Jets Survive Comeback Against Wild

The Jets' Adam Lowry (#17) scores in the first period with an assist from Mathieu Perreault (#85)

With a 3-0 lead after 20 minutes, and a 4-0 early in the second, the Winnipeg Jets - wearing their white, Hertiage Classic uniforms for the last time this season-looked like they might cruise to a rare, but easy victory against the Minnesota Wild; especially since the Jets had scored those four goals on their first eight shots on Wild net-minder, Devin Dubnyk.

But the Wild were not about to roll over, and they came back to within one goal in the third period to give the home-side a scare.  But the Jets managed to hold on, thanks to back-up goalie, Michael Hutchinson coming in relief and settling things down after starter Connor Hellebuyck allowed four unanswered goals by the Wild to tie the game.  Defenseman Joshua Morrissey saved the afternoon for the Jets when he scored his fifth of the season with just under eight minutes left in regulation time.

Dustin Byfuglien collected his 12th of the season on a beautiful top-corner backhand, Ben Chariot got his second of the season on an assist from Bryan Little, while Andrew Copp opened the scoring with his ninth at 3:47.

               

Jets Drop Islanders, Matthias Out For Season

In a game, much like the rest of the season, barring any miracles, the Jets earned a useless two points against the New York Islanders on Thursday night, 4-2.
The only real highlight to this game was Bryan Little scoring his 19th and 20th goals of the season, which gives the Jets at least five players with 20 or more goals.

Not much to report on this one, except that Shawn Matthias has decided to undergo shoulder surgery for an on-going problem.  Coach Paul Maurice said it is a re-hab and will take months for Matthias to return.

           

Tonight's Game Versus Devils Postponed Due To Weather

Due to a blizzard ravaging the U.S. east coast, tonight's game against the New Jersey Devils has been postponed by the league until March 28.

Jets Extend Losing Skid Against Predators

The Winnipeg Jets continue to find new ways to lose and new ways to disappoint their already frustrated fan-base.

After dropping a 3-0 decision to the Calgary Flames on Saturday night...

         

 ...they promptly responded by losing to the Nashville Predators on Monday 5-4 in overtime.  So, they captured, what amounts to be, a useless point.  They now sit with 67 points and sit fifth in the Central division.  By now, it's pretty useless to inform anyone where they sit in the wild-card race.  Suffice to say, the Jets need a miracle.

The Jets were without Jacob Trouba, as he is suffered from an upper-body injury against the Flames. The only bright spot was Patrik Laine recording his 33rd goal of the season, just two goals back of the league leader, Sidney Crosby who has 35.  Nikolaj Ehlers added his 33rd and 34th assists, and Mark Scheifele got his 41st assist, which gives him 69 points on the year, just six points shy of the league lead held by the Edmonton Oilers' Connor McDavid.

         

Enstrom Out Indefintely

Winnipeg Jets defenseman, Toby Enstrom will be out indefinitely after suffering a lower-body injury at the hands of Pittsburgh Penguins Tom Sestito on Wednesday night when Enstom was illegally hit from behind by a vicious cross-check.

Sestito has been suspended four games by the NHL's Department of Player Safety.

Penguins Devour Jets

It started out well.  The Jets opened the scoring on a goal by Shawn Matthias, his eighth, but the Penguins answered right back on a goal by Nick Bonino.  That would be the first of three tonight for Bonino.

By the end of the first period, it appeared that the Jets were going to hold their own against the defending Stanley Cup champions, as they built a surprising 3-2 lead.

But as has happened way too many times this season, the ol' second period monster reared its ugly head and the Penguins put three unanswered goals by Connor Hellebuyck before he was pulled in favour of Michael Hutchinson after allowing five goals on 15 shots.  Hutch fared a little better, but not much, as he allowed two goals on 17 shots.  The Pens stopped the massacre at 7-4.

