Jets facing back-to-back games for seventh time

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This article was published 09/12/2015 (3570 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A much-needed breather behind them, the Winnipeg Jets will get right back to the NHL grind tonight with the first of back-to-back games.

The Jets play the Columbus Blue Jackets at home and then the Blackhawks in Chicago Friday night — the seventh time this season the Jets have played back-to-back games and the second time they’ve done so in less than a week.

The good news? The Jets are 5-1 in the first game of back-to-backs this season and have outscored their opponents a combined 21-12. The bad news? The Jets are 2-3-1 in the back half of back-to-backs.

Those numbers suggest exactly what you’d think would happen to an NHL team in the second half of back-to-back games has been happening to the Jets this season — their level of play has tailed off when playing the second game in two nights.

But Jets head coach Paul Maurice says he’s not so sure that’s the problem.

“I think the back-to-back in itself isn’t that daunting,” Maurice said Wednesday afternoon following practice at the MTS Centre. “It’s when you wrap it around other games — it’s the five (games) in eight (nights). That’s a bigger challenge…

“It has not been easy, but I think we’ve handled it pretty well.”

Maurice also noted Friday’s game against Chicago will be the first time this season that his team is playing the second game of a back-to-back against an opponent who also played the night before.

The Jets lost in Chicago last Sunday after beating the visiting Washington Capitals a day earlier and head into today 5-5-0 in their last 10 games and 13-13-2 overall this season.

Maurice said he’s decided how he will handle his goaltenders for the upcoming two games but refused to share the details.

Connor Hellebuyck is 3-0-0 since getting called up from the Manitoba Moose last month and got the win against the Capitals.

Michael Hutchinson played well in the loss to Chicago but gave up a bad goal in the third period that proved to be the game-winner.

Hellebuyck said he didn’t know whether he’s starting today and isn’t particularly concerned about it.

“I’m just doing my thing, trying to get better every day,” said Hellebuyck.

While conventional wisdom says Hellebuyck has quickly climbed to the top of the Jets depth chart with last month’s injury to Ondrej Pavelec and the recent struggles of Hutchinson, he insisted it’s not so.

“Hutch is a great goalie. He battles every day in practice and he works really hard,” said Hellebuyck. “I’m trying to model a little part of my game on him right now. The way he battles — I want to be looked upon that way, too.”

EHLERS STAYING PUT

Paul Maurice was asked if the club was giving any consideration to granting winger Nikolaj Ehlers permission to play for Denmark at the upcoming world juniors.

While it’s not unheard of for NHL teams to send young players to the tournament to get a little more seasoning, Maurice said Ehlers is too important to the Jets lineup.

“I’m a big fan of the world juniors tournament,” said Maurice. “It’s a great experience for those guys. But once you get to the National Hockey League and you’re playing in someone’s Top 9 or Top 6 on the back end, you’re an important component to the team.”

Maurice noted Ehlers already benefited from previous world juniors experience.

“They use those experiences to better prepare themselves for the NHL,” said Maurice. “And if they’ve made the NHL, I don’t know that they need to go back and redo that.”

Maurice added that he is unconcerned about Ehlers lack of offensive production lately.

“I’m not worried about Nik Ehlers’ offence,” he said. “He’s going to have stretches in his career where the puck’s not going in the net.

“Where he will go from a good NHLer to a great NHLer is all the other pieces that happen around his offence.”

Afterburner: Jets centre Bryan Little, who missed practice Tuesday, was a full participant Wednesday.

paul.wiecek@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @PaulWiecek