Turning on the Jets

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This article was published 18/11/2023 (685 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

This is what getting greedy looks like.

No, not in the sense the Winnipeg Jets were cheating for offence, as it was quite the opposite actually as they closed out a five-game homestand with a tidy 5-2 NHL victory over the Arizona Coyotes before 12,103 fans on Saturday.

This was a matter of the Jets being stingy defensively before watching that buy-in lead directly to another offensive outburst as they closed out the homestand with a 4-1 record to improve to 10-5-2 overall.

“Whatever it might be, they know amongst each other that they’re doing the right things and it’s creating that offence that is coming from it,” said Jets associate coach Scott Arniel. “When you play that style as a group, it’s hard to play against. You’re a hard team to play against and that’s what we’ve always wanted to be.

“Whether we’re scoring goals off the rush because of that or we’re getting zone time off of that, those are all things that just lead into putting the other team on their heels and you’re gaining that offensive sort of positivity that you’re hoping for. You can just kind of build and snowball off of it.”

To put that record into context, the Jets opened the campaign at 1-3, which means they’ve collected at least one point in 11 of the past 13 games.

“We’re a collective,” said Arniel, noting the Jets gave up only three shots on goal and zero scoring chances during the final period and change Saturday. “We’re a group that works together. We’re not just sitting and waiting on one line to go or for one defenceman to go. When we’re good, we’ve got everybody rolling and that seems to be what we’ve had so far this season.”

The lone blemish of the homestand was a 3-2 loss to the Dallas Stars, something the Jets haven’t forgotten.

“Obviously the loss comes to Dallas, and they are a lot different team than teams we’ve been playing,” said Jets left-winger Kyle Connor. “They’re an older team, they’re really patient in their game, something that we can learn from those guys. I look forward to playing them again, but overall, I thought (the homestand) was great.”

Here’s a closer look at what transpired:

THE LEAGUE LEADER: By ripping a wrist shot past Coyotes goalie Karel Vejmelka at 11:26 of the second period, Connor moved into sole possession of first place in the NHL goal-scoring race.

Connor is up to 14 goals on the season and while it’s still the first quarter of the season, he finds himself in pretty good company, with the likes of Auston Matthews, Brock Boeser, Sam Reinhart, Nikita Kucherov, all of whom have 13 markers.

“Yeah, I’m just trying to be as lethal as I can, I guess, in the offensive zone. Trying to have that attack mindset like you kind of alluded to,” said Connor. “Being a little bit more versatile as well and just trying to score in as many different ways that I can. I think we’re playing well offensively as a unit as well.”

Finding the back of the net is something Connor has done consistently since becoming an NHL regular during the 2017-18 season, finishing with five seasons of 30-plus goals — including the career-high 47 two seasons ago. Even during the 56-game campaign in 2020-21, Connor managed 26 goals, which had him on pace to eclipse 40 goals for a second time.

“He always goes to the right areas and always has the right sense for that stuff,” said Jets centre Mark Scheifele, who contrbited a goal and two assists. “I think he always scores in a lot of different ways. Obviously, his shot is most prevalent, but he is just a fantastic player all-around.”

TAKE IT TO THE BANK: Fifty-eight seconds after the Jets scored the equalizer late in the first period, Vladislav Namestnikov took advantage of Vejmelka leaving the crease and getting caught behind the net, banking his shot in off the skate of Lawson Crouse from below the goal line.

It was the second goal of the season for Namestnikov and while there was certainly some luck involved in scoring from the sharp/bad angle, it’s another example of a heads up play from the guy who has jumped up and done an excellent job since taking over the second-line centre job.

Namestnikov is up to nine points in 17 games, rock-solid production for a guy who started the campaign on the fourth line but has the versatility to comfortably play up and down the lineup.

THE START: Jets backup Laurent Brossoit made his fourth start of the campaign and although his workload wasn’t taxing, this was his best outing so far.

Brossoit looked more comfortable in the net, displayed good rebound control and positioning as he finished with 16 saves to improve to 2-2 on the season. Connor Hellebuyck is among the league leaders in starts with 13, but with more efforts like this, Brossoit should continue to track to start about 25 games this season.

“Yeah, he was great. It’s got to be tough in his situation,” said Connor. “Obviously, Connor plays a lot of games. He works really hard in the gym, I mean, some of the stuff he does is pretty ridiculous. He’s a strong guy and you can see it the way he pushes, and even his hands. He made a lot of big safes tonight and for him to kind of step in and play as well as he did. Given the time off, I’m sure it’s difficult for him to come in like that.”

ROLLING, ROLLING: Jets defenceman Josh Morrissey did a great job of jumping up on the rush after an excellent play in the defensive zone, creating a two-on-one rush with Scheifele, who froze D-man Michael Kesserlring before firing a pass over to Morrissey for the fourth Jets’ goal.

Morrissey also had the lone assist on the Namestnikov bank shot to move him to 16 points in 17 games this season. After racking up a career-best 76 points last season in 78 games, Morrissey is off to another fantastic start and is among the league leaders for blue-liners.

EXTRA, EXTRA: The Jets made one change to the lineup, inserting Nate Schmidt on defence for Logan Stanley. Schmidt was a healthy scratch Friday but returned on the third pairing with Dylan Samberg.

Arniel is trying to keep his D-men involved and not sitting out too long. It also looks like the competition for the sixth spot on the depth chart is ongoing and could soon include Declan Chisholm, who chipped in two assists for the AHL’s Manitoba Moose.

Chisholm is down on a conditioning stint that could last another week and include four more games. Schmidt has the inside track on retaining the job but given his spot on the second power-play unit, his offensive production is an area he will be looking to ramp up. He’s been limited to one assist through 15 games this season.

In his return, Schmidt played 17:16 and had two blocked shots. Earlier in the day, the Jets recalled forward Dominic Toninato from the Moose under emergency conditions since there were a few players dealing with some nagging bumps and bruises. It wouldn’t be a surprise if the Jets brought Toninato on the upcoming road trip.

ken.wiebe@freepress.mb.ca

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