Nikolaj Ehlers and Dustin Byfuglien rounded out the scoring for the Jets with their 22nd and 10th, respectively; and Marko Dano got his fourth goal of the season, when he tallied a late one at 18:45 of the third period.  As it has been for many, many games for the Winnipeg Jets this tumultuous season, too little, too late.

So now the Jets remain seven huge points behind the St. Louis Blues for the second wild card spot.  At this point, does it really matter what place they're in, in the division?  The Los Angeles Kings also sit two points ahead of the Jets for the number two spot.

The stats say they're done, the experts say they're done, I say they're done, but stranger things have happened, I guess.

No.  No they haven't.

        

Jets Not Enough Against Sharks

WOO HOO!  Another three-game winning str-oh, no.  Wait.  They lost?  Ah crap.

Yes, as much as I would have love to write that the Winnipeg Jets were able to maintain their recent defensive acumen, alas, I can't.  Even though the Jets once again were able to stick with one of the league's elite teams and hold them under four goals, it wasn't to be, as the San Jose Sharks defeated a competitive Winnipeg Jets at the MTS Centre last night, 3-2.

The upswing is, the Jets are playing some of their best hockey of the season, the downside is, it's a little too late.  With highly competitive games, with an almost smothering defense, against the likes of Montreal, Pittsburgh, St. Louis and Colorado, the Jets looked like (and may still with a minor miracle) they are serious about a post-season run.  Losing two huge points tonight obviously doesn't help, but a few wins like they've had over the last two weeks or so and who knows?

Josh Morrissey got his sixth of the season to open the scoring for the Jets, and Mark Scheifele notched his 28th.

The Sharks Joe Thornton got his 1,000th career assist on Joe Pavelski's empty-net goal, putting him fourth all-time behind Joe Sakic.

The Jets remain at 66 points, three behind the St. Louis Blues for the second wild card spot.  It's an uphill battle, especially if St. Louis and Los Angeles keep winning; which they are sure to do.  So, the Jets must also.  I know I've stated they're already done (based on their place in the standings, games remaining, and past performances) but stranger things have happened.  The Jets have the team to do it, they just have to believe they can.

              

TSN's "The Reporters" Say Matthews Will Win Calder

Surprise, surprise!  The guys who live and breathe everything Toronto say Austen Matthews is going to win the NHL's Calder trophy for the rookie of the year.  "He's a better player," "he's more valuable to his team,"  bla, bla, bla.  They totally ignore the fact that Patrik Laine leads Matthews in almost every statistical category, and pretty much has from the start of the season.  Matthews scored four goals in his first NHL game, but then Laine exploded with his first hat-trick, including the game winner in overtime.

Head to Head comparison

(Games through March 5)

Matthews

Games: 64

G-A-Pts: 31-24-55

Shots on goal: 227

Avg. ice time: 17:48

SAT%: 51.68

Hits: 15

*Goals created per game: 0.37

SAT: plus-63

Points per 60 minutes (all situations): 2.90

Laine

Games: 58

G-A-Pts: 32-26-58

Shots on goal: 160

Avg. ice time: 18:05

SAT%: 48.02

Hits: 63

*Goals created per game: 0.42

SAT: minus-57

Points per 60 minutes (all situations): 3.32

*Hockey reference dot com

What happens if Laine is able to surpass Sidney Crosby for most goals and wins the Maurice Richard trophy, will the experts still claim Matthews deserves rookie of the year?

Actually, NHL.com has already answered that question.  "If Laine scores 10 more goals than Matthews, wins the Rocket Richard trophy as the NHL's top goal scorer and cures cancer, he would have a 50-50 chance if winning the Calder."  It may be a "joke" circulating social media, but with most of the hockey media based in Toronto, it pretty much sums up the bias towards Matthews.

Never mind facts and statistics, just rely on who your favourite is.

Jets Pummel Avalanche

It's not even halfway through the second period in the contest between the Colorado Avalanche and the Winnipeg Jets, and it's already 5-0 Jets.  As the CBC commentators said, "the Avalanche are being taken to the woodshed."  Five different Jets have scored so far.

