Jets vs. Sharks: Five takes

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 08/04/2016 (3459 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Five takes on the Winnipeg Jets penultimate game, a 5-4 victory in San Jose late Thursday night…

1. SAY THIS ABOUT THE JETS… and the last days of their ’15-16 season: their best are leading, not playing the roles of tank commanders.

Yes, in a week in which many have been fixated on the bottom of the standings and were expecting/hoping for a fall closer to the bottom for a shot at a prime draft-lottery spot, guys like Dustin Byfuglien, Blake Wheeler and Mark Scheifele are instead trying to end this nightmarish season on a high.

Byfuglien’s point blast with 9.9 seconds left ended the game — and, confession time, the sound of TSN’s Dennis Beyak yelling ‘Score!’ — had yours truly bolting awake after nodding off for just a minute.

The result means the Jets have won three in a row for the first time this year and are 25th overall in the standings with one game to go.

And all you tank commanders out there cursing can return to playing the draft-lottery simulator.

 

2. THE RESULT MEANS DIDDLY AND SQUAT… in the big picture — this just in: the Jets will miss the playoffs — but the Jets big guns kept the statisticians busy.

– Byfuglien had four points and eclipsed the 50-point mark for the fourth time in his career.

– Wheeler had a goal an assist to build on his career-high point streak of 10 games (7G, 7A) and add to his career-high point total of 76. It’s the third time in five years the big Minnesotan has led the team in scoring, the highest single-season point total since the team landed in Winnipeg and the most for the franchise since Ilya Kovalchuk had 91 points in 2008-09.

– Mark Scheifele extended his point streak to nine games with two goals and an assist and is now just one shy of hitting the 30-goal mark for the first time in his career.

 

3. EXCUSE ME FOR… veering off the beaten path here, but… anyone else thinking of Dusty Hill and Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top while watching the Sharks last night?

I mean, have you seen the beards that Joe Thornton and Brent Burns are sporting? Those things will be down at their skate blades if the Sharks go on a long playoff run this spring.

By the way, I was at my local convenience store the other day and decided to pick up The Hockey News playoff preview – featuring Burns on the cover

When I was purchasing the magazine the fine lady at the till asked: ‘Who is this guy and why would he pose for a picture looking like this?’

Two great questions.

 

4. AS DRAMATIC AS THE JETS… win over San Jose was last night, what with Byfuglien’s winner coming in the dying seconds, the University of North Dakota advanced to the national championship with a thrilling finish in their semi-final win over Denver Thursday.

And Jets prospect Tucker Poolman — a man who is flying under the radar a bit with all the hype around Kyle Connor — played a pivotal role in the win. The Grand Forks Herald has a crew at the Frozen Four and here’s a piece that outlines Poolman’s role in the win.

 

5. AND, FINALLY… today could be a potentially big moment in the life of Connor, the prized Jets prospect.

The NCAA will announce the winner of the 2016 Hobey Baker Award at the Frozen Four festivities in Tampa and Connor — one of two first-round draft picks by the Jets last year who led the country in scoring this winter as a freshman — is one of three finalists.

Here’s a solid set-up piece to the award courtesy George Sipple of the Detroit Free Press.

And follow this link as Yahoo’s Puck Daddy breaks down the cases for and against the three finalists.

ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: WFPEdTait