Well whaddya know? The Winnipeg Jets are in first place in the Central division, as well as the Western conference and are tied with the Tampa Bay Lightning for first overall in the NHL.
No. I'm serious. The Winnipeg Jets are in first place in the Central division and Western conference of the National Hockey League. In December. And it's a pretty big deal.
Although I am personally tickled pink by this latest revelation, it is not unprecedented, as many media outlets are reporting. It did, in fact, happen one other time in the Winnipeg Jets 2.0 short history when they were in the South-East division, before the 2015 division realignment that had them battling it out for a third-seed playoff spot in the Eastern conference against the Washington Capitals. An endeavor that went south quickly after the Jets embarked on a five-game losing streak, culminating in back-to-back home losses to those very same Capitals.
After last night's victory against the Vegas Golden Knights, in which the Jets once again matched their total goal output in one game with seven goals against, they left their feisty, never-say-die opponents shaking their heads after the Jets showed them whose house it was in a 7-4 loss.
Patrik Laine awoke himself from his self-described slump (he had not scored in the past four games) with a goal and two assists, including a wicked wrister from the blue-line and perhaps an even nicer assist on Kyle Connor's eighth goal on the power-play 33 seconds into the third period. Connor also scored his ninth into an empty-net to seal the deal.
Laine should probably "feel bad" about his self-perceived lack of production more often, since the last time he did so, he went on a seven-game goal-scoring streak. Head Coach Paul Maurice joked that Laine will be holding a press conference "on how he's the worst player in the history of the game. We're gonna sponsor it."
Good stuff.
Mark Scheifele continues to be the man as he scored his 13th of the season, as well as adding two assists.
Nicolaj Ehlers potted his 11th with a nifty wrap-around after a feed from Laine. Ehlers also added an assist on Tyler Myers opening goal on the power-play. The Jets took good advantage of their power-play opportunities as they went three for five with the extra attacker.
Connor Hellebuyck continues to improve his won-loss record, as he is now 14-2-3 and continues to make his case for being on the NHL All-Star game starting line-up. But since the Winnipeg Jets have been shown hardly any love (or none at all) in this incarnation or earlier, don't hold your breath thinking Helle will be in between the pipes in Tampa when the puck drops on that one.
