matter as the Rangers speed and transition game were too much for the Jets to handle.  And once again, it was a bad penalty (although very questionable) at the wrong time-in this case with just 2:56 left in the third in a tie game, that ultimately burned the Jets.

The Jets have now lost their last two straight and the same in as many games at home.  They now sit in the second wild card spot in the Western Conference with 29 points, one point ahead of the Los Angeles Kings.

Jets Let Wings Off Of Hook

  The Winnipeg Jets played a decent game against the Detroit Red Wings last night at the MTS Centre, even though they failed to convert two powerplay chances; however the home side let the visitors off of the proverbial hook after leading 3-1 after the first period.  Andrew Copp, Dustin Byfuglien and Patrik Laine scored for the Jets.  Laine potted his league-leading 17th goal of the season.  He is currently tied with the Penguins Sidney Crosby.  Tomas Tatar answered for the Red Wings.

It was all Red Wings in the second, with rookie Anthony Mantha and Thomas Vanek scoring to tie the game. There was a moment late in the third when Blake Wheeler had control of the puck behind the Wings net and was unceremoniously dumped that would have had given the Jets a powerplay to play with.  No call.

Overtime solved nothing, so the second shootout competition of the Jets season saw the fifth period go to two rounds with Laine scoring for the Jets, while Vanek and Henrik Zetterberg put the Wings over the top after a Brian Little miss.

The Jets played well enough to win...in the first period.  Once again the second period was the Jets bane.  Two markers by the Wings deflated the Jets enough that it carried the Wings momentum into the third.  The Jets should have had this one.

Jets Hold Off Blackhawks

   

Andrew Copp was the hero on this night as he broke a 1-1 tie at 15:15 of the third period to give the Winnipeg Jets a 2-1 win against the Central division-leading Chicago Blackhawks.

Brian Little advanced his post-injury goal tally by opening the scoring at 19:16 of the second period with assists by Dustin Byfuglien and Blake Wheeler.   It was Little's third of the season.

This is the second victory against the Blackhawks in as many games this season.  The Jets now hold the second wild card behind the Pacific division's Los Angeles Kings.  Although both clubs have 28 points, the Kings hold the edge due to acquiring their points in four fewer games.  The Jets are also tied with the Minnesota Wild for third in the Central division, but the Wild get the edge for the same reason as the Hawks.

Despite an earlier five-game skid, the Jets remain just two points behind the St. Louis Blues for second in the Central.  Theoretically, the Jets are just three or four wins in a row (with a couple of losses by almost everyone else) away from first place in the Central division.  You may scoff, but it most certainly can happen.

           

Laine And Little Help Jets Top Blues

One good turn deserves another it seems, out as Bryan Little and Patrik Laine found last night.  The two have been finding some chemistry lately and it culminated last night in a 3-2 overtime win over the St. Louis Blues.

Little set up Laine midway through the third on a beautiful play by Laine to get position on Kevin Shattenkirk for the tap-in.  it was Laine's 16th goal of the season, tying him presently with Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby. for the league in goals.
Then, to return the favor in the overtime period, Laine made a sweet move on Blues defenceman Alex Pietrangelo to send a saucer pass onto Little's stick for the empty-net finisher, catching Blues goaltender Carter Hutton out of position.

The Jets were without Mark Scheifele last night as he was scratched due to a lower-body injury suffered in the 6-3 pummeling at the hands of the Edmonton Oilers Thursday night.

        
It was a road victory the Jets sorely needed after going 0-5 on the last time away from the MTS Centre between Nov. 17th-25th.  The Jets sit fifth in the Western Conference wildcard spot.  They are tied with three other teams at 26 points and are only two points from third in the Central division.

      
      

Jets Stop Slide With Win Over Devils

Blake Wheeler (26) scores his eighth of the season in second period action Tuesday

  It got a little scary at the end of this one, but Connor Hellebuyck and the Winnipeg Jets managed to hang on to beat the New Jersey Devils 3-2 Tuesday night, extending their streak of home victories to five, while ending the Devils' overall winning streak of six.

Mark Scheifele and Patrik Laine each scored their 13th goals of the season-both trailing Sydney Crosby by two goals for the league lead-while Blake Wheeler scored his eighth. Laine ended a six-game goal scoring drought.

Connor Hellebyuck made 23 saves and set a franchise record for the longest shutout run at home with 174 mintues and 54 seconds until the Devils' Mark Wood scored at 2:52 of the third period.  He is 5-0 at home in his last five starts.

Brian Little returned to the line-up after missing 23 games (48 of the last 49 going back to his season-ending injury last year in which he missed the last 25 games) but failed to score, continuing his career donut against the New Jersey Devils in the goals department. 

The unsung hero of this game was Andrew Copp, who added an assist to his point totals on Wheeler's second period goal and did all the work in front of the net to earn it.  He was a thorn in the Devils side at every given opportunity.  Serious consideration would have to go to Marko Dano as he took one for the team.  To the face that is.

         

  The Edmonton Oilers are next on this three-game home stand before the Jets set out on the road again for a two-games against the St. Louis Blues and Chicago Blackhawks before coming home to face the Detroit Red Wings. 