Almost midway through the third period, and the Avalanche have registered just 11 shots on goal.

Well.  It's over and the Jets have a 6-1 win.  Two huge points that place the Jets just two points out of the second wild card spot as they creep up a bit to fourth in the Central division.
How'd you like my interspersed "live" updates?

The Jets owned the Avalanche from the opening face-off.  It wasn't exactly a clinic, as the Jets weren't there to teach the Avs anything, but there was hickory-switchin' going on, that's for sure.

Patrik Laine opened the scoring with his 32nd with a blast from the slot that was deflected in by an Avalanche defender, putting him ahead of Austen Matthews for the rookie goal-scoring lead, while climbing to second in the overall NHL lead, behind only Sidney Crosby with 34.  The Calder and the Rocket Richard trophies?  Okay!

Blake Wheeler joined the 20-goal club as he notched a nice top-corner snipe on the power-play, while Mark Schiefele got his 27th on a nice feed from Laine just 15 seconds after Wheeler scored.  Ehlers got his 21st from Wheeler on a nice give and go.
The Jets now have four skaters with 20 or more goals.

Ben Chariot got his very due first of the season (how many of his blasts from the point have been deflected in by someone else, I'll never know) and Jacob Trouba rounded things out by scoring his 6th when he got his own rebound off the end glass.

The win puts the Jets back at .500 for the first time in a while.   I also noticed that their goal differential has dropped dramatically as well to a -8.

Connor Hellebuyck was just fifteen seconds from a shut-out.  A shot from the line in the dying seconds by Gabriel Landeskog dropped on Helle in front and caught him going the other way.  So not fair.  He played very well, although it was the Jets defense that once again has stymied the opposition, Helle earned shutouts back-to-back.

One of the weirdest plays of the year was displayed last night, as the Avs Blake Comeau was in all alone on Hellebuyck, when he, for some odd reason, tried to pass it back to Nathan MacKinnon only to be intercepted and cleared by a back-checking Patrik Laine.

Good win.  Let's hope a miracle happens and the Jets keep winning, while the Kings, Blues and Stars all keep losing.  Yeah.  All three of those teams will falter, and the Jets will go on a winning streak.  Meh.  Sure.  Why Not?




         

        

        

        

        

Teemu Selanne: NHL Best 100

Although the first superstar of the Jets 1.0 era (of National Hockey League fame) Dale Hawerchuck was snubbed from the NHL's Centennial Top 100 despite being the youngest player to reach 100 points until Sidney Crosby came along, missing the rookie points record by three points in his rookie year of 1981-82, and scoring at least 100 points seven out of his first eight seasons.  He endd his career, playing for four different clubs with 1188 games played in which he scored 518 goals and 891 assists for 1409 points.  He averaged a point a game in his career.  He presently sits 19th all-time on the NHL scoring list, but yet, no place in the NHL top 100.

However, one former Jet that they couldn't ignore, even though it turned out he played a heavy majority of his career in Anaheim, is Teemu Selanne.  Selanne is a first-ballot hall-of-famer, he holds the rookie goal-scoring and points record, scoring an inconceivable 76 goals and 132 points in the 1992-93 season as a member of the Winnipeg Jets.  He is the current all-time Olympic points leader with 105.  He, along with Joe Sakic, was named to the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) Hall of Fame last month

He was traded by the new owners of the Jets in 1996, just after the sale of the team to know-nothing owners, Steven Gluckstern and Richard Burke (they wanted to save money on contract salaries, so they demanded former Jets general manager John Paddock trade Selanne instead of Kieth Tkachuck or Alexei Zhamnov before the team the team moved to Phoenix, Arizona.)

