Jets’ special teams need to be special

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This article was published 06/04/2022 (1250 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Assuming the Winnipeg Jets are committed to winning out the rest of their NHL regular-season games for a chance at a playoff spot, instant improvements on special teams is a good place to start.

Indeed, the Jets face a heavy task ahead. Winnipeg will likely have to run the board for the remaining 12 games of the regular season, with some analytics-based websites giving the Jets fewer than a one per cent chance of making the post-season.

If the Jets are to strike lightning — projections suggest they need an 11-0-1 record to secure a playoff berth — it will undoubtedly require a vast improvement on the power play and penalty kill. There will be other requirements — better defensive-zone coverage, improved goaltending, among others — for the Jets to push for a near-perfect ending, but remaining status-quo on special teams will surely be a death knell.

“Yeah, obviously, special teams is huge. A lot of the games in the league are won on the PP and PK,” Jets centre Mark Scheifele said after Wednesday’s morning skate, ahead of their game against the Detroit Red Wings. “It’s something you got to take pride in, you got to manage, and it’s a big part of the game nowadays.”

The Jets, who sat seven points back of the Dallas Stars for the final wild-card playoff spot in the Western Conference heading into Wednesday’s action, haven’t had a lot to brag about on either side of special teams.

Over the last 15 games, Winnipeg has scored just seven times in 40 trips to the man-advantage, for a success rate of just 17.5 per cent. In the same stretch of games, the Jets have allowed 14 goals on 38 penalty kills — for a dismal 63 per cent.

While scoring on the power play and keeping the puck out of the net are the obvious goals, the way the Jets are playing on special teams is not only costing them games, it’s also having an effect on the collective psyche of the team.

“Usually when you’re winning the special-teams battle you’re gonna have a great chance to win that night,” Jets defenceman Brenden Dillon said. “For us, we’ve had stretches this year where we’ve been really happy with it. I think there’s been other stretches where we haven’t been. In certain instances, it’s let us down, and in certain games it’s been a huge part.”

He added: “It’s been something where I think we need, whether it’s a big block or a big penalty kill at a crucial point of the game, it gets the whole bench up and can kind of take some energy from it. So, yeah, we’re just trying to focus on getting some positives out of them. Get some momentum for your team on the other side.”

Interim head coach Dave Lowry said he felt a lot of the goals against on the penalty kill have been the result of bad luck, including several bad bounces. He added he’d like to see the power play move its feet more often.

“The hardest power play to stop is the one that has movement, rotation and different looks,” he said. “You always want to see rotation. You always want to see the puck moving. You want to see players getting up, players getting down. Usually, when we’re doing that, we’re creating opportunities. But our power play, a lot of our success is generated off that initial shot, and when we start with a shooting mindset, usually it allows us to settle in and have good execution.”

HUMBOLDT TRAGEDY: Wednesday marked the four-year anniversary of the tragic bus accident that claimed the lives of 16 people connected to the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League’s Humboldt Broncos.

“Well, what it really does is it puts a lot of perspective in your life. I’ve spent a lot of time on the bus. I have kids that played junior hockey that have spent a lot of time on a bus and, really, what it does is you just realize how fortunate you are and how blessed you are to have been able to have everybody get home every night,” said Lowry, who has coached 10 years in junior hockey. “It’s extremely sad and you really still feel for the families that have been affected by it.”

“It’s one of those things that made you take a step back. I remember thinking about how many bus rides I took, our team took, how many we take in general,” added Scheifele. “You reflect back on how lucky you were that every single one of them was safe and didn’t have any problems.”

ON THE SHELF: David Gustafsson has contracted COVID-19, which ruled him out of the lineup for the Manitoba Moose in Wednesday morning’s 3-2 win over the Milwaukee Admirals.

The Swedish-born centre, a week shy of his 22nd birthday, has 14 goals and 14 assists in 43 games for the Moose. Manitoba (37-20-6) is second in the AHL’s Central Division, four points up on the Admirals (34-26-6) but with five games in hand.

The Moose called up forwards Todd Burgess and Tyler Boland from the ECHL’s Newfoundland Growlers.

Jeff.Hamilton@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @jeffkhamilton