Jets focus on taking care of business NHL front-runners will need to make sure 15-day hiatus doesn’t hurt momentum By: Mike McIntyre Posted: 6:28 PM CST Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 06/02/2025 (616 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

We take you back to February 2014, which is the last time the National Hockey League hit pause on the regular season to allow for some best-on-best competition.

As a few dozen stars headed to Sochi to play in the Olympics and the remainder scattered to various tropical hotspots for some rest and relaxation, the St. Louis Blues were on top of the standings with a 39-12-6 record. Right behind them (by points percentage) were the Anaheim Ducks (41-14-5), Pittsburgh Penguins (40-15-3) and Chicago Blackhawks (35-11-14).

How much did the two-week NHL hiatus hurt their momentum? History would suggest a lot.

When the season resumed, the Blues went 13-11-1 the rest of the way (21st-best record) to fall from first-overall to fourth, then crashed out in the first round of the playoffs. In fact, the top four all regressed down the stretch, with Anaheim (13-6-3) and Pittsburgh (11-9-4) eliminated in the second round and Chicago (11-10-1) knocked out in the third.

The Los Angeles Kings went on to win the Stanley Cup, despite the fact they were 12th in the NHL standings at the Olympic break with a pedestrian 31-22-6 record. They beat the New York Rangers, who were right behind them in 13th at 32-24-3.

Both teams caught fire at the right time — L.A. went 15-6-3 post-Olympics while NY went 13-7-3 — and kept it going into the playoffs.

It’s not how you start, but how you finish, right?

We take this little trip down memory lane because the Winnipeg Jets find themselves in a similar position as those 2014 front-runners with the NHL on the cusp of going dark for two weeks, this time for the 4 Nations Face-Off.

At 38-14-3, the Jets sit No. 1 in the Central Division and Western Conference and No. 2 in the NHL (behind only Washington) based on points percentage. They have won seven games in a row heading into Friday’s date with the visiting New York Islanders.

The hope, of course, is the Jets will be able to pick up right where they left off when the season resumes on Feb. 22 in St. Louis.

Is it really going to be that easy? Should fans have reason to be concerned?

“I don’t want it to disappear. We have momentum right now going into the break,” Jets head coach Scott Arniel told the Free Press Thursday following practice.

“The whole league will have to focus and get ourselves ready. We’ll have 26 (regular-season games) to go, and then the race is on. It will be a sprint. The thing about it is there will be a lot of refreshed guys, guys coming off injuries, teams getting healthy that will make the competition really good.”

Connor Hellebuyck and Kyle Connor (Team USA) and Josh Morrissey (Canada) are headed to the 4 Nations competition, so there’s no question that the trio will remain fresh. The other 20 healthy players on the roster are heading out on vacation as early as Saturday morning, and they won’t need to be back in town until the next team practice on Feb. 19.

The Jets will hold an optional skate on Feb. 18 for those who get back early. There will also be on-ice workouts on Feb. 20 and 21 to try and work off some of the rust (and skate off some of the Piña Coladas).

“I’m going to turn the brain off. I’ll be watching those (4 Nations games) from afar. But take some time away. I want everybody (to relax),” said Arniel.

“It’s important that we all reset when you get a chance.”

In terms of studying whether past success is the best indicator of future success in the NHL, it’s also worth a look at the 2020 COVID pause in which teams stayed off the ice from mid-March until the beginning of August.

The Boston Bruins had the best record in the league at 44-14-12, only to be eliminated in the second round of the “bubble” playoffs that summer. St. Louis (42-19-10) was second overall, and they didn’t even get out of the first round. Colorado (42-20-8) sat third, and they also got bounced in the second round.

The Tampa Bay Lightning ended up winning the Cup. They sat fourth overall at the break with a 43-21-6 record.

If we want to go back to the 2010 Olympic break, the Washington Capitals were first-overall at 41-13-8, then were able to pick up where they left off by going 13-2-5 (second-best in the NHL) down the stretch. However, that didn’t prevent a shocking first-round playoff exit.

The Chicago Blackhawks won the Cup that year. They were third at the pause (41-15-5), struggled to the 13th-best record after the Olympics (11-7-3), but then regained their previous form in an impressive two-month playoff run.

“This year and next year are going to be two real rarities. Next year is even going to be longer,” Arniel said of the in-season break as the NHL is heading back to the Olympics for the first time in 12 years.

Captain Adam Lowry and winger Morgan Barron are both currently on the injured list for Winnipeg. The hope is they’ll be close to returning once action resumes. There are several other players working through various aches and pains.

Arniel said it will be important for the team to remember what has contributed to the success they’ve enjoyed through the first two-thirds of the season — and lean on that structure and discipline to ensure it doesn’t vanish.

“We’ve done a good job of being focused and doing the right things,” said Arniel.

“Now when we get back, we’ll talk about it and really recognize that it’s heavy hockey. It’s going to be as close to playoff hockey as you’re going to see.”

Arniel said a “one game at a time” mentality has helped the cause, with nobody getting too far ahead of themselves. He expects that to continue.

“The biggest thing, for me, is turning off the last game, whatever happened. Winning obviously makes it different but you have to move on to the next opponent,” he said.

“Honestly, and I’m not blowing smoke (but) all I’m thinking about is the Islanders and that’s what we’ve done as a group. We’ve moved on, turned the page, wins or losses. Everything is just the next game. Take care of business and let’s win the next one.”

Even if, as will be the case after Friday, the next one will be 15 days away.

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

X and Bluesky: @mikemcintyrewpg