Jets Destroyed By Habs

I don't know what to say.  It was disgusting.
When your starting goaltender gets pulled after three goals on seven shots, as Connor Hellebyuck did, you can't really find a positive.  Replacement Micheal Hutchinson didn't fare much better.
I'll say it again, Hellebycuk and Hutchinson aren't the guys.  Maybe Hutch hasn't been in enough, especially when Maurice makes the wrong call about who to start, but Hellebyuck seems to have a growing problem with his five-hole.

How else do you explain a 7-4 drubbing at the hands of the Club de Hockey et Canadiens du Montreal.

I am really unable, nor do I want to even discuss this one.

The Jets defense as a whole was non-existent.  Their specialty teams was a joke and their offensive output was anemic.  I really am speechless about this one.  Where do the Jets go from here?  Do they start thinking about next year already?  Is this season a wash?  Every time they start inching toward a playoff spot, they get hit straight on by a side-winder missile and come crashing down to reality.

              
Not only do I have to figure out (along with the entire Jets coaching staff) what went wrong, I have to take some major digs from some Habs fans at work.  This is not going to be pretty.

Jets To Find Out Who They Are

 The only good news in Jetsland today is that they do live another day, they're taking on an opponent "less" than them tonight and they can't do any worse.  Not to mention the Montreal Canadiens fell to the Minnesota Wild 7-1 themselves last night.  So a bit of revenge for the Jets from the hockey gods.

Without getting into Wednesday night's unmitigated disaster, the Jets are in a must-win tonight.  If they want to shake off any cobwebs from the beating at the hands of Montreal and put up any semblance of a hockey club, they must do it tonight.

The Arizona Coyotes are, much like the Jets, a struggling team.  They aren't a very good and the Jets have to take advantage of that.  The Jets beat the Coyotes in almost every category.  Not that the Jets are much better in PPG's, PK's or any other substantial stat, but they are better.  Once again, the Jets find themselves in desperate need of a win and they are going to be staring across at a team, on paper, they should beat and should be able to grab two much-needed points.

Former Jet, Alexander Burmistrov will not be in the Coyotes lineup, as he is waiting on his passport and the final touches on his immigration documentation.

           


         

          

          

Laine Selected To All-Star Team

Winnipeg Jets sniper Patrik Laine has been selected to the NHL All-Star Game in Los Angeles.  Like there was any doubt.

Laine is tied with the Toronto Maple Leafs' Austen Matthews for the NHL rookie goal-scoring lead with 21.  Although Laine has more points presently and accumulated his goals in fewer games played-including two hat-tricks-Matthews is the favourite (so far) for the Calder trophy for the NHL's Rookie of the Year.
I guess that's what happens when you play in the centre of the universe. Then again, it took Teemu Selanne and his undeniable 76 goals as a rookie in 1993 to have the NHL take notice of anything Winnipeg. Nothing's changed.

Laine's team-mates are obviously not shocked by his inclusion.  Why Scheifele and/or Ehlers weren't included is also pretty "mysterious."

Hopefully the Finnish phenom will be free of any concussion symptoms for the game on Jan. 29.

Brock Lesnar Visits Jets Locker Room

Former WWE and UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar, a self-avowed hockey fan was spotted in the press box along with his family enjoying the Winnipeg Jets defeat the Calgary Flames on Monday night at the MTS Centre.

Apparently "The Beast" is now a Jets fan.

Twin Beasts

Jets Blank Flames

The Winnipeg Jets gave a somewhat inspired game tonight as they shut-out the Calgary Flames 2-0, in Heritage Classic jerseys and all at the MTS Centre.

Connor Hellebuyck recorded his third shutout of the season as Dustin Byfuglien and captain Blake Wheeler scored for the Jets.

Drew Stafford seemed to fit right into the top line with Mark Scheifele and Nikolaj Ehlers.  Perhaps I was a little premature in my assessment of his contribution on the line, Let's hope I continue to be wrong about him.

Scheifele, for his part, showed why the Jets brass named him an alternate captain, as he once again defended his teammates by throwing some gloves into the face of a guilty Flame after a scrum beside Hellebyuck.

Defenceman Josh Morrisey was very noticeable tonight, as he had four blocked shots and two shots on goal.

