A feast in the East?

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This article was published 16/03/2024 (569 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

COLUMBUS — They’ve been a bit Jekyll and Hyde lately, that’s for sure.

So the Winnipeg Jets will be searching for consistency, in addition to some valuable points, as they embark on a season-long five-game road trip.

It begins Sunday night in Columbus, shifts to the New York area for a trio of games against the Rangers, Devils and Islanders on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, then concludes next Sunday afternoon in Washington.

“It’s not going to be easy, but it’s going to be good for our group,” said forward Tyler Toffoli, fresh off scoring his first two goals with his new team in a 6-0 rout of the Anaheim Ducks on Friday night which improved Winnipeg’s record to 42-19-5.

Although the quality of competition was quite low, the Jets once again showed they have all the necessary ingredients, along with the recipe, for success.

“That’s how we want to play,’” coach Rick Bowness said following the game. “Regardless of where we are or who we’re playing, that’s how we want to play.”

However, stringing together more than one good showing in a row has been a challenge, as demonstrated by seven straight games in which they’ve rotated wins and losses. With only 16 contests left until the playoffs, building some momentum will be key.

Here are five storylines to get you set for this trip:

THIRST FOR FIRST: The Jets woke up Saturday in a three-way tie for top spot in the Central Division but were actually No. 1 by virtue of having games in hand. That’s a position they should be desperately trying to maintain – and not just because of the cool banner they’d get to hang inside Canada Life Centre.

Finishing first will mean facing one of the two wild-card teams in the first round of the playoffs, rather than having to take on either Colorado or Dallas right off the hop in a titanic 2 versus 3 match-up.

Sure, it’s a bit of pick your poison in the Western Conference, as there won’t be any playoff pushovers.

But having the Stars and Avalanche wear each other down and rolling the dice against the likes of the Vegas Golden Knights, Los Angeles Kings or Nashville Predators (barring something truly Wild like Minnesota sneaking in) seems like the better option.

How these next five games go will likely play a major factor.

FRIENDLY COMPETITION: Thanks to some shrewd salary cap management, the Jets are currently carrying a roster of 24 healthy players, in addition to the injured Gabe Vilardi (enlarged spleen, no timetable for a return). Only 20 can dress per game, so some tough decisions must be made.

Bowness appears to be looking at a bit of a rotation, with defencemen Colin Miller and Dylan Samberg and forwards Cole Perfetti and Rasmus Kupari all taking a seat in the press box Friday night after playing 48 hours earlier.

Nate Schmidt (who scored his second goal of the season), Logan Stanley, Mark Scheifele (who had missed the previous game with the flu) and David Gustafsson took their spots in the lineup.

We don’t expect to see any top stars sitting out until and unless the Jets have their playoff position locked up, but Bowness does have the luxury of creating some healthy internal competition and keeping his players fresh by moving some guys in and out over the coming games.

The NHL equivalent of load management, if you will. That’s a very good problem to have.

TOP SIX FIXED? Bowness has been trying for much of the season to find the right formula with his top two forward lines, with no shortage of different combinations in play.

The latest creations both appear promising, keeping in mind that Vilardi is currently not an option.

Scheifele, Kyle Connor (who scored his 28th goal of the year Friday) and Alex Iafallo is the current No. 1 trio, and they had a solid outing against a fairly lame Ducks squad. So, too, did the second line of Toffoli, Sean Monahan and Nikolaj Ehlers.

Will we see further tinkering on this road trip? Perhaps, but getting these players comfortable with each other, and with their roles – especially the new additions like Toffoli and Monahan – is important.

“We’ve talked about having balanced scoring. Nik gives that line lots of speed. The second line,” said Bowness. “Alex has played with those guys before and he’s a good balance for those guys there.”

There’s not the same intrigue, or concern, when it comes to the bottom six.

The third line of Nino Niederreiter, Adam Lowry and Mason Appleton appears carved in stone, and for good reason. And the fourth line is some combination of what’s left, with Gustafsson, Vlad Namestinkov and Morgan Barron suiting up on Friday, with Perfetti and Kupari very much in the mix as well.

MASKED MEN: No, there is no goaltending controversy with the Jets.

Connor Hellebuyck is not only the clear-cut No. 1, he’s also still the favourite to win his second Vezina Trophy.

However, the tremendous play of backup Laurent Brossoit should be giving Bowness and company some added comfort of perhaps using him a bit more than anticipated down the stretch.

Hellebuyck has started 48 games, Brossoit 18. With 16 left, could we see a 10/6 split or even 9/7 split? That would make some sense, especially since it would get Brossoit to 25 which is the minimum needed to get your name on the Willlam Jennings Trophy, awarded to the netminder(s) on the team that gives us the fewest goals in the season.

The Jets (2.36 per game) are in a tight race with the Florida Panthers (2.37) heading into action Saturday.

Brossoit, who has recorded shutouts in two straight games and hasn’t surrendered a goal in 150 minutes and 40 seconds of action, is doing his part and obviously getting one of the back-to-back games next weekend against either the Islanders or Capitals.

Perhaps he’ll get a second game on this trip, such as Thursday night against the Devils?

Hellebuyck’s play has slipped a bit in recent weeks. Keeping him as sharp and fresh as possible for the playoffs while knowing Brossoit — who owns a 1.99 goals-against-average and .927 save percentage — is more than capable of getting the job done is truly a win-win.

“I’ve played with some really good goalies. Definitely very fortunate, the backbone of our team,” Toffoli said of the dynamic duo.

“They make the saves, we try and play our game and limit opportunities and limit chances. Breakdowns are going to happen, but we know and we trust that they’re going to make that save for us.”

FEAST ON THE EAST:The Jets play all 16 Eastern Conference teams twice — home and away — for a total of 32 games per year.

It’s safe to say they’ve enjoyed the overall experience so far this season.

Winnipeg is 17-5-4 against the East, with just six games remaining. They’ll cross five of those off here over the next week, then host the Ottawa Senators on March 30 to finish things off.

Looking specifically at these five opponents, the Jets have beaten the Blue Jackets (5-0), Devils (6-3), Islanders (4-2) and Capitals (3-0), while losing to the Rangers (3-2 in overtime). All of those occurred in Winnipeg.

Now the scene shifts, and the degree of difficulty varies wildly.

Columbus is already well into next-year territory, and New Jersey is pretty much there as well after selling at the trade deadline (including Toffoli and Miller to the Jets for a trio of draft picks).

The Rangers are in the mix for first place in both the Metropolitan Division, the Eastern Conference and the entire NHL, while the Islanders and Capitals are desperately trying to stay alive in the hunt for a wildcard spot.

“It’s a big road trip,” Schmidt said following Friday’s game. “I can’t wait to be standing here at the end of it and see how we’re doing.”

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

X: @mikemcintyrewpg