He won a Stanley Cup with the Anaheim Ducks in 2007.  He earned it.  He should have won with the Jets if the hockey gods made it fair to Winnipeg fans - they didn't.  But Selanne got what a player of his talent and personal calibre deserve.  Accolades, a championship, respect, and soon to be enshrined in the Hockey Hall Of Fame.



For this, Selanne will always be a Jet.  Anaheim may have had the opportunity to witness his brilliance for the better part of 16 years, but Winnipeg will always see him as one of their own.

Jets Back In Form With Shutout Over Blues

The Winnipeg Jets got back into the win column and kept their slim playoff hopes alive by playing a complete game against the St. Louis Blues and helping Connor Hellebuyck win his fourth shutout of the season and seventh of his career, 3-0 tonight.


The win by the Jets extends the Blues losing streak to five.

It should have been a blow-out by the Jets, but Blues goalie, Carter Hutton came up huge more times than I cared to see.  Nikolaj Ehlers, Andrew Copp, Shawn Matthias, Bryan Little, Blake Wheeler-all denied by the Blues back-up.

Captain Blake Wheeler notched two tonight, including the game-winner, which happened to be the only goal of the game (and his 18th of the season) until the Jets had the game in the bag late in the third and put in two back-to-back empty-netters; the first by Bryan Little (his 18th) after showing some hustle by catching up to and stealing the puck from Alex Pietrangelo before tucking it behind the gal line, then Wheeler chipped in his second of the game.

Every player in a blue sweater contributed to the victory tonight.  Even though one would usually say, "the score doesn't tell the whole story," this score actually did.  Although Hutton gave the Blues a chance early and often, the Jets outplayed the Blues and were "owed" a couple of scores because of the back-stopper; so, yeah, 3-0 (empty-netters or not) sounds good to me.

Everyone seemed to had a legitimate chance to score as blasts were coming from Dustin Byfuglien, Jacob Trouba (back from his two-game suspension), Mathieu Perreault, Josh Morrissey, Patrik Laine, who was fed twice by Mark Scheifele in vein, and even Chris Thorburn had a chance in front of the net, but all the boys needed was the captain's one-timer, power-play goal, from the blue-line and to then shut it down; which they did, admirably.

The Blues had some moderate success in the neutral zone, but overall, the Jets smothered the lanes and suffocated the them.  Protected by a staunch and determined Jets defence-core, the Blues were stymied all evening.

After losing a heart-breaking, yet expected 6-5 loss to the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday night, the Jets needed to pull themselves up and hope to move on and make the rest of the season count for something.
I was worried about this one.  I was worried that after such a long lay-off of seven days, any momentum would be lost.
Well, the Jets didn't exactly lose the ability to play well, they just waited until the third period.

Although Laine scored his 31st, to remain tied with Austen Matthews for the NHL rookie goal-scoring lead, he could not work his magic, nor could Scheifele, to give a late-game miracle to the people behind the glass.

But, the Jets come away victorious yet again against St. Louis and are now 4-0 against the Blues this season.  The Jets now retain 64 points and are, remarkably, only four points out of the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference that`s currently held by the Los Angeles Kings, who have 68 points.  Forget the Flames and their 74 points.  They`re on a six-game winning streak (oh, how I pray for the Jets to go on a five-to-eight game winning streak) and are probably going to take a Pacific divisional spot in their top three.  They're gone.  In which case we then have to focus on Nashville as well as St. Louis and L.A. The Jets pretty much have to achieve the impossible and go on a streak around the 14-4 (or 13-3-1 or whatever) mark.  The other teams could folly.  Its possible, and I'm hoping, ney, counting on it.

If Nashville stumbles and St. Louis continues to disappoint, while Dallas can be kept at bay, the Jets could slip on the Cinderella slipper for this post-season.  But they have to beat some better, much better, teams coming up.  They have to.  We're coming down the stretch.

It's a steep, steep hill.  Can the Jets sustain?

Colorado is next.  Then San Jose and Pittsburgh.  Some of that home-ice advantage would be cool right about now, 'doncha think?

