Time to kick it into high gear

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 14/04/2021 (1654 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Winnipeg Jets have feasted on the weak this season. Of their 26 victories to date, 22 have come against seventh-place Ottawa, sixth-place Vancouver, fifth-place Calgary and fourth-place Montreal.

That’s not a slight against Paul Maurice’s club. They all count the same in the standings, and good teams like Winnipeg are supposed to beat those below them, rather than play down to the competition. The second-place Jets have done a solid job in that department with a 22-8-1 record against the Senators, Canucks, Flames and Canadiens, so mission accomplished on that front.

But when it comes to the cream of the Canadian crop, it’s been a different story. Winnipeg has just four wins to show for the dozen games against first-place Toronto and third-place Edmonton. Six of the eight losses have come in regulation, with one in overtime and the other in a shootout.

And that, folks, should be setting off some alarm bells as we head down the final stretch towards the playoffs later this spring, where escaping the division means getting by at least one, and quite possibly both, of the Maple Leafs and Oilers.

As the old saying goes, in order to be the best, you’ve got to beat the best. The head-to-head results this season suggest that’s going to be a tall order, as the likes of McDavid, Draisaitl, Matthews and Marner have mostly had their number.

To be fair, all the games have been relatively close. Winnipeg is 2-4-0 against Edmonton, with three of those losses being by a single goal — including one with less than a second left in regulation — and the other by two goals, which included an empty netter. Winnipeg has scored 20 goals and given up 22. The Jets are 2-2-2 against the Maple Leafs, having scored 15 goals and given up 17.

In other words, the Jets have hung around, even if they haven’t got the results they’ve wanted on many nights. So far.

Don’t look now, but opportunity is suddenly knocking. Winnipeg kicks off a stretch of seven straight games against Toronto and Edmonton when they invade Scotiabank Arena Thursday night to wrap up this current road trip, which started with two wins over Montreal and was followed by a split in Ottawa. They’ll return home to host the Oilers on Saturday night, entertain the Maple Leafs three times next week, then close out the homestand with two more visits from Edmonton.

Think of it as a unique best-of-seven series. No, a playoff spot isn’t at stake. But if you believe in things like momentum and setting the right tone, this is no ordinary stretch of hockey. And, from my view, that’s a very good thing for Winnipeg, which will be forced to be at its best rather than throw things on cruise control.

All season long, Maurice has been talking about getting his team ready for the playoffs, of developing good habits and being able to handle any opponent. In that sense, the club would be wise to treat these four games against Toronto and three against Edmonton as an important dress rehearsal for what’s to come.

The fact reigning Vezina Trophy winner Connor Hellebuyck will be in net Thursday night suggests that’s exactly what’s happening. In a normal back-to-back situation, Hellebuyck almost always gets the first game, while backup Laurent Brossoit gets mop-up duty the following night. But Maurice elected to flip things this week, with Brossoit getting Wednesday’s assignment in Ottawa.

“For us, we’ve talked about this before. From the start of the regular season, we’ve found what our identity is and we’re trying to solidify that, so that when the playoffs come around, we’re peaking at the right time,” veteran forward Paul Stastny said prior to puck drop against the Senators.

“We know what the recipe for success is. For us, it’s about not being stubborn, not being selfish and buying into that system. When we do that as a team and as a collective group, we play well in that 200-foot game, not just offensively. It starts from our defensive zone, but that’s as a collective group of five guys. When we play the right way, we know what we’re capable of and we’re excited about that.”

Barring a massive winning or losing streak, the Jets seemed destined to finish either second or third, which would set up a likely first-round meeting with the Oilers. The Maple Leafs appear headed for first place, which would give them the Canadiens to kick things off. The two winners would then face-off for the right to represent Canada in the Final Four.

Maurice made it clear Wednesday he’s not going to start playing around with roster — giving veterans a rest and/or plugging young kids like Ville Heinola in just for the sake of getting games — if they still have the ability to move up the standings.

Perhaps that experimentation could come in the final two weeks of the season, when the Jets finish off with six games against Montreal (once), Ottawa (twice), Calgary (once) and Vancouver (twice).

For now, Maurice said it’s key to stay in the moment and not get looking too far ahead. Keeping that focus should be a lot easier with who they’ll be staring down in these next seven games.

“I know — and I understand — because of the gap, we’ve been talking about playoffs. But part of the danger of talking about playoffs all the time is you forget you’re still in the regular season. The teams you’re playing are either fighting for their lives or trying to do what you’re doing in getting your game ready. You just want to feel good,” said Maurice.

“I think we’re so much better off just looking at today and trying to be a good hockey team tonight.”

As always, you’d like to draw first blood in a best-of-seven series. So all eyes will be on Hellebuyck and the Jets as they try to get back in the win column against the mighty Maple Leafs.

Yes, there’s just the usual two points on the line. But it seems like a good time to send a message that, in addition to handling the 98-pound weaklings, they’re not about to get pushed around by the heavyweights, either.

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @mikemcintyrewpg