Jets near top of standings with 4-0 win over Blackhawks

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This article was published 05/11/2022 (1037 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Winnipeg Jets are going streaking. And the red-hot squad has become one of the early surprises of the young NHL season, surging near the top of the standings.

A rock-solid 4-0 victory on Saturday afternoon over the Chicago Blackhawks gives them a stellar 7-3-1 record, which matches the best 11-game start in 2.0 history. They have also collected points in six straight games (5-0-1).

“Our details have been right. We’re getting everyone’s A game right now,” said goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, who stopped all 30 shots he faced for his second shutout of the year, and 30th of his career.

“We’ve got a lot of character in this room and it’s starting to show. We care about winning and we’re showing it,”

The power play woke up from a slumber to go 3-for-4, with Josh Morrissey, Pierre-Luc Dubois and Nate Schmidt all finding the back of the net. The penalty kill continued to look new and improved, going 3-for-3 and even notching a shorthanded goal courtesy of Adam Lowry.

Defencemen continued to join the rush as part of a new, aggressive approach, contributing five points (two goals, three assists) to the offensive attack. And the Jets were fairly neat and tidy in their own end, limiting the number of five-alarm fires that we’ve seen so frequently in the past.

All in all, it was a pretty good day at the office for the hockey club.

“We’re getting there,” said head coach Rick Bowness. “It’s a team game. I’ve mentioned this a couple times, we want every line to look the same without the puck. And we’re getting there. We’re not there 100 per cent, but we’re getting there. If we can get every line doing that, then the skill sets take over. So we’re making good progress in that way.”

Let’s take a more detailed look at the action, shall we:

1) Hellebuyck is in the zone. And that’s great news for the Jets — and bad news for their opponents. His 2.09 goals-against-average and .936 save-percentage are among the league leaders, along with his 6-2-1 individual record (backup David Rittich has gone 1-1 in his two stats).

“This is probably the best I’ve been and hopefully I keep growing it,” Hellebuyck said of the current state of his game.

Could a second Vezina Trophy be in his future?

“He’s unbelievable. If he’s saying that, I believe him. He looks just fantastic this year,” Morrissey said of the No. 1 masked man.

“He’s been sharp from the first day of camp. Everything he does, we like to have him in our net. If he’s playing like that and feeling that way, that gives our team a ton of confidence. He’s been our rock back there for a long time now. It’s great to hear him feeling like that. He gives us the confidence that we can do our job in front of him, play the right way, and he’ll do his thing every night to give us a chance to win.”

2) Not to be outdone, Morrissey has never had a start quite like this. The 27-year-old is on a point-per-game pace, with one goal and 10 assists through his first 11 games. Considering his career-high is 37 points (in 79 games, set last season), he’s well on his way to blowing that out of the water.

“He’s dynamic with his skating. He’s got an elite hockey IQ. He’s got great instincts and great skill and he’s very, very poised with the puck,” said Bowness.

Morrissey is currently leading the Jets in scoring, which few, if any, likely had on their bingo card.

“Just trying to build off last season. I think the coaching staff has been just fantastic. The new systems they’ve been implementing here, I think, suits my game. We’re just getting started,” said Morrissey.

“There’s a lot of parts I can keep improving on, as we all can. The offensive stuff, I worked hard in the off-season to improve my offensive skills. At the end of the day, when you play with great players and you get those guys the puck, those things are going to happen. Keep getting better every day, keep building.

3) Maybe the best addition to the Jets so far this year has been individual goal songs. It’s added a fun touch to the team, while also allowing players to show off their personalities in a new way.

Saturday was a perfect example. After Morrissey opened the scoring in the second period, cameras caught him on the bench bopping along to “Magic In The Air” by Magic System. The crowd ate it up, and Morrissey played along by encouraging them to join him.

“I just love the song. It gets me going. I feel like I’m always in a good mood whenever I listen to the song,” said Morrissey.

“I like the way it maybe makes the crowd start buzzing around. I don’t know, that’s all it was. Love the song. Hopefully we can hear a lot more of it this year, that would be nice.”

Schmidt’s second of the year (first at home) meant “Mambo No. 5” rang out inside the downtown rink, while Lowry’s third of the year was his first on home ice, meaning it was time for some “Sandstorm.”

“I just feel like that song is just a lot of energy, gets the people going,” said Lowry.

Dubois, now up to five goals, triggered another playing of “Hey Baby” and the usual fan singalong.

4) Bowness made a couple lineup changes, with forward Jansen Harkins and defenceman Kyle Capobianco both making their 2022-23 Jets debuts. They took the spots of Dominic Toninato and Dylan Samberg, who were both healthy scratches. Nikolaj Ehlers missed a ninth straight game with a lower-body injury, and there remains no timeline for a return. Morgan Barron and Logan Stanley are also on the injured list with him.

5) A weekend matinee against an Original Six squad, led by Winnipeg’s own Jonathan Toews, didn’t exactly tickle the fancy of local ticket buyers. Just 13,201 took in the action on Saturday, which is the smallest crowd of the five home games so far this season.

However, there were some interesting guests in attendance. Scouts from a whopping 11 teams watched from the press box, which is an unusually high number. No doubt the fact both the Jets (Thursday vs Montreal and Saturday vs Chicago) and Manitoba Moose (Friday and Sunday vs Texas) had games on four consecutive days added some interest, as it’s a chance for them to see five teams at two different levels in short order.

Also looking on from above was co-owner David Thomson, who doesn’t come to Winnipeg to see the product up-close very often.

6) When the NHL schedule first came out, a Tuesday night affair in early November against Dallas didn’t exactly jump off the page. Now? It’s shaping up to a be a doozy. The 8-3-1 Stars are the only thing currently standing in Winnipeg’s way when it comes to top spot in the Central, so this is truly a first-place showdown.

The Jets also have a chance to make some franchise history. On the three previous occasions they began the year 7-3-1 (2015-16, 2018-19, 2020-21) they went on to lose their 12th game. So a point, or two, against the Stars would make this their best first dozen games ever.

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @mikemcintyrewpg