Connor McDavid and company will be a real challenge for the Jets as McDavid leads the league in points, and although the Oilers are on a two-game losing skid, they have had a successful year and can score multiple goals at will on some nights.

                          

However, the Jets will show the Oilers on Thursday that the confines of the MTS Centre will be vastly different than the choppy ice of Investment Group Field that both teams had to endure at the Heritage Classic.  Plus, the Jets are a little more healthier with the return of Brian Little and Mathieu Perrault in the lineup.  It's going to be a shoot-out I think with both McDavid and Laine leading the way.
Scheifele is going to have something to say about McDavid trying to dominate in his back yard, so watch for him to contribute as well.

The Jets have a chance to move into third, just two points behind St. Louis and staying relevant in the playoff hunt; barring a win by the Minnesota Wild.  Regardless of any downplay, this is a big game.

Laine Early Favourite To Win Calder

As the Winnipeg Jets are set to take on the New Jersey Devils at the MTS Centre tonight, an article from NHL.com by Mike G. Morreale has Patrik Laine as the front-runner for the Calder trophy as the NHL's rookie of the year.

Whaddya think?

A Closer Look At Kyle Connor

With all eyes on Patrik Laine, it's easy for people to overlook the first-year winger and 2015 seventh overall pick, Kyle Connor,  who had a lot of buzz himself entering this year's training camp.

Here is a good article from Peter Tessier over at HockeyBuzz about the expectations (including myself) on Connor.

After being a finalist for the NCAA's Hobey Baker award (akin to the NCAA football Heisman trophy that eventually went to the New York Rangers Jimmy Vesey) Connor decided to forgo furthering his collegiate hockey career and turned pro, signing a three-year entry-level contract with the Jets after he was selected 17th overall.

At that time, I naively thought Connor was going to be a break-out star in the vein of at least a Nathan McKinnon type.  Although, most say his development is in line with the Red Wings' Dylan Larkin.  He may very well still do that, and to his credit Connor is still with the big club after his nine game tryout.  Not even Mark Scheifele, who was sent back to the Barrie Colts of the Ontario Hockey League after seven games, had the level of trust the Jets coaching staff apparently have in Connor.  Based on Scheifele's level of play the last two seasons, one would have to ponder that was unthinkable.

However, Connor hasn't contributed to the level at least I thought he would by now.  I know, that is putting a lot of pressure on a 19-year-old.  Patrik Laine notwithstanding.  But I did think he'd be at close to double digits in goals.  At least I believe I was led in that direction after his season last
But the Jets' draft and develop style has paid off for more than one member of the Winnipeg Jets.  Other than Connor and Scheifele, there's the positive and on-going development of Josh Morrisey, Brandon Tanev, Adam Lowry, Joel Armia, Nikolai Ehlers, Jack Roslovic and Marko Dano.  All developed (or developing) in the Jets system and all, eventually, will be bonafide NHL stars.

Much like how nature creates diamonds, it's all about time and patience.  And based on how fans, again, including myself, have certain expectations for players like Connor , Laine and Morrisey, there's going to be pressure too, lots of it.

Shutout Of Preds Ends Jets Five Game Skid

  It wasn't an entirely exciting game to watch.  The home team even bobbled a few passes and had missed shots, but the Winnipeg Jets were able to hold off the Nashville Predators and Connor Hellebuyck garnered his second shutout of the season with a 3-0 win.  That includes a 42 -save performance  Drew Stafford opened the scoring with his first of the season, while Mark Scheifele potted his twelfth goal of the season and Adam Lowry got his sixth.  Both were empty-netters.

  The victory finally ends an ugly five-game losing skid and exactly zero points for their dismal efforts away from home.  Ten points wasted.  Not even an overtime or shoot-out loss.  Not one extremely important point.  From second in the central to sixth and two points out of a wild-card playoff spot.  Yes, after the 20-game mark, I'm talking about the playoffs.  

  The good news is the other teams in the central division didn't take full advantage of the Jets skid to pull even farther ahead.  After blowing a chance to challenge even the Chicago Blackhawks for the central division lead, the Jets sit now with 22 points.  Miraculously, they are only one point removed from the second wild card spot and even more believable; they are only five behind St. Louis for second.  With a team like the Blues, even two to three games may be insurmountable with a team like the Jets who have a hard time putting a winning streak together.  But a few good bounces (not to mention the return of injured players like Brian Little) may put the Jets in a decent position to control their own fate.

  The Jets themselves are the most frustrated as you can guess.  A lot of talent, youth and exuberance. Unfortunately at this time, that magic "gel" hasn't come to fruition...yet.  When the experience of these players arrives, the Jets will be a team to reckon with as most insiders have been predicting for the two seasons.


        

Five Straight Losses

Well, five road games, fives consecutive losses for the Winnipeg Jets between Nov. 17 and last night.  That's a potential 10-point grab that wasn't.  From an unbelievable early position of second place in the central division to barely a playoff spot.

It's way too early to say all hope is lost.  But that may come sooner rather than later for the Winnipeg Jets if they don't start winning games.

These losses were ugly.  It's not just the usual "roadblocks" keeping the Jets from attaining critical points in the standings such as still not being able to stay out of the penalty box, but a much more nefarious problem is growing.  They're starting to get used to losing.  This cannot happen.  A culture of losing is not an option.

