Jets return after rollicking roller-coaster road trip

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This article was published 04/04/2018 (2755 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Winnipeg Jets returned home in the wee hours Wednesday after an exceptionally eventful — and big-picture successful — road swing that included matchups with a three-pack of non-playoff teams.

The quality of opponents speaks volumes about the kind of trip it was to Chicago and Eastern Canada.

It started out ugly against the Blackhawks last Thursday but produced three straight exhilarating victories, although the last two demonstrated a marked departure from the team’s foundation of defensive soundness and quality goaltending.

Prior to leaving, the Jets nailed down a spot in the post-season, and then locked down home-ice advantage in the opening round of the playoffs following a tidy 3-1 win over the explosive Toronto Maple Leafs. The triumph, before a nationally televised audience, was one of Winnipeg’s most impressive performances of the season.

There was a stinker two nights before as the Blackhawks, going absolutely nowhere, managed to post a 6-2 victory against a disinterested Jets squad.

But after bouncing back in Toronto, they went on to win their 49th and 50th victories in Ottawa and Montreal, respectively, in a couple of “last-shot-wins” affairs that wouldn’t have exactly tickled head coach Paul Maurice’s fancy.

Winnipeg (50-20-10) owns second spot in the Central Division and can’t be caught. Minnesota is all but assured third place, setting up a likely first-round series between the Wild and Jets, who have developed a rather robust dislike for one another. However, the Jets could win their two remaining games and overtake Nashville (51-18-11) for first place in the division, should the Predators drop their two remaining games against the Washington Capitals and Columbus Blue Jackets.

The Jets surrendering five goals to the Senators in a 6-5 track meet and another four to the Canadiens in a 5-4 OT win — with six important pieces out of the lineup — shouldn’t be cause for concern.

Veteran forward Mathieu Perreault is having some major struggles lighting the lamp right now, although he finally snapped a 19-game scoring drought in the nation’s capital. But he’s a straight-shooter when it comes to answering questions.

How difficult has it been for Perreault to stay motivated since a playoff spot was secured?

“It’s a totally different feeling. There’s not a whole lot of meaning to these game, so sometimes it’s hard to really get up for them,” he said, after the Jets narrowly slipped past the Sens Monday. “It’s not how you want to win games, but for us at this time of year it’s about keeping that good feeling in the room, keeping that confidence.”

Teams no longer in the mix use the little time they have left to insert new players into the lineup and evaluate talent, creating an unstructured brand of hockey.

There should be no great angst after a couple of loose games, Perreault said.

“When you play a team like Ottawa, it’s hard to know what to expect. They might be cheating offensively because they don’t have much to play for,” he said, noting it’s easy to fall into the trap of following suit.

The Jets went with an altered lineup in Montreal Tuesday, as goalie Connor Hellebuyck, defencemen Jacob Trouba and Josh Morrissey and forwards Blake Wheeler, Mark Scheifele and Adam Lowry all got a night off.

In their place, young blue-liner Sami Niku — making his NHL debut count with a third-period goal on his first-ever shot — and rookie winger Jack Roslovic, who added a goal and set up Kyle Connor’s overtime winner after sitting out the previous eight games as a healthy scratch, had super outings at Bell Centre.

Maurice wouldn’t bite when asked if Roslovic’s heady play — five goals and nine assists in 30 games — will force him to make some tough playoff roster decisions.

“Yeah, we’ve got a pretty good team,” he said with a smirk. “Jack played really well. I’m really happy with his game after being off. He’s going to be a really good player for us.”.

The six key pieces to the team’s fortunes are expected to return to the lineup Thursday against the visiting Calgary Flames. Winnipeg wraps up the regular season when the Blackhawks visit Saturday.

Expect the team to focus on eliminating the mistakes that crept into their game during the trip.

“We want to continue to prepare and come out the way we have been all year. We want to keep good habits going, whether we’re locked into a spot or not,” said defenceman Tyler Myers. “It’s important to keep that mindset and preparation right going into the playoffs.”

There are some small-picture goals out there for certain players.

Hellebuyck is just one victory from tying Tom Barrasso for the most wins (43) by an American goalie in an NHL season, Patrik Laine has 44 goals and is still chasing Washington all-star Alex Ovechkin for the Maurice Richard Trophy, which goes to the NHL’s top goal scorer and captain Blake Wheeler has 67 assists and is tied with Philadelphia Flyers centre Claude Giroux for the league lead in that category.

The Jets will host Game 1 of a first-round series either Wednesday or Thursday next week at the downtown rink, presumably with a “Winnipeg Whiteout” in full force.

“My opinion is we have the best fans in the league. We don’t have the biggest rink in the league but the atmosphere is just the best in the league,” Laine told reporters in Montreal. “I have no idea what it’s going to be like in the playoffs… I’ve seen some pictures and some videos (of past Winnipeg playoff games) and it looks pretty unreal.”

jason.bell@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @WFPJasonBell