Stafford Traded

Drew Stafford, who came over in the Evander Kane deal and helped to launch the Winnipeg Jets into the 2014-2015 NHL playoffs, has been dealt to the Boston Bruins for a draft pick.

Stafford played 144 games in a Jets uniform since coming over with Tyler Myers, Joel Armia and prospect, Brendan Lemieux for Evander Kane and Zach Bogosian back in 2015.  He accumulated 34 goals and 36 assists for 70 points.

Patrik Laine: A Special, Special Player

It's not like he doesn't deserve it, but here's some more sycophantic, pedestal-placing for Patrik Laine.  Hey, give me a break.  It's not like I've had a legit NHL phenom on my team since, oh, I don't know, 1994?

So cut me some slack if I want to praise the kid.

Morrissey Still Being Noticed

A while back, I posted a column by Tim Campbell on how Winnipeg Jets defencman Joshua Morrissey was quietly being noticed by the powers-that-be that he was a talented up-and-comer.  His work and commitment to excellence is still being noticed.  The Jets are going to be okay.

Jets Stopped By Leafs

Late post.  Sorry about that.  Especially to my daily reader in France.  One dude in France.  Awesome.  Hey buddy!

The Winnipeg Jets once again failed to put together a three-game winning streak during this past four-game road trip through the Eastern conference.  If they had defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs last Tuesday, the 21st, it would have been the Jets' second such accomplishment this season.
As it was, the Jets were able to secure six out of an eight possible points (two overtime losses versus Toronto and Pittsburgh and two regulation wins against Montreal and Ottawa) in this 5-4 overtime loss, to accumulate 62 points on the season thus far, but remain in fifth place in the Central division and remain six points behind Calgary and five behind St. Louis for the first and second wild-card spots, respectively.  The Jets grabbed five more points than I thought possible (given that Ottawa and Montreal are in a battle for first place in the Atlantic division)
Kudos to them.

It was a very good game, and for the fourth game in a row, the Jets were mostly disciplined and played a very. very good road game.

One thing about the Laine/Matthews "competition," is that Laine is winning.  More goals, more points and head-to-head, Patrik Laine has fared better.  Period.
In the first game against the Leafs on October 19, Laine had three goals, including the overtime game-winner.  In this game, he had two goals.  That's five goals in two games against the Leafs.  Matthews scored zero goals on Oct. 19, and had one assist.  Last Tuesday, he had three helpers.  The mighty Austen Matthews has yet to score on Winnipeg.  So in two games, Laine has five points:  5G, 0A, including a game-winner, mind you.  Matthews has four points: 0G, 4A.  Just sayin'.

So, once again, it was the Patrik Laine show against the Maple Leafs.  If Laine was playing in "the center of the universe," how much more attention and press adulation do you think he would be receiving?
Laine reached goal #30 for the year, setting a new Winnipeg Jets franchise record for goals in a season by a rookie.  That's right.  Not even Ilya Kovalchuck could best Patrik Laine in the rookie goals department when the franchise mark was set at 29 in 2001-02.

So Laine once again leads all NHL rookies in goals scored.  Mark Scheifele set up both of Laine's goals and has 37 assists this year to go along with his 25 goals.  Scheifele leads all Jets scorers with 62 points.  Bryan Little added to his total with his 17th on the power-play.  Nikolaj Ehlers got his 20th, on assists from Josh Morrissey and Blake Wheeler.


                
Through all the tribulations of this season, remarkably, the Jets still have a slim hope of reaching the NHL playoffs this season.  With other members of the Central division faltering even more than the Jets so far, the Jets still have a mathematical chance of slipping in.  Personally, as I've stated numerous times before, I still think they'll be edged out by Calgary or Los Angeles/Nashville; but right now, nobody is making any golfing reservations, so there's still hope.

