Jets loss to struggling Sabres a wake-up call

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This article was published 16/12/2021 (1390 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Paul Stastny describes it as a wake-up call for his team.

A 4-2 loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday night gives the Winnipeg Jets a rather sorry record this year against NHL bottom-feeders. They are now 0-4-1 against Buffalo, the Arizona Coyotes, New York Islanders and Vancouver Canucks, who would all be in the mix for the first-overall draft pick if the season ended today.

Wasted opportunities. Wasted points.

“You realize how hard this league is. It doesn’t matter if you’re playing the best in the league or the worst team in the league, on any given night it’s the NHL. If you don’t have the same mindset as you do every time you play a potential Stanley Cup team or playoff team, you’re not going to be successful in this league,” Stastny said, following Thursday’s practice.

After a quiet, rather gloomy skate Wednesday, the Jets had a lot more energy and excitement 24 hours later.

“Sometimes it’s more of a mental challenge, getting up for every game and playing the same way every single game. Whether it’s the start of the season, the middle of the season or the end of the season, whether it’s a Saturday night game or a Tuesday night game, it doesn’t matter. If you want to be successful in this league as a player and as a team, you’ve got to be ready to play every single night,” added the veteran forward.

To that extent, there should be no worries Winnipeg takes its next opponent — the Washington Capitals (17-5-7) — for granted. The Capitals, who meet the Jets on Friday night at Canada Life Centre, are tied for second overall in points, and fourth overall in winning percentage.

“It will be easier (to get up for Washington compared to Buffalo), but it’s a whole different challenge. They bring a lot of different threats to the table that you’ve got to be aware of,” said Stastny. “But having said that, we’ve got to stick to what makes our team successful, and that starts in our defensive zone and coming out as a collective group of five.

“You want to have that mindset where, if you are playing (against) one of the best players in the world (Alex Ovechkin) and one of the best teams in the world, you’ve got to be ready for that and be up for that game.”

The Jets have already had a pretty good view of an Ovechkin milestone. He scored his 600th career goal against goalie Connor Hellebuyck back in March 2018.

Now some additional “Great Eight” history could be made at Canada Life Centre, with the Russian sniper needing just one power-play goal to become the all-time NHL leader in that category. He tied Dave Andreychuk’s record on Wednesday night in Chicago by firing his 274th with the man advantage, and the 751st of his sensational, Hall-of-Fame-calibre career.

It’s no wonder Jets coach Paul Maurice, tongue firmly planted in cheek, joked he’s not exactly looking forward to Ovechkin’s first visit to Winnipeg in two seasons.

“I saw them at the World Championships, he and (Evgeni) Malkin, in 2005. He still had a full cage on in that tournament. And Ovechkin was the first Russian player that I’d seen score a goal and get really jacked up about it, right? Like, it’s not in the culture. They’re very calm after a goal. I liked that a lot. I thought it brought a lot to that team,” said Maurice.

What once seemed impossible — catching Wayne Gretzky’s 894 career regular-season tallies — is no longer out of the question for the 36-year-old Ovechkin, who already has 21 this season (in 29 games) along with 25 assists. Like a fine wine, he’s only getting better with age.

“I think he can. If you saw any sign of slowing down, maybe you would start (to doubt) but there doesn’t seem to be any,” said Maurice.

“That’s a powerful team. And the cap is always a challenge for them but so many of those good players are still in their prime so he’s not going to be weighed down by the team where they rebuild and he’s still there. Yeah, I think he’s got a really good chance at it.”

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.caTwitter: @mikemcintyrewpg