Twenty games in and they were either in second or at the very least, a wild card spot.  Now the Jets are three points out of a playoff spot.

Yeah, yeah.  It's only November and three points is not the end of the season.  They have time.  Yes, but when you have four or more starting rookies, including you're starting goaltender (who Connor Hellebyck appears to be more and more lately) you have no discipline, you have a turn-over rate that baffles the mind and now, even your phenom number two overall pick from the entry draft has cooled off of his offensive production.

After thoroughly shutting out the Chicago Blackhawks 4-0 Nov. 15 at the MTS Centre, the Jets came crashing down to reality with a decent game against the Philadelphia Flyers on Nov. 17. but just couldn't solve Steve Mason, nor find their game in a 5-2 loss.Two days later in Boston, the Jets fell 4-1 to the Boston Bruins.  A second game in a back-to-back situation the next day in Raleigh against the Carolina Hurricanes resulted in a 3-1 Hurricanes victory that the Jets should have had.  If the Jets should or could have just one of these games, it should have been this one.  The Jets are not going to be put on a pedestal over any other mediocre team this season, believe me; but they are better than the 'Canes.  They should have had the two points from this one.
From there, the Jets travelled back west for a divisional tilt with the Minnesota Wild.  More offensive stuttering, another 3-1 loss for the Jets.
Finally, the Jets headed to Nashville last night for the final game of this awful road trip.  Soft goals, giveaways, and a total commitment to forgetting anything defensive about the relatively simple game of hockey.  Seriously, this "performance" by the Jets was in one word, pathetic.  To be fair, the Predators have played very well defensively at home this season and Pekka Rinne has been outstanding for them.  Catching a team with a hot goalie is daunting enough, but when said goaltender has a goals against average of 1.98 and your team hasn't scored more than five goals in four games, you may be in for a long night.

Whatever plan Paul Maurice is trying to hatch this season clearly isn't working.  I don't know if it's a bad plan, underachieving players, too many rookies, injuries (which I have no doubt will improve the Jets numbers when Brian Little returns) bad coaching or just a perfect storm of ineptitude.  At least so far.  But if one is going to grade a team after 20 games or so and say Patrik Laine is a God-send, or Mark Scheifele is really developing into the player they hoped he would be when they drafted him in 2011; then one must also realize when a team's plan for the season isn't working.

But regardless of injuries or freshman players, you have to move forward.  Veterans have to step up. Rookies that are being heralded as the saviour of the franchise must work their magic whether or not their line-mates are doing their part or not.  Certain heroes of the game can, when called upon, win games by themselves.  Goalies do it all the time.  So have stars from the past.
Mike Bossy, Teemu Selanne, Bobby Orr, Wayne Gretzky, Maurice Richard, Gordie Howe, Mario Lemieux.  The list is endless when it comes to players that can and have taken it upon themselves to inspire and lead their respective teams to the promise land.

Mark Scheiefele will be one of those players.  Am I comparing him to Gretzky or Lemieux or Orr?
Certainly not.  But he already possesses the skills of a leader (thus Jets brass honouring him with the alternate captain position) and for a bit of time in the last few weeks, Scheifele did in fact lead the league in points, while teammate Laine led the NHL in goals.  Neither of them are now, but the potential is there for the Winnipeg Jets to develop not only home-grown Winnipeg Jets stars, but bonafide NHL superstars.

Time is on the Jets side.  These players are young and supremely talented.  The organizations draft and develop plan is bearing fruit.  Many experts are seeing the growth in the Jets young stars and some of them are betting that the Jets will be a serious contender in not six to seven years, but three or for.  Some even say sooner with addition of Patrik Laine.

They aren't there yet.  Soon.  But not yet.  So, as we've collectively been warned since the start of the season, there is going to be nights when the Jets are simply terrible.  There are also going to be nights when the Jets will make you proud enough to be a Jets fan, such as the shutout against the Hawks or the shellacking the Jets gave the Dallas Stars on Nov. 8, that you can actually debate about who's better with your Leafs, Red Wings or Oiler-friendly buddies or co-workers.

But man, do these guys have to stay out of the box.

Jets Shutout Hawks

A tight, hard-fought, aggressive, one-goal game turned into a blowout quick in favour of the Winnipeg Jets over the Chicago Blackhawks last night as Nic Petan scored his first goal of the season 11 seconds after Patrik Laine gobbled up his 12th of the campaign at 8:46 of the third period to make it 4-0.  That keeps Laine as the NHL's top goal scorer for a few more games. 
That's the way in ended to give Connor Hellebyck his first shutout of the season and third of his NHL career.  He made 27 saves.

Josh Morrissey opened the scoring with the first goal of the his NHL career, that turned out to be the eventual winner for his first game-winning goal also.  Chris Thorburn made it 2-0 in the third also with his first goal of the season.  A few personal goose eggs were broken tonight.  I glad to see Morrisey get the monkey off his back.  I've been watching and waiting for him to develope since the Jets drafted him 13th overall at the 2013 NHL draft.  He's having a really good year.


The game was substantial for three reasons.  One, it keeps the Jets on the heels of the Central division-leading Blackhawks for first place in the division, as the Jets gain two points on the Hawks and maintain second place in the Central division with 20 points.  The Blackhawks sit atop the division with 24 points.  Two, it snapped the Blackhawks 11-game undefeated streak in regulation time.  It also extended the Jets game point-streak to five.