  

Laine In High Spirits

Patrik Laine says he's in "good spirits" after being diagnosed with a concussion after Saturdays loss to the Buffalo Sabres.

Coach Paul Maurice has said Laine will be out indefinitely due to the injury.

Laine Has Concussion

The Winnipeg Jets' Patrik Laine has a concussion, reports Tim Campbell, resulting from the hit in the third period of yesterday afternoon's game by Buffalo Sabres defenseman, Jake McCabe.
Sorry I couldn't just embed the following video, there was no option to do so.

He will miss an undermined amount of games, as head coach Paul Maurice said there is no timetable for his return.  Drew Stafford will take his spot on the top line with Mark Scheifele and Nikolaj Ehlers.

Now that the official "bloggy-information" part of this post is done, let me now speak like a worried fan.

This is going to suck huge.
The Jets weren't exactly burning the goal light out before Laine went down, now the answer to that from Paul Maurice is to insert Drew Stafford, a player with all of three goals this season, into the top line.  Now, perhaps and hopefully Stafford will benefit from the young, speedy and talented Scheifele and Ehlers.

The Jets players are putting on the typical brave faces and talking about scoring by "committee."

 Maybe Stafford's production will improve slightly from being in the middle of that offensive flare that Ehlers and Scheifele are known to create.  Perhaps Brandon Tanev or Marko Dano would be a better fit, both in terms of skill set and speed.
But make no mistake, although Laine hasn't been scoring like he was when the season started, he is still a great playmaker and his contributions will obviously be sorely missed.  Expect the Jets offensive production to diminish.

Jets Play Disgusting Second Half In Loss To Sabres

Well, maybe my last post commemorating the ol' flip of the bird by Dustin Byfuglien to Evander Kane may have been a little premature, as the Winnipeg Jets lose again in Buffalo to the Sabres by a score of 4-3.

It was actually a little disgusting as the Jets blew a 3-1 lead going into the third period, and allowed two goals by Marcus Foligno and Zemgus Girgensons just 26 seconds apart.  Th first Sabres' goal scored by Ryan O'Reilly was scored late in the first period.  Twenty-four seconds left in the frame to be exact.

The really bad news out of this fiasco?  Patrik Laine was injured and will miss an unknown number of games as of this writing.


Good on Mark Scheifele who showed his leadership and went right after Sabres defensemen Jake McCabe who although hit Laine legally, wasn't about to get away with demolishing the Jets star player without retribution.

But, once again, the Winnipeg Jets play to the level of a team that is, allegedly, worse than them (that is if one were to check the standings) and then proceed to lose to said team.  The Jets can play 60 minutes against the likes of the St. Louis Blues and Chicago Blackhawks, but for some odd reason, they can't seem to dominate non-playoff teams (such as themselves).

And yet again, the Jets fail to win three games in a row.  And, they fail to make up any ground in the standings.  The Jets are again under .500 with a record of 19-20-3.  Two points out of the last wild-card spot and fading.  The Jets failed all season to take advantage of teams like Vancouver, Dallas and Nashville trailing in the standings and collectively playing sub-par hockey.

The only bright side to this one is Nikolaj Ehlers scored to keep his streak alive.  He has now scored in four straight games with five goals in that time-span.

I'm going to say it now, and I hope I'm wrong.  But if there is a game during the season where it all falls apart and playoff hopes can be officially dashed.  This is it.  I say this with no malice.  Frustration?  Yes.  But illogical?  Hardly.  If you can't get the points you need, especially against so-called "weaker" teams, you're done.  I doubt if one will be able to go back once April hits and pinpoint this game as the one that dashed the Jets playoff hopes, but I am.  This is the two points that the Jets let get away that will cost them.  I'm sure it'll be more than two points, but this is where the 2017 playoff dream died for the Winnipeg Jets.



Here's some post-game interviews in case you're interested in the excuses:

Hey Evander!

Jets/Sabres tonight.  A little something for the prima donna and ex-Jet Evander Kane.

Big Win In Sunrise

With an almost perfect example of north-south, 60-minute hockey, the Winnipeg Jets handled the Florida Panthers with confidence on Wednesday night.  The Jets handled the Cats, 4-1.  The Wonderkids of Patrik Laine, Mark Scheifele and Nikolaj Ehlers each scored a goal, which includes Laine's 21st of the season, Scheifele's 17th and Ehler's 13th.  Shawn Matthias opened the scoring for the Jets when he tipped in Ben Chariot's shot from the blue line.  Laine once again leads all rookies in goals scored.  Ehlers now has six points in in his last five games, including four goals.

