Jets’ penalty kill one step ahead

It’s the type of conversation that makes NHL coaches uncomfortable, out of fear that discussing it will cause it to unravel.

So it’s understandable when Winnipeg Jets head coach Scott Arniel brings humour into the equation when his sizzling-hot penalty kill is raised.

Arniel wants to keep most of the finer details to himself, out of fear of providing a subtle clue or two about what has made the unit so successful to a future opponent.

The other part of him has no interest in tempting fate, which makes sense when you consider the Jets have managed to kill off 23 consecutive minors and are 26-for-27 for the season while playing shorthanded.

This is mind-boggling stuff, especially when you consider two of the Jets most reliable penalty killers, captain Adam Lowry and defenceman Dylan Samberg, remain sidelined.

That’s a testament to the tweaks Jets assistant coach Dean Chynoweth has made within the system and the personnel brought in by general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff to augment a group that moved from near the bottom of the NHL in penalty killing in 2023-24 to 13th overall last season.

Yet as the Jets prepare to host the Seattle Kraken on Thursday to open a three-game homestand at Canada Life Centre, the topic is impossible to ignore as it has clearly contributed to a five-game winning streak and a 5-1 start.

“Too many penalties,” said Arniel. “We’ve had way too many opportunities to practice it.”

Although Arniel made it clear he was joking, at least to a degree, there was plenty of truth attached to his words.

For a team that prided itself on not spending much time in the sin bin last season, the Jets have been shorthanded five times on four occasions, four times once, and three times in the other game they played.

That number can be reduced by placing a greater emphasis on being more disciplined, since stick infractions have accounted for 14 of the fouls the Jets have accrued and six interference minors have been called against them so far.

“For me, we always talk about checking with your legs. We’ve got to keep sticks off people,” said Arniel. “You get a little bit rattled at times when they’re in the offensive zone. Getting on the wrong side of people and then trying to use your stick to catch back up. Yeah, it does happen quite a bit.

“There’s a lot of calls early on in the season. Then, guys get a feel for what’s going on. There are areas we can clean up but if they’re aggressive penalties and there are things that happen to save goals, you have to do what you have to do. We can clean that up a little bit.”

What doesn’t require cleaning up is the job the Jets have been doing to ensure the increase in shorthanded situations hasn’t come back to bite them.

To date, the Jets have actually outscored their opponent 2-1 in four-on-five situations, which means they’ve been competing hard and winning a lot of one-on-one battles all over the ice.

“The big thing for me is that we look really in sync,” said Arniel. “All four guys, plus our goaltender, are all on the same page when it comes to reads, pressure points, working on retrievals, shared clears, and getting them down the ice.”

Jets defenceman Josh Morrissey believes improvements were actually made as last season wore on, though a barrage of early goals allowed made it difficult for the team to dig its way out of the hole it had dug for itself.

“We got off to a rough start last year and were kind of playing catch-up,” said Morrissey, whose shorthanded minutes have been elevated this season with Samberg on the shelf. “I think our PK was actually better last year at points than the numbers showed. It’s tough to quantify when the numbers are there.

“From Day 1 this year, it’s been an area of emphasis. We want to be a good penalty-killing team. The PK is kind of a thankless job. You don’t often get a lot of accolades for being out there and (you’re) doing the sort of dirty work, blocking shots, winning battles — all the intangibles that go into a good PK. It’s been awesome to see the effort level and commitment level on our kill.”

The effort and commitment levels are evident throughout the lineup, as the Jets have integrated new players up front such as Cole Koepke, Tanner Pearson, Jonathan Toews as well as Parker Ford when he’s been in the lineup.

Morgan Barron has taken on an elevated role, Alex Iafallo and Vladislav Namestnikov are getting their regular reps and Kyle Connor and Mark Scheifele are contributing here as well.

On the back end, Dylan DeMelo and Neal Pionk have eclipsed 20 minutes while shorthanded, while Luke Schenn (15:22) and Haydn Fleury (12:10) have also been supported by Morrissey and Logan Stanley.

Naturally, the goaltending has been excellent here as well.

The lone goal to be scored against the Jets penalty killers came five seconds after Pionk exited the penalty box to turn a 5-on-3 disadvantage into a 5-on-4.

When a team enjoys as much success on the penalty kill as the Jets have, the opposition will be scouring the film to look for places they can try to attack.

Since the Jets have a potent power play that has scored in five consecutive games and currently sits third in the NHL (with a 30.0 per cent efficiency rating), they also have a good idea of the areas they’re trying to protect on the ice to limit the number of high-danger chances against.

“There’s only so many looks that come from a power play,” said Arniel. “If the PK knows that if a certain team is in a setup, if that’s a one-three-one or an overload one-timer set, we have an idea where the next plays are. That’s being one step ahead. When it goes to the goal line, what are his options going to be and who are going to be the most dangerous people? We know it’s not going to be the guy at the blue line.

“So, it’s the reads that happen. We kind of anticipate or have an idea of what their next plays are going to be.”

When the reads are right and players are in sync all over the ice, remarkable runs are possible, like the one the Jets are riding.

ken.wiebe@freepress.mb.ca

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