Jets have something special going on

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This article was published 14/11/2022 (1075 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Every win is worth the same two points in the standings, but some victories are more valuable than others.

That’s certainly the case with the Winnipeg Jets and their most recent triumph on Sunday night in Seattle.

The way in which they rallied to solve the Kraken — a game-tying goal in enemy territory with five seconds left, then the overtime kill-shot less than a minute later — speaks volumes about the current state of the club.

It also furthers the growing belief — inside the room, but externally, too — that this squad might just have something special going on.

Sometimes, they DO ask how, not just how many. And Winnipeg’s latest answer is a doozy.

The good vibes started flowing during the team’s retreat in Banff to wrap up training camp, an event that saw them create and sign a unique mission statement now hanging on their dressing room wall.

And they haven’t stopped flowing since, despite a healthy dose of early adversity thrown their way.

Imagine if you knew the following statements would be true 14 games into the season:

1. The club’s most dynamic winger, Nikolaj Ehlers, would have no goals, having missed a dozen contests (and counting) with injury.

2. Their best pure scorer, Kyle Connor, would have just two tallies. One into an empty-net. One on a goalie. None on the power play, which is in the bottom half of the league and has been more miss than hit so far.

3. The new head coach, Rick Bowness, would miss eight of the first nine battling COVID as he tries to introduce sweeping changes to what is basically the same core group that came well short of expectations a year earlier.

4. The list of walking wounded would seemingly grow by the day, especially up front where depth looked to be an issue. Ehlers. Morgan Barron. Now Mason Appleton. Plus several others playing through plenty of aches and pains.

Now throw in the fact six of the first nine games were on the road — eight of those against teams with at least 94 points last year — and there were three sets of dreaded back-to-backs among the first 14, and I suspect the predictions on Winnipeg’s record wouldn’t have been for the faint of heart.

And yet, here they are at 9-4-1. Leading the Central Division in win percentage. Second in the Western Conference. Fourth in the NHL.

Incredible, really.

All the positive pre-season talk has produced tangible on-ice results, at least so far. You’ve got to tip your hat to this resilient bunch, which seems to really be taking to the lessons Bowness has been preaching and teaching since they first gathered in late September,

The new defensive systems in place, while still a work in progress, are paying dividends.

Winnipeg has given up just 33 goals this year, the least among all 32 teams. No, it hasn’t always looked pretty, and the play of goaltenders Connor Hellebuyck (appearing to be in Vezina form) and backup David Rittich have lots to do with that.

A more responsible overall style has allowed the Jets to be comfortable in tight, low-scoring affairs, which is how it needs to be right now with this roster, especially with Ehlers still out and Connor still snakebitten.

Playoff hockey, if you will. Which will become a reality, and not just a pipe dream, if they keep this up.

Following the 3-2 victory Sunday, overtime hero Mark Scheifele called it a a perfect demonstration of the mindset. Winnipeg was coming off its first regulation loss in eight games, just 22 hours earlier in Calgary, and arrived in Seattle in the wee hours of the night to face a fresh opponent at 5 p.m. Seattle time.

After falling behind a goal in the third period, it seemed a second straight loss was sure to follow. They had some calls go against them, particularly a bizarre double-minor to Blake Wheeler who was angered by a clear hit-from-behind on teammate Nate Schmidt. Rather than come home empty-handed, the Jets flipped that script in dramatic fashion.

“We have a very resilient, character driven group,” Scheifele told me outside the dressing room at Climate Pledge Arena.

Wheeler, who had tied it with time ticking down in regulation, went a step further and called it the type of performance “where you find out a lot about your team.”

Bowness said it serves as a reward for sticking to one of his golden rules he’s tried to put in place.

“We talked to the guys before the game and said no excuses. Good teams find a way to win and we’ll never let them make excuses,“ he said.

There’s no time to rest on one’s laurels. There are still 68 games remaining, and the Jets are going to face plenty more adversity along the way.

It also bears repeating they started last year off red-hot, going 9-3-3 through the first 15 before the wheels came off. That was a bit of a red herring, built off the back of a lighter schedule (in terms of competition) and a sloppy overall style of play.

Sure, they were banking some early points, but it didn’t exactly seem success was sustainable.

So, yes, it could all go south again, I suppose. However, based on everything we’ve seen so far this season, I’m starting to believe these Jets might just be equipped to deal with whatever comes their way.

How about you?

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @mikemcintyrewpg