Eight straight: unbeaten Jets finding different ways to win

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This article was published 27/10/2024 (356 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The train is rolling and the Winnipeg Jets find themselves in the position where they’re trying to build on strong habits that have been at the root of their lengthy winning streak, while cleaning up areas that require improvement.

An 8-0 start means the Jets are the toast of the NHL as they return home for a one-off against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday at Canada Life Centre.

Whenever the Maple Leafs come to town, it’s a marquee event and while it’s going to be the first sellout of the young season for the Jets, Toronto’s fan base travels well and that should only liven up the atmosphere for what should be a highly-entertaining game.

“We’ll definitely take the wins, for sure,” said Jets captain Adam Lowry. “Looking back on stretches, (there are) areas of our game we still want to improve. And there are areas of our game, we really like. It’s important. We’ve found ways to win, different ways.

“It’s nice to bank these points early.”

The importance of banking those points in the opening quarter has not been lost on the Jets players, who recognize things get tougher in stages, including the second half of the season, coming out of the 4 Nations Face-off and then the stretch run, when the sprint to the finish line is in full effect.

“We’ve got guys just buying into the system we play. We play the right way. You get rewarded when you play the right way,” said Jets forward Gabriel Vilardi.

“There’s still a lot of things we can clean up and make adjustments on. It’s early in the season. But points count now the same that they do at the end of the year.”

There were plenty of questions surrounding the Jets coming into the new season and slowly, but surely some of the answers are bubbling to the surface.

Hiccups happen when teams are trying to get up to speed with their structure, but the Jets have essentially picked up where they left off at the end of the regular season in 2023-24.

They’re among the league leaders when it comes to goals against after capturing the Jennings Trophy last season.

Excellent goaltending is an obvious part of that, but the Jets aren’t hanging Connor Hellebuyck out to dry nearly as often as they used to.

And when Hellebuyck has a good idea of where the shots are coming from – even if they’re dangerous scoring chances – there’s a good chance he’s going to make the save.

Eric Comrie has made two starts already and allowed three goals in each of them, but the job of the backup goalie is to give his team a chance to win and that’s precisely what he’s done in compiling a 2-0 record.

The Jets entered the campaign with a new head coach in Scott Arniel and while he was certainly a big part of the foundation that was put in place during the two previous seasons when he was the associate coach, he was under pressure to show he was up to the task.

Through eight games, Arniel has clearly been pushing the right buttons.

Improving the special teams was a priority and although the sample size remains relatively small, the early returns have been fantastic.

“You know what? We try to do a pretty good job of just putting it behind us and moving on to the next opponent,” said Arniel, whose club has won 16 consecutive regular season games dating back to the end of the 2023-24 campaign.

“Every game, you’ve got to turn the last one off, turn this one on, and move forward. You’ve got to be good every night.”

The Jets power play is humming along at a ridiculous rate, delivering 10 goals to lead the entire NHL in efficiency.

Equally important, it isn’t just the top unit delivering all of the goals.

Both of them are contributing and that provides an additional jolt of confidence.

The penalty kill is on the rise as well, including a four-for-four effort in Saturday’s 5-3 win over the Calgary Flames that included killing off a brief five-on-three disadvantage.

Arniel added Davis Payne and Dean Chynoweth to the coaching staff in the offseason and their ideas on the power play and penalty kill have resonated in the early going after spending ample time implementing those plans during training camp.

The Jets have had a number of exceptional individual performances to date, but it’s the depth that has been shining.

“Goal scorers (Kyle Connor), they find ways to get open.”–Adam Lowry

Kyle Connor is already up to six goals in eight games and looks like someone who should threaten to hit 50 for the first time of his career.

“Goal scorers, they find ways to get open,” said Lowry, who assisted on Connor’s shorthanded marker on Saturday.

The Jets feature a balanced offensive attack and have goals from each of their four lines and the ability to continue to be a four-line hockey team is necessary for a team that has designs on a playoff run.

Lastly, a defence corps that has been under scrutiny has been getting the job done.

Neal Pionk is second in the NHL in points among defencemen with 10, trailing only Cale Makar of the Colorado Avalanche.

Josh Morrissey remains a minute-muncher who is driving play and contributes all over the ice, including an excellent break-up on a two-on-one rush against during the third period on Saturday.

Whether it’s been Logan Stanley or Haydn Fleury on the third pairing with Colin Miller, Arniel hasn’t needed to exert too much energy worrying about having to shelter them.

While it will be interesting to see how long this winning streak might last and there surely will be difficult times to navigate over the course of this 82-game marathon, this early success doesn’t resemble fool’s gold.

The pieces are in place for it to be sustainable, though there is certainly plenty of room for improvement as the season moves along.

“It’s pretty awesome,” said Perfetti. “We’re just going to try and keep this going. We’re feeling good. We’re playing great. The mood is really good. There’s nothing better than winning.”

ken.wiebe@freepress.mb.ca

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