Jets get set to host winning-streak Blackhawks

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 29/10/2015 (3610 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

If the Winnipeg Jets want to salvage something from a so-so homestand they’ll have to get it done against the defending Stanley-Cup champions.

The Jets, 5-3-1 this season and 2-2-1 on their current extended stay at the MTS Centre, meet a Chicago Blackhawks squad that – despite a number of changes – is as daunting an opponent as ever.

“The thing that has made them great over the years is the system they play and the structure they play with,” said Jets captain Andrew Ladd. “A lot of that is still the same. They’re one of the top defensive teams in the NHL and that’s been their backbone over the years. Not much changes from our standpoint in terms of playing against them. We need to play a fast-paced game and win a lot of pucks in those dirty areas in their end.”

The Jets returned home from their season-opening four-game road trip with a 3-1 record, but have run into some Western Conference heavyweights in downtown Winnipeg, falling to both the St. Louis Blues and Los Angeles Kings while picking up points in wins over Calgary and Minnesota and an OT loss to Tampa.

After tonight they’ll play eight of their next nine on the road, beginning with a four-game jaunt through the east with stops in Columbus, Montreal, Toronto and Ottawa.

Interestingly, this is the Blackhawks first game against a Central Division rival, while it will be the third for the Jets.

“Their leadership’s still intact, their core’s still intact. There’s a reason they’ve been so successful; they have a strategy, they have a gameplan that’s been successful for them so even if they have some moving parts the message is the same with them,” said Jets winger Drew Stafford of the Blackhawks. “It’s a matter of us making sure we’re staying in our game, worrying about our pace, our aggressiveness and our physicality and let them respond to that instead of trying to play into their hands.”

Chicago is on a four-game win streak despite managing to score just 19 goals this season, but have won back-to-back OT games with some magic from Jonathan Toews.

“It’s always fun to come home,” said Toews after the Blackhawks game-day skate at MTS Centre. “It always seems to be a big game. You look at our division right now and it’s probably not going to change much as the year goes along. It’s going to be pretty competitive all the way.

“There’s only way to go for our team right now (in the goal-scoring department) and that’s to improve. Our power play is always a focus for us (it’s ranked 17th going into tonight’s game) and I think maybe just keeping it simple is what’s going to help our skill accomplish what we want to accomplish out there. And in the long run it’s something that can make a difference for us as far as goal scoring.

“You see some offensive teams that come out of the gate scoring four-five goals a night seemingly at will. And you see some teams that just can’t buy one. Sometimes you go through those rough patches where goals aren’t going in for you, but you can still win games in those moments and that’s a great thing. We’ve seen that so far. Hopefully, we’ll start clicking. Scoring is all about feeling and when you feel lucky some things will start happening for you.”

Ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @WFPEdTait

wfpjetscoverage:29102015:wfpjetscoverage