The Jets goal differential now sits in the positive for only the second time this year after the season-opener against Carolina.  Coming into this game they were at 50 goals for and 50 scored against.

The Jets are now 6-0 when leading after two periods.  They went 2-5 on the power-play.  And amazingly enough they are now 5-0 when killing off a 5-3 disadvantage.  The Hawks had the two-man advantage in the third before the Jets decided to light up the scoreboard with the momentum off of killing it.

Mark Scheifele slid the puck across to Morrissey for game-winner which helps him to maintain at least a share of the NHL point-leaders board with 21 points (10 goals 11 assists) along with the Dallas Stars' Tyler Seguin.

Jacob Trouba had to leave the game momentarily after blocking a shot in the neck.  Yeah, in the neck.  He slid across to block a shot by Blackhawks defenceman Duncan Keith, but apparently it caught him just enough to miss a shift. 
Trouba had a heck of a game.  Some nice blocked shots and hustle. 

Good game by the Jets.  If they can maintain this high-level of play and get some healthy bodies back it could almost make one think they could actually challenge for a division title.

Silly that one.

Shootout Win Over Kings Puts Jets Into Second In Central

  It doesn't and probably won't happen too often, but with this afternoon's win against the Los Angeles Kings in a shootout at the MTS Centre, the Winnipeg Jets are now in second place in the central division.

  The Jets have accumulated 18 points in this young NHL season so far.  That puts them only four points behind the Chicago Blackhawks for first place. They should actually be tied in points (plus or minus the ROW in the standings) but due to losses against the Avalanche and Sabres (again, two teams the Jets should have beaten) those four points are gone.  The only reason I state this is because until the Jets move forward in their mission to become an eventual Stanley Cup contender, the next couple of days will probably be the only time the Winnipeg Jets are in the top three of the central.
I'm just enjoying it while I can.

I mean, seriously; I usually have to read the sports pages upside-down to see the Jets near the top of the division.

  A good win by the Jets today. A couple of defensive breakdowns that led to the Kings tying goal in the third period, but overall the back-checking was solid.  Connor Hellebyck, getting his fourth straight start, was again very solid. He covered his angles well and challenged shooters when necessary.

   After surviving a Kings power-play resulting from a bogus tripping call against Patrik Laine in overtime, the Jets put their best young snipers on the ice for the shootout.  Other than captain Blake Wheeler (who is awesome) the Jets showed the league why they have one of, if not the best, collection of talented prospects and rookies.  Patrik Laine and Mark Scheifele came up big in the shootout, scoring once each; including the winner by Scheifele.
Laine's goal after the Kings Dwight King barely got one past Hellebyck, was a beauty as he slowed up on Kings goalie Peter Budaj and slipped one past the five-hole.

 I was hoping Nikolai Ehlers would have had the game-winner. Paul Maurice didn't even put him the ice for the shoot-out. I'm sure if it had gone past the first round he would have.  It would have been nice for him to completely wash away the embarrassment of the Colorado OT fiasco on Friday night.
Ah, well. I'm sure he's just as happy with the two points.

A Steal And A Giveaway

The last two contests by the Winnipeg Jets were pretty much an exorcise in how not to play a road game. The latter, against a divisional opponent that had lost four out of the last five.

On Thursday the Jets travelled to Glendale, Arizona to battle a weakened Coyotes squad that was without their starting goaltender Mike Smith.
The Jets did well.  But they struggled against a team that was one of those teams below you in the standings that you should beat.  The Jets did that.  Handing the desert dogs a hard-fought 3-2 defeat.



 By the way, the Coyotes, who do have their own history after 20 years in the Arizona desert, are still trying to pretend the Jets 1.0 history has any meaning to them whatsoever.  Yes, we all know the "franchise history" of the 1971-1996 Jets resides with the present-day 'Yotes.  Just like we all know the Atlanta Thrashers "history" is with the Jets 2.0.  That doesn't mean we have to like it.

But as I said, these are teams you're supposed to beat.  The exact same can be said for the Colorado Avalanche.  As of before the puck-drop last night, the Jets led the Avs by five points in the standings. Although the one could be forgiven for not being prepared  for the work of Avs rookie Mikko Rantanen, who potted an nice individual effort against Connor Hellebyck.  But with a supposed all-star in the making in Jacob Trouba returning for his first game of the season since signing a two-year bridge deal with the Jets last week to end his sit-out, this wasn't supposed to happen.
He played over seven minutes of ice-time and although did o.k and didn't look too rusty, Trouba did not contribute to the scoreboard as many thought or hoped he would.  Coach Paul Maurice was in the latter crowd, I'm sure.  The Jets lost 3-2 in overtime by a miscue by Nikolai Ehlers 1:23 in.


The Jets tried yet again to honor the new moniker of "come-back kids" as they tied it up at 16:00 of the third period after falling behind 2-0.  Mark Scheifele tied the game with a beautiful wrister from the slot. Blake Wheeler scored his second in as many games after going dry in the scoring department for the last 10.