Trouba Suspended

Jacob Trouba has been suspended two games by the NHL's Department of Player Safety for an "illegal check to the head" of the Ottawa Senators Mark Stone.  Trouba will not receive pay during this suspension.

Game Plan Continues As Jets Down Senators

Wow.  Was I ever wrong about the points being acquired on this recent road trip.  And am I glad I am.  I thought the Jets would maybe sneak a point out of Ottawa and nothing out of the other three games.  As it is, the Winnipeg Jets have continued their game plan of smart, hard-checking road hockey.

They defeated the Ottawa Senators this evening, 3-2.  It's the Jets fifth point out of a possible six so far on this trip away from the MTS Centre.  I think the success of this trip thus far is  not only the commitment of the Jets of this hard-nosed style, but the fact they always play up or down to the level of their opponent; or it seems.

They have one or two-goal games against Chicago, St. Louis and Pittsburgh, but lose to Arizona, Buffalo and Colorado.  That might explain the competitive vigour shown by the Jets on this four-game trip.  Pittsburgh and Montreal are clearly two of the upper echelon teams this season.  Ottawa isn't too shabby either.  It appears the Jets have continued that philosophy.  The Toronto Maple Leafs and Austen Matthews close out this road trip before the Jets head home to meet the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday, February 28.

Mathieu Perreault scored for the second consecutive game about 11 minutes after Dustin Byfuglien scored his ninth of the season.  Josh Morrissey got the game winner with his third of the season.

Once again, I heard a fair amount of cheers from Jets fans in enemy territory.  The biggest crescendo seemed to have come at the end of the game when the Senators thought they scored when Jean-Gabriel Pageau pushed Hellebuyck's leg into the net, forcing the puck across the red line.  Sorry, that doesn't count.  It didn't when Byfuglien did it against Pittsburgh and it still doesn't.


               

Solid Game Lifts Jets Past Habs

Another solid road game from the Winnipeg Jets, this time resulting in a win by the score of 3-1 over the Montreal Canadiens at the Bell Centre.

It could have been better for the Jets, as Patrik Laine was robbed twice by the glove hand of Carey Price. Laine did, however, net the empty-net insurance marker and his 28th goal of the season.  Laine now has five goals in his last three games.

Mathieu Perreault notched his fifth of the season, that ended up being the game winner. Joel Armia opened the scoring for he Jets with a neat short-handed, break-a-way deke on Price.  By the way, Dustin Byfuglien's assist on Perreault's goal was a beauty.  In his usual attempt of a strong-handed wrap-a-round, Buff managed to fight off three, count them, three Canadiens with one hand on his stick until he passed the puck to himself from his stick to his skates and kicked it to Perreault open in front of the net for his neat back-hand passed Price.

Connor Hellebuyck got the start and played solidly.  The Habs only managed five shots in the third period. Great defence by the Jets.

With this surprising win (the Habs seventh loss in eight games) the Jets now have three out of a possible four points on this current road trip.

As a side note, watching the game on CBC, it sounded like a fair amount of Jets fans in Montreal today when Armia popped that shorty past Price.

Presently, the Jets sit in fifth in the Central division, 10th in the Western Conference, with 59 points.  Two points behind Calgary for the second wild-card and three behind Nashville for the first wild-card.

Next up are the Ottawa Senators, who have been coming on as of late.

           

Jets Give Valiant Effort In Loss To Pens

The first period wasn't the best they did, as the Pittsburgh Penguins took a 2-0 lead by the end of the frame, but the Winnipeg Jets played a very good, disciplined, smart road game in a 4-3 overtime loss where Penguins captain Sidney Crosby captured his 1000th career point.

Of course it had to be against the Jets, right?

It had to be though.  Sidney Crosby wasn't going to be denied, especially at home.  He got the assist on Chris Kunitz's goal to secure his 1000th NHL point to make it 2-0.  Evgeny Malkin opened the scoring at 59 seconds in.  It looked like it was going to be a long night for the Jets.

