Jets face stiff test in showdown with Central Division rival Stars

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This article was published 28/02/2024 (616 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

DALLAS — There’s a tried and true belief that the first step in solving a problem is admitting that there actually is one.

It’s important to remember the word problem is used loosely in this instance when referring to the Winnipeg Jets, who have rattled off victories in seven of the past eight games to vault back into first place in terms of winning percentage in the Western Conference standings.

On the heels of Tuesday’s 4-2 victory over the St. Louis Blues, there was Jets defenceman Brenden Dillon speaking in the locker room with the realization the second period was the latest example of the team not quite operating at its best.

“That’s just it. We’re not really happy with the way we’ve played the last few, but we’re getting wins,” said Dillon. “That’s a credit to us through 40 minutes, to come in here and say, ‘Guys, like that’s not us. We’re winning the game, but we’ve got to lock it down here.’ Our third period was by far our best period, and we were able to really just buckle down. We know that if we want to get to the ultimate goal, which we’ve talked about in here since training camp as our goal.

“You are going to have to play some of the skilled teams, you are going to have to play some of the big, physical, veteran grindy teams. I think we’ve done a good job of that. It’s going to be a good lesson for us. We were losing these games last year in the second half.”

Every season is different, but that ability to turn the tables before it is too late is something the Jets feel represents another area of growth — right up there with the renewed commitment to better defensive-zone awareness and a sound structure that has allowed them to be one of the best five-on-five teams in the NHL.

“We were finding a way to lose, or letting that one goal go in, or that one really bad turnover at a certain time. I think it’s a credit to all the guys in this room here — all four lines, all six D,” said Dillon. “We are understanding the situation, and even when we’re not playing our best, we’re still finding a way to win.”

A cynic might suggest it’s easier to find a way to win against teams below the playoff line — like the Jets last three opponents — but this marquee matchup with the Stars should be reminiscent of the recent battle with the Vancouver Canucks.

The biggest difference was it was the first meeting of the season between the two clubs.

The Jets have already faced the Stars twice this season — and dropped both games on home ice.

They’ve got two road games left in the season series and the Jets will try to reverse that trend.

“Yeah, well they’ve come into our building and won two games against us. They’re one of those teams that I talked about, the veteran, really structured and well-coached and they’re not going to be those 8-7 games. They’re going to be these tight, playoff-type games,” said Dillon. “We’ve been playing a style that we know isn’t going to be successful all of the time, but it’s just been for periods. It’s not like we’ve been horrible for 50 minutes and found a way. It’s just spurts of the game that we know we can clean up.”

The Stars figure to be in a bit or an ornery mood after losing 5-1 to the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday.

They’ve been led this season by Jason Robertson, Roope Hintz and Joe Pavelski, though the offence has been bolstered by the addition of Matt Duchene in free agency.

Going into the contest, the Jets and Stars are tied in points with 79, though the Jets currently hold four games in hand.

The Jets have been dominant against virtually everyone else in the Central, posting a record of 16-3-1.

They know exactly what areas of their game they need to clean up.

“We’ve got to be able to win in different ways in this league,” said Jets head coach Rick Bowness. “So even (during) that five game stretch where we weren’t winning, we just, we were playing well, we just weren’t scoring any goals. So we you know, now we’re a little more offensive, but there you walk that fine line. Let’s not get too wide open right? The goals will come if we play with our good structure and our good pressure. And so we are who we are. And we’ll create enough offence and chances from playing good D all over the ice. So yeah, so we can’t lose chance for chance rushes against us.

“You win in the playoffs. We win the playoffs by playing good defensive hockey and (taking) what the opposition gives you. So we’re walking a fine line with that right now and we’re a little loose so we’ll tighten it up.”

One of the positive developments during this past stretch is the emergence of chemistry developing on the second line since Alex Iafallo was promoted to the unit with Sean Monahan and Nikolaj Ehlers.

That line delivered another two goals Tuesday, a beautiful one-timer from Monahan that was set up by Ehlers and a rebound from around the blue paint from Iafallo after an Ehlers shot sailed wide of the net and caromed quickly off the end boards.

“You’ve got two very reliable players in (Monahan) and (Iafallo) and it gives (Ehlers) a little more freedom out there. He’s better on that left side than he was on the right and right now the line looks really good,” said Bowness. “From day one since we got Sean, we’ve been trying to get that chemistry on the second line. That’s very important as we move forward. That line has looked very good.”

Speaking of looking good, backup goalie Laurent Brossoit delivered another impressive performance, finishing with 36 saves as he improved to 9-4-2 on the season, reducing his goals-against average to 2.26 while raising his save percentage to .922.

Brossoit figures to start Sunday’s game in Buffalo against the Sabres, leaving Connorr Hellebuyck to play against the Stars and Carolina Hurricanes.

“He’s been very consistent with his level of play,” said Bowness. “After the first couple of games in the season, he’s been wonderful, so we have no hesitancy at all to put him in the net against anybody. Tonight’s a divisional game, it’s a big game, but as we said earlier when we signed him, we wanted to reduce Bucky’s workload. We’re doing that and we’re getting great goaltending from LB so we have no hesitancy at all to put him in the net.”

The only team with a better winning percentage than the Jets in the NHL right now is the Florida Panthers, but it’s by a very slim margin (.695 to .693).

With 25 games left in the regular season, the time for the Jets to be peaking has not yet arrived, though it’s not nearly as far away as it once was.

ken.wiebe@freepress.mb.ca

X: @WiebesWorld