The Jets are going to have to do better.  Although they did manage to secure three out of four points on a two-game road trip, they really should have had four.  Again, these are teams the Jets should have and could have beat.  Missed opportunities such these may seem like only one or two points here or there, but these lost points add up.  Let's hope at the end of the season if the Jets miss out on the post-season, they aren't looking back at these missed opportunities of gold.  There will be other nights of points missed and still even other nights of points stolen of which they had no business doing.



Ehlers' explanation:

Jets Blowout Stars

Good gracious.  That was fun to watch.

The Winnipeg Jets, at least for one night, stopped the hemorrhaging that is their goals against last night against the Dallas Stars as the Jets handed out their own puck spanking, embarrassing Tyler Seguin and the gang 8-2.

In terms of offense, it was an avalanche for the young Jets, especially the line of Mark Scheifele, Nikolai Ehlers and Patrik Laine, who accounted for 10 points.  Laine scored his second hat-trick of the young season while adding an assist.  Scheifele scored two while adding two helpers, and Ehlers added two assists to his point total.  Call up Nic Petan had a heck of a game as he had two assists as well.

The most amazing part of all this is, at least for the time being, the Winnipeg Jets now have the NHL's leading point-getter in Scheifele who now leads the league with 18 points.
Laine leads not only all rookies in goals, but for now, the entire league with 11.  Scheifele is right behind him with nine.  It's nice to have a Jet atop the NHL elite for as long as that lasts.

It's always good to have your team blow out someone once in a while.  It's not so cool to be on the other end and that will most asuredly happen.  The Jets are going to get destroyed in a few games this year, but if they can hand out their own punishment once in a while, that's o.k.  As long as they can at least grab a wild card, because honestly, that's all that the Jets can really hope for these days in the tough central division, that's all that matters.

Trouba Signs

So defenceman Jacob Trouba has decided to end his holdout and sign a two-year bridge deal with the Winnipeg Jets.

Not that this means very much as he'll probably be traded by the end of December anyway, but it does put Trouba into the line-up for the short-term.  Dustin Byfuglien has been playing an average of 30 minutes a game and with Tyler Myers injured, Trouba will get what he asked for; more ice time.  He may even get that right side that he claims to want if Buff's numbers drop a little to accommodate him.

As of this writing, Kevin Cheveldayoff still hasn't found a deal that he feels would benefit his team by trading Trouba.  He wanted a young defenceman with the same skill-set as Trouba.  He said he wouldn't take anything less.  He was willing to make Trouba sit the whole season and that almost happened as the deadline for Trouba to sign with any team was going to expire on Dec 1.  Twenty-four days from now Trouba would have had to hang up his skates until July 1 of next year.  Cheveldayoff said it and he meant it.

A precedent has been set.  The Jets players both present and future know they're not going to have their way with Cheveldayoff.  They know now that no player is going to blackmail Winnipeg management.  Welcome to the world of NHL contracts kid.

Still, Trouba is not going to be a Winnipeg Jet come October 2018.  Again, before December 31, Trouba is gone.  Where he goes is still anyone's guess.  Personally, I say either Detroit or Boston.

We'll see.

UPDATE 11/08/16:

Trouba has officially rescinded his trade request.

In signing his 2-year, six million dollar extension, Trouba says he just wants to play hockey.  So, he is now committed to the Jets for the next two years.
That seems a little fishy to me.  Probably because I highly doubt it.

U-G-L-Y

Well, in typical Jets fashion for the last few seasons, Winnipeg showed guts and glory in a decisive hard-fought battle that earned them a victory one night (in this case last night against Detroit) only to embarrass themselves yet again (and again floundering in the second period) by allowing another 4-plus-goal game to the opponent.  This time it was at the hands of the New York Rangers.

The only upside to this is that Patrik Laine and Mark Scheifele added to their goal totals for the season. Laine now has eight, while Scheifele potted his seventh.

Apparently, the Jets have decided to forgo defence this season.  The goals against hemorrhaging has to stop if the Jets wish to have any success this year.

Tanev Delights in Win Over Red Wings

Brandon Tanev scored two including the game winner Friday.

A little late in posting, since it is two days later and it's game-day against the New York Rangers-hey, you want deadlines?  Go get the paper in the morning (or read the sports articles after the game online) but this post is about the 60-minute performance the Jets left on the ice against a tough Detroit Red Wings squad.

Brandon Tanev couldn't wait to pot his first National Hockey League goal.  Little did he and his teammates know that he would get two, including the game-winner with 7:36 remaining in the third period.  Not bad for an undrafted player in his 15th NHL game.

In a game that twice had to goal to video review (one each favoring each club) and would have gone to a third until the "War Room" in Toronto goal horn sounded amid late third period action to signify that Tanev's second marker that he roofed over the shoulder of Wings goalie Petr Mrazek was indeed a good goal.

Laine scored to earn his seventh goal to lead all rookies.  Ehlers got his third into an empty net and Mark Scheifele got his sixth goal and sixth assist to garner him 12 points on the year so far.  Wheeler is under his annual projection, as he has only three goals thus far.  Look for Wheeler to pad those stats tonight against the Rangers, although the Blueshirts are very dominant at MSG this season.