But then the Jets took over.  They started banging and crashing, especially Adam Lowry who registered double digits in the hitting department.  It had an almost immediate effect, as the Jets took the momentum before scoring late in the second from Patrik Laine's 27th goal of the season.  He is now tied with the Maple Leafs Austen Matthews for the NHL rookie goal-scoring lead.

Paul Postma scored his first of the year and Dustin Byfuglien added his eighth, as the Jets took a surprising 3-2 lead.  With just over 11 minutes left in the third period, you know that wasn't enough to hold off the Stanley Cup champions.  They have too much talent and there was too much time left.

Before the Pens tied it up, the bigger Jets were smashing their way through the Penguins line-up as was said.  It was to the point where Malkin decided to try and rally the troops and do some hitting of his own.  He did so by laying out Blake Wheeler with an obvious, but un-called contact to the head when Malkin left his feet to deliver a big shoulder to Wheeler's jaw.  There came the dutiful retaliation by the Jets before Wheeler came to and tried to find Malkin beneath a pile of bodies near the Penguin bench.
Malkin sat for two for "interference."  I fully expect a review of that play by the NHL's Department of Player Safety.

Connor Hellebuyck got the start again as obviously expected.  He played very well and deserved a better fate.  Although I did clearly notice many Penguin shots close in were directed at Helle's five-hole.  As I have stated, that is his bane.  But he covered it well and plainly speaking, he can't be blamed for the tying and winning goals.  He didn't really have a chance on either of them.

So one point in game one of this four-game road trek.  Next up are the Montréal Canadiens at the Bell Centre.  A win last night would have given the Jets some much-earned momentum going into the Belle De Provence.  Will the Jets build on a good game or focus on a heart-breaking loss?  I believe they will do the former, but will add some extra zip if they're going to face Carey Price.  A win against the Habs, although unlikely, will secure three points overall on this trip (already squashing yet another one of my brave "predictions") and give the Jets their first win in Montréal since Feb. 2, 2014.  The Jets franchise is 8-21 against the Habs all-time in Montréal, so don't bet on it.

          

Laine's Third Hat Trick Gives Jets Win Over Stars

  In his first NHL season, Winnipeg Jets rookie sensation, Patrik Laine has now collected his third hat-trick of his career.  This time it was at the hands of the struggling Dallas Stars, helping his teammates to a much-needed victory by the score of 5-2.  It was Laine's second hatty against the Stars this season.

Laine opened the scoring in the first period with the help of a nice patient pass from Andrew Copp.  His second was with 5:07 left in the third, resulting from a wicked wrist shot from the face-off over the left glove hand of Antti Niemi. His third, and the game-winner, came from his own end on an empty-net.  The second empty-netter for the Jets tonight after Blake Wheeler got his 17th goal.

Mark Scheifele had a three-point night, as he helped on all three of Laine's goals.  Scheifele continues to lead the Jets with 25 goals and 28 assists for 53 points.  Laine sits in third in team scoring with 26 goals and 21 assists for 47 points.  Josh Morrissey had a terrific night as he added an assist as well as made key defensive decisions and blocked a scoring chance from the Stars'

Joel Armia also had a great game, as he was rugged in the corners while registering two shots on goal, including a one-timer from the high-slot off of Shawn Matthias' centering pass.  Armia now has seven points in eight games against the Stars.

Connor Hellebuyck got the start for the Jets and although he made 34 saves, including a couple of beauties off of John Klingberg and Tyler Seguin, and got the win; the Stars scored both of their goals through the five-hole which is a continuing problem for Hellebuyck.

Seguin continues to play well against the Jets as he scored his 15th goal in 18 contests against Winnipeg.  Jason Spezza recorded his 500th NHL point.

       

       

 The Jets finally turned the numbers on the points speedometer to reach 56 points for the season thus far at 26-29-4.  They're four points behind Los Angeles for the second wild-card spot and six behind Nashville for the first wild-card.  Close.  But not enough to the wild-card bunch to be a threat just yet. But it does get them closer.  However, the Jets need points like never before this season, and unfortunately, their next stop is facing a surging Sidney Crosby and his Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins.

