Defence holds strong

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 06/12/2014 (4020 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

No one will dare suggest the Winnipeg Jets should begin printing playoff tickets, that Dustin Byfuglien is suddenly a Norris Trophy candidate and Ben Chiarot should hire an architect to design his new mansion on Wellington Crescent.

But what the Jets served up Friday night in a thorough 6-2 spanking of the Colorado Avalanche in downtown Winnipeg — even as a teeny-tiny sample size — was enough to at least temper some of the angst that came a day earlier when their defensive corps took three swift kicks to the knackers.

No Bogosian, Enstrom or Clitsome? No problem.

Now, while the win did come against a listless Avs bunch that arrived in town at 2:30 a.m. after an OT loss in Calgary and then wandered around the ice like the stars of The Night of the Living Dead — at least, until they got a little cranky in the third — the elements to the win were no less compelling.

The Bryan Little hat trick storyline — the first in Jets 2.0 history and the first in four years — was juicy, no doubt.

That it happened on the same night Chris Thorburn scored had some in the press box suggesting Earth had, indeed, spun off its axis.

And Michael Hutchinson barely broke a sweat in improving to 5-1-2 to keep the healthy goaltender-debate stoking.

But critical to the victory was the work of a blue-line that entered the game beleaguered and exited it leaving everyone believing it could tread water until Bogosian, Enstrom and Clitsome make their return from sick bay.

In fact, a D corps seemingly held together by duct tape and binder twine was good, top to bottom, in its first real test without two of its top rearguards. And it began and ended with Byfuglien’s seemingly effortless transition from forward back to defence, a move he jokingly said Thursday would be like “getting out of my king-sized bed and putting on my slippers.”

The big man set the tone early, levelling Nick Holden 38 seconds into the game and was steady right until the final horn.

Get this: In his first full game as a defenceman since last January, Byfuglien led all skaters in ice time at 26 minutes, 24 seconds, finished with a goal and an assist and registered four hits.

Unconfirmed reports had him also slipping out incognito between periods to drive the Zamboni.

Asked afterward if Byfuglien’s performance had done anything to change his mind about a permanent move back to the blue-line, Jets coach Paul Maurice paused for a moment, then grinned.

“I think Dustin Byfuglien can do whatever he sets his mind to, I really do. He had a real good stick, strong, scores the goal and created some other good things from the blue line… he was solid.”

That Byfuglien authored that kind of performance while paired with Chiarot, who now has all of three NHL games under his belt, made his work even that remarkable. Earlier in the day we chatted with Jets assistant coach Charlie Huddy about Byfuglien’s uniqueness — and his ability to play both forward and defence.

“It’s a great resource to be able to have,” said Huddy. “I mean, how many teams have a guy who has experience to be able to play defence for a number of years and then go up front for us and then be able to come back? There’s Brent Burns in San Jose… and I can’t think of anybody else, even back in my day.

“I did one game in Washington, I played wing,” added Huddy, with a smirk. “I was OK, but I didn’t last long up there.”

What shouldn’t be lost in the Little hat trick and Byfuglien’s return to the blue-line was the work of the entire lineup, from the first line down to the third D pairing of Paul Postma and Adam Pardy, who were solid after an iffy night against Edmonton.

And there’s statistical evidence — courtesy the Elias Sports Bureau — the Jets might not just be able to weather this injury storm, but sail right through it.

Consider:

•  The Jets’ record with Zach Bogosian in the lineup (W-L-T): 83-75-20; without Bogosian: 29-25-7;

•  The Jets’ record with Enstrom in the lineup: 83-84-21; without Enstrom: 29-16-6;

• The Jets’ record when both are in the lineup: 56-61-14; when both are not in the lineup: 2-2-0.

That’s just a pile of numbers for a club trying to live in the here and now. Friday was fun. Sunday — when the mighty Anaheim Ducks are here for a visit — they try to do it all over again.

ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @WFPEdTait