The Jets are starting to earn the moniker of "the comeback kids."  While that may sound inspirational, it does, in fact, mean that the Jets have to come from behind...a lot.  Being resilient and having a never-say-die attitude is great.  It makes things exciting to know your team never gives up and is tenacious.  This can be especially rewarding in the playoffs.  But it also means you're chasing the game more often than not.  The fact that the Jets have four starting rookies, including a goaltender seeing regular duties, may give the Jets a little latitude in their won-loss record; especially only 12 games in.  But when the schedule passes 20 games or more, you have a pretty good indication of where your team is and where they're heading in regards to the season standings.  Playing catch-up in the NHL in December is quite the assignment.  Compound that with the Jets being in the toughest division in the league and you have a recipe for mediocrity at best.  The Jets have had to play catch-up in at least five games already.  Four of them thankfully turned out to be victories, save for the overtime loss on November 3 against the Washington Capitals.

Still, hope abounds.  Patrik Laine, Kyle Connor, Nikolai Ehlers, Mark Scheifele and Blake Wheeler will excite Jets fans and they will light the lamp on some nights while others will be chalked up to growing pains of a young team.  The question is, how much patience will the Jets fan base (not to mention the Jets brass) have?  This is the same fan base that didn't pay much attention to the win-loss record in the Jets first season back in Winnipeg.  As you may well have heard, the fans in Winnipeg were just ecstatic to have their team back.  But five years on, results are now expected.  Personally, the mess the management in Atlanta made me think at least six or seven years (with good drafting, which the Jets have accomplished) before any real progress could be made.

They're on their way.  But this year seems to be an experiment to try and gel all their top prospects together in an attempt to create a team bond.  A culture of winning.  When these very young and very talented group of Jets players hit their peak potential together, the talk of the NHL media (outside of Toronto and New York presumably) will turn to Winnipeg and their terrific group of superstars.  Yeah, yeah.  Edmonton too. Yecch.

The Jets So Far

What's the jets problem(s) so far?  What are their strengths?

So far in this 2016-2017 campaign, the Winnipeg Jets are probably right where they are supposed to be.  every expert had them out of the playoffs in every season preview.  With four rookies in the line-up, the Jets are obviously going with the youth movement.  Second overall pick Patrik Laine has already proven his worth and is living up to expectations.

 Kyle Connor is probably underachieving just a little bit, but in his first professional year out of college, the Jets brass are going to be patient with him.  Personally, I'm surprised he didn't start the year in the AHL with the Manitoba Moose.

On defence, Josh Morrisey is showing why he made the team.  He's been more than adequate paired alongside Dustin Byfuglien and is already being touted as a bonefide NHLer.

The powerplay has slightly improved this season thus far.  That's not saying much however, as the Jets have only improved from being 30th on the PP to 25th.  They are taking less dumb penalties this year however.

The real problem lies in the young goaltending tandem plan head coach Paul Maurice has instituted.  Although right now Micheal Hutchinson gets the nod to actually become the number one guy, Connor Hellebyuck has let in some soft goals thst cost the Jets a game or two.  I mean, really, it's the overall defence, but Helly can stand to use some better luck or tighten up those soft spots.

Why is Laine on the second powerplay unit when four of his six goals thus far have come with the man-advantage?

Tom Wyman (not my favourite sports writer) has a decent piece in the Winnipeg Sun about this. What the Jets have and what they don't.

Here is another good stats-laden article by an unknown author found on link from a Facebook group, entitled Jets Game Our City Our Team Our Year.

Heartbreaker

With hardworking goals in the third period by Mark Scheifele and Adam Lowry, this is a game the Jets let slip through their fingers and should have won.  Although the Jets trailed 2-0 going into the third period, they kept pace with the vastly more experienced and powerful Capitals; winning the battles in the corners and held the edge in possession numbers.  They were able to rally back and get the crowd back into it, as well as the momentum, until the clock had 30 seconds remaining in regulation and the Capitals Jay Beagle worked one in behind Connor Hellebuyck to secure the victory and send the Winnipeg Jets faithful home deflated.

Both the Jets Patrik Laine and the Caps Alex Ovechkin failed to register a point

Laine & Matthews: More Comparisons

Just a quick post about another comparison between the Jets' Patrik Laine and the Maple Leafs Austen Matthews and how they're doing so far from NHL.com.

Lowly Sabres Defeat Jets

This was a game the Jets should have won.  And not just on paper.  The Jets have a bunch of skill, yet no defensive acumen it seems.  With Jack Eichel and Evander Kane out and ith Patrik Laine on a points run, this should have had a different outcome.

With two goals by Buffalo's Kyle Okposo and hard forechecking by the Sabres, along with some frustrating give-a-ways by the Jets, the Sabres outhustled the Jets for a 3-1 win.
This one was painful to watch.  The Jets went a disgusting 0-8 on the powerplay that has continued to be a real and growing concern.

Laine was kept in check.  Wheeler continues to fight his present goal-scoring drought, and while the goals against situation has midly receded, the strong goaltending the Jets were hoping for in their two young rookies has come to fruition as the Jets brass-and Jets fans-might have hoped.  With a fresh, new lower-body injury to Tyler Myers, the Jets defence was to be tested.  It was, and it failed.

