Can the Jets best the west? Four-game road swing an opportunity to solidify club’s position among NHL’s best By: Mike McIntyre Posted: 5:37 PM CST Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2023

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This article was published 06/12/2023 (670 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

DENVER — Go west, young men.

The Winnipeg Jets have done just that, arriving here in the Mile High City on Wednesday afternoon to start a weeklong road trip. Up first are the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday night, followed by three straight contests in California against the Anaheim Ducks (Sunday), San Jose Sharks (Tuesday) and Los Angeles Kings (Wednesday).

The club is fresh off a four-game homestand that started with losses last week to the Dallas Stars and Edmonton Oilers but finished strong with consecutive victories over the Chicago Blackhawks and Carolina Hurricanes.

At 14-8-2 —13-5-2 over the past 20 games — the Jets are opening plenty of eyes around the league.

By the time they touch down at James Armstrong Richardson International Airport next Thursday, we should have a few more answers about the direction this most intriguing hockey team is headed.

Here are four burning questions to get you set for what’s on the immediate horizon:

1) Can they experience a rare rocky mountain high? It’s been tough sledding for the Jets recently when it comes to the mighty Avalanche. Colorado has won nine of the last 13 head-to-head meetings, including two last season by a combined score of 9-3.

If you want to be the best, you’ve got to beat the best. Thursday’s game at Ball Arena will provide another litmus test, of sorts, for the Jets, not unlike recent ones against the Carolina Hurricanes, Florida Panthers, Tampa Bay Lightning and New Jersey Devils which they’ve passed with flying colours.

“You almost, I don’t want to say you get up more for the game, but you see yourself on the ice with them or crossing them, you just want to prove that we’re the better team, the better players,” Jets forward Kyle Connor said in Winnipeg Wednesday morning prior to boarding the charter.

“We embrace that challenge. We look forward to it as a group. We love to see how we measure up against a team like that.”

Colorado is currently on top of the Central Division with a 16-7-2 record, which has them four points ahead of third-place Winnipeg.

Perhaps this visit is coming at the right time for the Jets. Top defenceman Cale Makar, with an incredible 34 points through 23 games, has missed the last two outings with a lower-body injury. Following his team’s 3-2 victory over Anaheim on Tuesday, coach Jared Bednar said they’re hopeful Makar could be ready by Thursday. No doubt the Jets wouldn’t mind if he takes a bit longer to heal.

In addition to Makar, blue-liner Bowen Byram suffered an injury against the Ducks and is unlikely to play, while forwards Valeri Nichushkin (illness) and Andrew Cogliano (lower-body injury) are also currently sidelined. Of course, they still have plenty of weaponry including the likes of Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen.

“Those are the fun ones you look forward to,” said defenceman Brenden Dillon. “Another measuring stick and somebody who has won a Stanley Cup and put up lots of points in this league. It’s not just MacKinnon, it’s not just Rantanen. They got a lot of guys that can be dangerous on that team.”

2) Can they swim in the Pacific? If the NHL was made up of just the Central, Atlantic and Metropolitan divisions, Winnipeg would be in the thick of the hunt for the Presidents’ Trophy for best overall record. They’ve gone an outstanding 13-3-2 so far this year against those foes.

However, it’s been an entirely different story in the Pacific, with just a 1-5-0 record to date. That lone victory came in overtime against Edmonton way back on Oct. 21. The Jets have suffered regulation losses to those same Oilers, the Los Angeles Kings, the Calgary Flames and the Vegas Golden Knights, on two occasions.

The potential good news for Winnipeg is they’ll face a pair of young, rebuilding clubs for the first time in Anaheim and San Jose, who currently rank sixth and eighth in the division. Then, in a case of last but certainly not least, another look at Los Angeles, which currently leads the division and Western Conference in winning percentage (.750, trailing only the New York Rangers and Boston Bruins in the NHL).

“You want to play against those top teams, especially early on when we’ve been incorporating some wrinkles to our systems and to our team,” said Dillon. “It’s funny, we’re already a quarter of the way through the season here but we’re really happy with where our game has been and just finding ways to win.”

3) Can they start scoring? Goals have been difficult to come by lately, which is a surprising development for a team with so much firepower up front. But since putting up a five-spot against the Arizona Coyotes back on Nov. 18, the Jets have gone seven straight games with three or fewer tallies. (14 total in that span, for an average of just two per game).

During the just-completed four-game homestand, Winnipeg only lit the lamp six times.

While the power play has been a concern for much of the year, even-strength production has now become a problem. Sure, the sample size is relatively small, and there’s no question the Jets have run into some rock-solid goaltending. A bit more finish around the net could go a long way to helping the cause.

“We’ve got all the confidence in the world in here,” said Connor, who leads the Jets with 15 goals this year. “We play the right way and we’re among those top teams in the league.”

4) Can the D keep dominating? If defence does win championships, as the old saying goes, then Winnipeg is certainly on the right path. Since surrendering five goals to the Golden Knights back on Nov. 2, the Jets have gone 14 straight games of giving up three or fewer. (They have gone 10-4-0 in those outings).

That is some seriously stingy stuff.

“For us, we’re trying to eliminate the back door tap-ins, the breakaways, the two-on-one plays — the real home run plays,” said Dillon.

“Teams around the league have really good players. They’re going to get opportunities and chances. But when you can eliminate those kind of home run, back-door, wide-open ones, we’ve got two great goalies that we really believe in and know are going to do a good job. That was something that seemed to stand out for us and our commitment.”

As much as you’d like the team to start filling the net a bit more, they must be careful not to do it at the expense of all the great work that’s happening in their own end of the rink.

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

X: @mikemcintyrewpg