Jets returning to what worked

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This article was published 07/02/2015 (3931 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The blueprint wasn’t perfect, but it worked.

And the game the Winnipeg Jets were building from those plans prior to the NHL all-star festivities featured a solid defensive foundation with strong, sturdy support beams.

Well, a funny thing happened after that four-day break that sent everyone but Dustin Byfuglien to warm-weather paradises all over the globe. The Jets team that returned in late January veered away — heck, they sprinted away — from their blueprint. And the impact of that is now staring everyone in the face with a six-game winless streak that was further compounded by the week’s Evander Kane saga.

Interesting, then, to wander through the Jets dressing room on Saturday and get a sense they are back to working off the old plans after a pair of overtime losses to Vancouver and Chicago in the last five days.

“It was a lot closer to what Jets hockey looks like,” said Bryan Little of the 2-1 loss to the Hawks on Friday. “We held them to 21 shots and played a lot better defence. It was a lot better effort. If we play that way and maybe get more pucks to the net, I think we’re going to be in good shape.

“We’re definitely playing a lot better than we did in those first few games after the break. Three days off… that can be a lot in a season. I don’t know if we lost some of our sharpness and forgot how we were playing before the break. It’s hard to put a finger on it. We’re definitely working a lot better now. Even the intensity level is where we want it right now. It’s just a matter of trying to get wins.”

Yup, that would help. The Jets’ current six-game winless streak matches the worst run since the team relocated to Winnipeg. The other? Last March 4 to 14 when the club went 0-3-3 and essentially vanished from the playoff discussion.

(FYI: the franchise record winless streak is 16 games (0-13-2-1) set back in January-February of 2000).

What the Jets like about their last two efforts is the return of the pace of their game, their intensity on the forecheck and the tightening of the gaps in the neutral zone. In short, they’ve returned to the defensive game plan that had become the staple of their surge before the all-star break.

“We’re trying to get back to a certain place and I think we got a little closer to that,” said coach Paul Maurice.

“It’s a challenge where we are in Winnipeg, geographically, of getting a read on the energy level on your team and the exact toll that it has taken when you go to the east and go to the west after a four-day (all-star) break. It’s a bit of a learning process for me and what you can expect.

“Our last two games, we were quicker, we skated better. As we move along and spend more time as a group together and players develop, you stay closer to your game, your identity, and that’s really where your consistency is built. There are teams that are like that. St. Louis is like that for me… although they got beat 7-1 (Friday), so it’s not perfect.

“We got back on the forecheck,” added Maurice. “Our pace was better, same with (the Vancouver game). Mistakes were made by both teams, but our pace was better and we live and die on our energy level.”

Again, though, it’s defence that is critical for the Jets. In the post-break loses to Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Dallas and Calgary the club surrendered 20 goals — an astonishing five goals against for a team that had been one the NHL’s stingiest through their first 48 games.

But in the 3-2 OT loss to Vancouver and 2-1 OT loss to Chicago the Jets held both opponents to less than 30 shots, stopped taking undisciplined penalties and cleaned up their five-on-five play. They’ve been more physical, been quicker on the forecheck and tidier in their own zone.

As Little said, it’s looked a lot more like “Jets hockey.”

“That’s the type of game we have to play, that’s the type of game a lot of our divisional opponents are going to play,” said Mark Stuart.

“Now we want to carry that over into (Sunday),” added Mark Scheifele. “We’re moving our feet, we’re being quick, we’re being physical. We’re playing our style of hockey and sticking to our strategy.”

ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca
Twitter: @WFPEdTait