Is this the beginning of another season where the Jets simply cannot put together a three or more game-winning streak?  They didn't all last season except for the last four games when they already were out of the playoff picture, then won all four.  Of course, that little stretch of success got the Jets the lottery balls they needed to jump from picking #6 in the draft to #2 of which, of course, they used to select Patrik Laine.

The point is, you're supposed to beat the teams that have less points than you or that you are, at least on paper, better than.  This was one of those games.

They better get it together.  Ovechkin and the Capitals are next.

Ovechkin Praises Laine

Washington Capitals star and future Hall of Famer, Alexander Ovechkin recently praised Winnipeg Jets rookie Patrik Laine on his skill set and says the young forward can potentially, with his shot and hockey sense, "score 50 or 60 goals."

Coming from a player of Ovi's obvious and proven talent, this is a heavy endorsement.

Trouba U.S. Bound?

In the ongoing soap opera that is the Jacob Trouba trade request from the Winnipeg Jets, it seems not only that his original "positioning" and "usage" complaint that every Jets fan, hockey insider and commentator know is a farce (since the team you're playing for determines your "usage" for one) but now, according to TSN and The Hockey News Jim McKenzie, Trouba apparently doesn't want to play in Canada.

If a guy who doesn't want to play for a team that guarantees him as a top two pairing defenceman, about 18-20 minutes of ice time and powerplay time, meanwhile complaining about not being used right; he can sit home and rot.  Now he allegedly doesn't even want to play for a Canadian team? See ya.

If you've been following the Trouba debacle, as every Jets fan (and obviously every NHL general manager) has, you'll know that the Jets are looking for a player in similar age and ability, and have been ever since Trouba's agent made the trade request on behalf of his client back in May.  Hence, the drawn out shenanigans and media circus that has followed.  Obviously, Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff is taking his time in getting what he needs for Trouba.  Talks with Detroit, Boston, Toronto, Arizona, Philadelphia and others have apparently fallen through, for now, so it looks like if Trouba doesn't decide to take a bridge deal by December 1st, he will sit the rest of the season.  He may still be able to play in Europe, but with the Jets retaining his rights and not wanting Trouba to possibly injure himself while overseas, thereby losing any upper hand in a potential deal, that probably will not come to fruition.

The Jets hold all the cards and Trouba and his agent know it.  So do all the other NHL GMs.  He isn't going anywhere until Cheveldayoff says so.  Trouba is a seemingly irreplaceable player that is supposed to develop into a top six or even top four defenceman, even though his ice time increased but his production has declined in the last two seasons.

The best Trouba can hope for, and what will probably end up happening is he will re-sign with the Jets for a one-year deal, then be traded either after the new year, before the trade deadline, or during the off-season. Much like what happened  to another client of Trouba's agent, Kurt Overhardt's recently:

In 2011, Brandon Dubinsky of the Columbus Blue Jackets held out from the Phoenix Coyotes only to later sign a deal worth $3.7 million, and then get traded to Columbus.  All within a few weeks of re-signing.

Trouba will be traded.  It may not (but probably) be this year, but he will no longer be a member of the Winnipeg Jets come July 1, 2017.  Let's just hope Chevy can swing a deal like he did with Buffalo that brought the Jets Myers, Stafford and Brendon Lemieux.  Whatever deal he can swing, let's hope he doesn't give in and whatever deal he can partner into, let's hope it benefits the Jets for years to come.

Interest In Pavelec?

It looks like some western conference teams have been "kicking the tires" in an apparent interest in acquiring Moose goaltender Ondrej Pavelec.

The Los Angeles Kings, who lost all-star Jonathan Quick to a serious groin injury that may require surgery, have said to have had an interest in Pavelec but have salary-cap issues that could create a roadblock.
L.A. has about $US1.5 million in cap space available, and Pavelec, who was reassigned by the Jets to the AHL’s Manitoba Moose prior to the regular season, has a cap hit of US$3.9 million in the final year of his current contract.

A possible solution could involve putting Quick on long-term injured reserve (which could provide some cap relief) or structuring a possible deal would be one in which the Jets would retain some of Pavelec’s salary.

The Kings simply didn't claim Pavelec on waivers when the Jets demoted him to the Moose because of Pavelec's US$4.5 million salary in this, his last year under contract with the Jets.
But it's clearly not just his contract that are scaring any suitors away.  His numbers ranked somewhere around 60th overall?  Not among starting goaltenders mind you, but among all NHL goalies.  Jets fans all love Pavy.  Well, a lot of Jets fans love Pavy.  We all know he has been consistently inconsistent his whole NHL career.  But we also all know he can steal games.  He did just as much in the last 8-10 games of the 2014-2015 season that launched the Jets into the playoffs.  He made some amazing saves against the Ducks in losing effort in four games in the first round sweep to Anaheim.

Could Pavelec help the Kings?  Can he help anyone in this point in his career?  Tim Thomas did.  He came back late in his career to help the Boston Bruins win the Stanley Cups.  No Pavelec is no Thomas.  Just putting the thought out there that Pavelec isn't totally done in the NHL.  Yeah.  He probably is.  But who knows?

Jets Blank Avs

The first winning streak of the season for the Winnipeg Jets has begun.  With tonight's 1-0 victory over the Colorado Avalanche, it represents the first shutout for a Winnipeg goaltender for 2016-2017, the first back-to-back win and the first winning streak at, well, two.
Hey, it's a start.