I don't expect any luck against the Pens, especially when Crosby will be hungrily looking for his 1000th career point.  At home.  Sorry Jets, another crucial two points will evade you Feb. 16.  Two nights later in Montreal doesn't offer much more hope.  Les Canadiens are first place in the Atlantic division with 70 points and have Carey Price.  Add the fact that Winnipeg hasn't won in Montreal since Nov. 11, 2014, and you can kind of throw that one away.

I can see the Jets picking up one post-regulation point against the Ottawa Senators the next evening, and I really don't know what to expect in Toronto to rap up the four-game road trip, considering Laine and Austen Matthews will want to out do each other; especially Matthews, as you know he must want some redemption from the Leafs loss in Winnipeg on October 19th.

One to three points for the Jets in the next four games is my prediction.  I hope I'm wrong.

Four Straight Losses Have Jets Out Of Playoff Picture

With four consecutive losses, including the last two at home against the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday and tonight against a Tampa Bay Lightning squad that should have been ripe for the picking, the Jets are fading fast out of the hunt for the last playoff spot in the Western conference.

Before Friday, the Chicago Blackhawks trailed 4-0 in the season series against the Winnipeg Jets.  by the end of the night, the Hawks showed why the Jets domination over them may not have been a fluke, but the Hawks showed that they are still the better team.  A 5-2 loss not only snapped that streak, but put the Jets at a point that they now must win at last the next three games to have any chance of staying in the wild-card hunt.

       

Even after the loss on Friday night, the Jets remained at 54 points and were still only three points out of the playoff picture.  After tonight's 4-1 loss to the Lightning, the Jets are now officially in dire straights.

       

They face the Dallas Stars at the MTS Centre Tuesday, then embark on a four-game road trip to Pittsburgh, Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto, before coming home to face the Minnesota Wild on February 28.
I do not expect the Jets to come home with any points from the trip.  In fact, the next time the Jets play at the MTS Centre after this next game against the Stars, I fully expect the Winnipeg Jets to be all but out of the playoff picture.  Perhaps not mathematically, but, they'll be done.

Jets Fall To Wild

It had to be this way didn't it?  it had to be that the Winnipeg Jets couldn't put a four-game winning streak together.  Was it because Minnesota is simply a better team?  Why, yes, it is frankly.  Or is it because the hockey gods simply don't want Jets fans to feel any semblance of satisfaction?  Maybe both.

In any event, the Winnipeg Jets were embarrassed yet again by the leaders of the Central division, 5-3 at the MTS Centre.  Starter Ondrej Pavelec let in three goals on 11 shots, and pulled himself out of the game with a lower-body injury.   Connor Hellebuyck, who came in for relief, fared better and actually gave the Jets a chance for the comeback.

The Jets made it interesting in the second period, as they drew close, scoring two before the period expired, but that's all they would produce, as they ran out of time and surrendered an empty-net goal to the Wild for their insurance marker.

Patrik Laine was invisible in this game, and coach Paul Maurice let him know it by cutting his ice time substantially for the rest of the game.  Laine took it in stride, acknowledging it was the coach's decision.

That brings up the point of, is Paul Maurice handling Laine (as well as Josh Morrissey, Nikolaj Ehlers and Nic Petan  the right way?

The Jets remain five points out of the last playoff spot, but incredibly still remain in the hunt.

Next up are the Chicago Blackhawks at the MTS Centre on Friday, February 10th.  Let's hope the Jets continue to have success against the Hawks for some desperately needed points.

        

Myers Out Another Six To Eight Weeks

Winnipeg Jets defencman Tyler Myers had an unknown procedure done to fix the lower-body injury that has kept him out of the line-up since November 11.

He's going to miss at least another six to eight weeks.