Jaromir Jagr collected his 1,136 assist, surpassing Paul Coffey for fifth place on the all-time list in that category when he pushed the puck along the boards to Greg McKegg for his first NHL goal.

The win keeps the Jets in the playoff hunt.  They remain one point out of the second wild-card spot, presently occupied by the Los Angeles Kings.  The Jets are tied at 41 points with the Nashville Predators and Vancouver Canucks.


             

Jets Impress With Win Over Lightning

It got a little scary at the end, with the Jets allowing a late empty-net, six-on-four power-play goal by the Bolts, not to mention blowing a 4-1 lead by the middle of the third period, but Winnipeg managed to grab two points in Tampa with a 6-4 win to improve to 18-19-3 on the season.  Still not in a playoff spot, but still pretty close.

Nikolaj Ehlers was the star of the game , as he knotted two goals, including one on a penalty shot that saw the young Dane go straight up main street on Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy.  It's nice to know that NHL referees realize the Jets are an actual NHL club and deserve some justice once in a while as well.  Ehlers also added an assist.

Patrik Laine finally scored his 20th of the season (albeit into an empty net) along with two assists, including a beauty re-direct by Mark Scheifele, and a nice little bonus to go along with it.  It's a shame Laine didn't reach 20 goals before fellow rookie and presumed Maple Leafs messiah, Auston Matthews.

Another Pair Of Losses Have Jets Still Looking Up

Four more points wasted.

The Winnipeg Jets had a two-game home-stand that could have put them in a post-season spot.  Or at least within an eyelash of one.  But after successive losses to both the streaking Columbus Blue Jackets (a 5-3 decision) and the New York Islanders (a 6-2 embarrassment to yet another team that is below the Jets in the oversll standings-albeit by just one point)

I cannot reiterate this enough and I will continue to preach it, you have to beat the teams below you.  These are must-wins.  Not a must-win in the sense that it's the playoffs and you're down 3-1 in the series, but a must win in the sense that that game against the Islanders was an easy two points for a better team and one that is supposed to be better than average at home.  But where was Scheifele, Byfuglien, Wheeler, Little or Laine?  Nikolaj Ehlers scored to represent (yeah, that's right, I said represent.  Big whoop.   Wanna fight about it?)

But where was everyone else?  Especially the defence.  If Jacob Trouba wants to be paid like a star, one would think he would be producing like one.  Kudos goes out to Shawn Matthias for his work on a Jets shot-handed goal.  But with the amount of time Connor Hellebyck was left all alone, I'm surprised that all defensive pairings aren't benched.  I know, that's ridiculous.  But they are really starting to make a rookie goal-tender look even more inexperienced.


But, unbelievably, the Jets, as of this writing, are still only three points out of the second wild-card spot for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

Burmistrov Claimed By Coyotes

  Former Winnipeg Jets forward Alexander Burmistrov has been claimed off of the waiver wire by the Arizona Coyotes.

Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Sun has a good take.

After eight NHL seasons with the Winnipeg Jets/Atlanta Thrashes franchise (minus the two seasons and 107 games played on Kazan Ak-Bars of the Russian Kontinental Hockey League between 2013-14 and 2014-15) Burmistrov was placed on waivers on Jan. 1 to, in my own opinion, to make room for a productive player.  Not that I'm trying to shat all over the guy, as he was good on the penalty kill; but Burmi simply hasn't produced in the last two seasons.  This season alone, he only has two points in 23 games played.  Now that could be argued that he hasn't had enough ice-time.  This may be true, but it doesn't account for his lack of production last year or all of his time as a Jet under former head coach, Claude Noel.

The Coyotes are hoping that a new team and a new atmosphere will help Burmistrov find his scoring touch that he does have when he is given an opportunity.  The guy does have a wicked wrist-shot.  And that can happen.  He may very well pick up his production with a new team.  Many have done it before him. Unfortunately for Burmi, and although he's still very young at 25, he may be past his "prime," for lack of a better word.

I wish Burmistrov luck with his new team.  He's a good player, a team player and deserves a chance.

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.