Winning takes work, especially in Vegas

Opinion

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This article was published 09/11/2017 (2862 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The surging Winnipeg Jets are enjoying a few days in Las Vegas and fans can’t be blamed for looking at the club’s next three games and licking their chops.

Tonight they play the Vegas Golden Knights, who are coming off a 3-2 loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday. The Jets were enjoying a day away from the ice in Vegas while that happened.

This seems to be set up as a perfect matchup for the Jets — the expansion Knights are currently using their fourth-string goalie as their starter due to injuries. When you look at their roster, and what they’ve been through, their 9-5-1 record is outstanding, but it’s hardly scary.

The Jets follow that game up with a home-and-home series against the worst team in the NHL, the Arizona Coyotes, starting Saturday in Arizona.

It should be three easy wins for a very confident Jets squad that’s posted a 5-0-3 record in their last eight games, right?

That “confident” part got me thinking about some of the “c” words that contribute to winning hockey and how they fit with the Jets.

Confidence not cockiness

There’s a fine line here and your definition of being cocky may be different than mine.

Unfortunately, I remember the times when some of my teammates and I would have too much swagger when playing a lesser-talented lineup.

It was usually followed up the next day with a bag skate at practice. The coach — who had warned us the day before the game, at the pre-game skate and right before game time — would get his revenge on us after losing because of a lack of effort.

I have to admit, some days I’d listen and nod at the coach’s pre-game histrionics but internally I wasn’t sold. Then I’d go out for warm-up — a quick look at the inferior opposition confirmed my beliefs. It turned out I wasn’t alone.

I got better at this as I learned there was something to the coach’s idea of having to be at your best every night to succeed.

When coaching later, karma hit me in the face. The players got me back, acting as I once did.

I bring this up as the Jets have a young crew of players finding their way. We’ve likely seen all we’re going to get from the older guys.

Players’ maturity from both age groups will show itself over these three games. I’m big on confidence, just wary of the size of the swagger.

I actually have a strong belief at times with this club, depending on how they’ve played into the latter part of the second period. If they’ve been good up to that point, I’m not anxious about the third period, like I’ve been in the past.

The two wins against the Dallas Stars are good examples of that. Even the Minnesota Wild 2-1 win felt right, even though the Jets barely hung on.

The 5-4 overtime loss to the Montreal Canadiens was the opposite. When the Jets jumped ahead 4-2 in the third period, their play didn’t justify that lead and they deserved the result.

As someone who likes analytics, my favourite part is actually “feeling” the game. Of course, one can get fooled at any point.

Competition

The Jets have had some injuries and their forward depth (particularly Manitoba Moose call-up Kyle Connor) has been contributing lately.

It’s tough to replace Mathieu Perreault, but Connor has been excellent playing with stars Blake Wheeler and Mark Scheifele. Barring injury, Perreault’s impending return to the lineup is salivating.

I’ve long written about having three scoring lines and it seems obvious what’s possible here. Perreault is terrific at driving the play into the opposition’s end, which is something the Jets definitely need improvement in.

The battle among current bottom-six forwards will be significant, if they can get this group healthy for a bit. There’s no better motivation to play hard every night than having someone more than ready to take your place.

Their external competition has been good, despite some of the teams struggling, like the Pittsburgh Penguins, where they grabbed three of four points. The Jets’ record serves them well here.

Challenges

There will be many significant challenges in a long season, with lots of hardships to overcome.

The Jets have already endured a few, including losing out on goaltender-interference challenges after a goal is scored. Jets head coach Paul Maurice became part of social media folklore as he told the referees what he thought of them after a lost challenge, but I can’t repeat it here if you missed the video. I understand his frustration at not knowing what that call actually is anymore.

I stay clear of “the referees are against us” thing because the calls even out over time. There’s no league-wide controversy as some fans say, but maybe one or two referees don’t like the team. They are human, so who knows?

Coaching

As I said last week, full props to Maurice for getting this group believing in what he’s preaching.

There are many questions to be answered, but all he has to do is point to the standings at this point.

Connor-tending

While there’ve been some good performances from the skaters, goaltender Connor Hellebuyck is the biggest reason for the confidence in this team, whether it’s inside or outside the dressing room.

Maurice has been warning everyone that Vegas has a good club and will be tough to play against, so he’s doing his part to curb any cockiness from settling in.

The only question is whether his players are listening.

 

Chosen ninth overall by the NHL’s St. Louis Blues and first overall by the WHA’s Houston Aeros in 1977, Scott Campbell has now been drafted by the Winnipeg Free Press to play a new style of game.

Twitter: @NHL_Campbell