Micheal Hutchinson recorded the goose egg for the Jets, while Shawn Matthias netted the game's only goal on assists from Joel Armia and Joshua Morrisey. It was Hutchinson's first shutout since January 15, 2015 against Columbus.

Patrik Laine was held scorless while garnering only two shots on net.  This doesn't include a shot from just over the Jets side of center that went of the side of the net while the Avalanche had pulled Semyon Varlamov late in the third.

Jets Return To Win Column With Win Over Stars

In a much stronger effort than under the sun of the Heritage Classic, the Winnipeg Jets handled one of the central division's big dogs with relative ease in a 4-1 defeat of Tyler Seguin and the Dallas Stars.

Patrik Laine added his fifth and sixth goals both on the powerplay.  Kyle Connor netted his first NHL goal.

Oilers Spoil Party

In a game that was supposed to have a Jets victory to complete a wonderful Heritage Classic weekend in Winnipeg, the Edmonton Oilers had different plans and spoiled the celebration weekend with a 3-0 victory on Sunday.

The Jets simply couldn't get anything going and to say the ice didn't tilt their way, is not without litteral contemplation.  It didn't seem to bother the Oilers, but it seems to me there was a whole lot of bouncing pucks out there.  How many times did the puck jump over Jets sticks at the most inopportune moments?

The Oilers just seemed more hungry, more disciplined and their stars outshone our stars.  Patrik Laine was held pointless in a game that he should have been able to display his skills to the world.  Not that he didn't already do that in the comeback game against the Maple Leafs, but this was supposed to be Winnipeg's weekend showcase (as indeed it was the actual Heritage Classic game notwithstanding) in general and Laine's in particular.

Not that it was Laine's fault.  He can't win every game by himself.  The Jets do have some skill in their arsenal as well.  Names like Wheeler, Byfuglien, Scheifele, Ehlers and Connor.  The goal lamp shouldn't have gone cold behind Oilers goalie Cam Talbot.  But none of the boys on this night could solve Talbot.  Again, the erant passes and so many giveaways is what really did the Jets in, but to have so many little chances, not shots on goal, but chances with the skill on the ice is something I am still scratching my head over.

Jets Alumni Do City Proud

What a sweet shot.  Laurie Boschman and Teemu Selanne - Forever a Jet.

Ah.  Sweet revenge.  It matters not that it came 16 years or so later and that most of the rosters on both sides are grandfathers.  The Winnipeg Jets 1.0 boys of my childhood finally took out the 1980's Wayne Gretzky-led Edmonton Oilers in front of all the world to see.

After a three-goal lead collapsed in the second period-just as I thought the Jets were going to get a taste of their own medicine-Teemu Selanne, the hero of he 1.0 90's Jets, was tripped by Craig Simpson (in a Homer-like move) to give the Finnish Flash a penalty shot to win it very late in the third.  Of all people to give a game-winning breakaway opportunity to, you give it to Teemu Selanne (well, either him or Hawerchuck)  O.k.  I'll take that.  Selanne pops one under Curtis Joseph's glove, wins it 5-4 with his second goal and in a game that really means nothing, except it kinda does, Selanne finishes a script (?) that would have been forever lore if this had any modern day significance.


It was just cool to see, even if the clock didn't stop and any penalty was awarded as a penalty shot. 

Dave Ellet (#2) and Teemu Selanne (#13)

It was nice to see my adolescent-age hockey heroes back together for what will surely be the last time these guys play together on a stage such as this ever again.  Laurie Boschman, Dougie Smail, Thomas Steen, Dave Babych, Dave Ellet and Bob Essensa along with Hawerchuck and Selanne, who I finally got to see play on the same line together.  Even my favourite #12, Morris Lukowich looked like he didn't think it was a just a meaningless exhibition game, as he was racing down his old hunting ground on the left wing creating chances often.  Even original Jet, and the man John Ferguson gave up to originally acquire Boschman, Willy Lidstrom, had a funny on-air moment with commentator Scott Oake.  As Oake was asking Lidstrom about being traded to the Oilers and going on to win multiple Stanley Cups, Lidstrom's line was hitting the ice and he simply said, "I gotta go play."

Even the practice jerseys are a beauty.

Overall, I enjoyed it.  It was nice to see Winnipeg on the radar if only for two days by the NHL.  Other than the obvious and inevitable attention going to be paid to Patrik Laine, the Jets (and most western teams to be fair) don't get paid all that much attention by the league, but to the Jets in particular.  This game between the stars of the past and tomorrow afternoon's game between the stars of the present looks good on Winnipeg and True North Sports & Entertainment.  It indeed has a rich hockey heritage and championships to prove it including Stanley Cups, Memorial Cups, Allan Cups, world championships and an Olympic gold medal.

Not bad, eh? 





 

Check out Richard Brignall's Forgotten Heroes:  Winnipeg's Hockey Heritage.  It is the premier history of amateur and professional hockey in Winnipeg.  Then you can see how this celebration weekend in Winnipeg is a modern, living compendium to that history.

Now let's see if our present-day heroes can make it much more sweeter by taking down the still hated Edmonton Oilers tomorrow afternoon.

Go Jets Go.