Scheifele: We’re a great team

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This article was published 14/12/2023 (663 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It‘s safe to say the latest Winnipeg Jets road trip ended on a high note. And we’re not talking about the ear-piercing siren that began blaring on Wednesday night inside Crypto.com Arena as coach Rick Bowness spoke with the Free Press outside his team’s room.

Turns out it was a false alarm. There’s nothing phony about these Jets, who flew home Thursday on an emotional high after going 3-1-0 in their travels through Colorado and California, including statement bookend victories over the Colorado Avalanche (4-2) and Los Angeles Kings (5-2).

“The feeling is great, obviously. We wanted to do something good on this road trip, and we did,” said forward Nikolaj Ehlers.

“You know it was a good road trip,” added centre Mark Scheifele. “We’re a great team, a lot of great pieces in here and we’re battling for each other and that’s what we need.”

Now they’ll try to keep the good times rolling as they play four straight in their own backyard starting Saturday night with a visit from the Avalanche, who sit two points up the Jets in the race for top spot in the Central Division (Winnipeg has a game in hand). Then it’s three straight Original Six franchises — the Montreal Canadiens, Detroit Red Wings and Boston Bruins — before the brief Christmas break.

Before we look too far ahead, let’s reflect on the week that was and what we’ve learned about a Jets club that is now 17-9-2.

Here’s four big takeaways from our press box perch.

1. THE VILARDI PARTY: It took longer than expected thanks to a significant early-season knee injury that cost him 18 games, but it’s safe to say the Gabe Vilardi the Jets hoped they had traded for last summer (along with Alex Iafallo, Rasmus Kupari and a 2024 second-round draft pick for Pierre-Luc Dubois) has arrived.

A solid performance in Colorado, his first goal of the year in Anaheim (the game-winner in a 4-2 comeback victory), another good outing in San Jose that was just missing some puck luck and then a storybook night 24 hours later in Hollywood, with a career high four points (goal, three primary assists) against the team that sent him packing.

There was an extra giddy-up in his step, not to mention a burr in his saddle, and this version of Vilardi is going to be a very big problem for Jets opponents, as the Kings can now attest.

“He was fantastic. He was unbelievable,” Scheifele said of the newest linemate for himself and Ehlers.

Vilardi is typically rather guarded when speaking with media, but his words and actions were pretty telling after his performance in the building that served as his hockey home for the last four seasons.

“Obviously you saw it out there. I was here and now I’m gone. I was drafted here, my time here playing here was amazing but at the end of the day, they didn’t want me,” Vilardi said. “So, it doesn’t end anything.”

That might be the best news of all for Winnipeg. A healthy, motivated Vilardi carrying a bit of a chip — he’s still livid at former Kings teammate Blake Lizotte for the trip that sidelined him — is clearly a dangerous Vilardi, and the Jets will need more of that going forward. Especially because….

2. ADVERSITY STRIKES AGAIN: Hello, old friend. You weren’t missed.

It’s been an emotional roller coaster at times for Winnipeg this year — from Ville Heinola’s broken ankle in the final preseason game, Vilardi going down so early, Bowness taking a monthlong leave of absence after his wife, Judy, suffered a life-threatening seizure and the tragic death of Adam Johnson in England which hit home for several Jets players, including best friend Neal Pionk.

Now, life without top scorer Kyle Connor for the next couple months. The 27-year-old was on the receiving end of a knee-on-knee hit from Anaheim’s Ryan Strome on Sunday, which led to an MCL sprain and deep bone bruise. His 17 goals and 28 points, both tops on the team, can’t easily be replaced.

After the Jets mustered just one measly goal against the Sharks in their first game without Connor, you wondered if this might spell disaster. Wednesday’s convincing victory over the Kings should put a lot of those concerns to rest. And should we be surprised? It seems to be in this club’s DNA to take a “when the going gets tough, the tough get going” approach.

“We’re a family in there. It’s a very very tight group. We’ve talked a lot about that,” said Bowness.

We’ve now seen multiple examples of it — including in the wins over Anaheim and Los Angeles where the Jets fell behind 2-0, then rallied with four and five straight goals respectively. They’ll need more of that strong inner-resolve going forward.

“You’re going to have games where you’re playing really well and you’re getting all the chances, and it doesn’t go in,” said Ehlers. “And then a game like (Wednesday) where everything seems to go in. That’s why I love the game too.”

Ehlers, Vilardi and Scheifele combined for 11 points, completely taking over the game in the second and third periods against an elite opponent that had no answers.

The Jets are hardly alone in having some hurdles in their way. All teams eventually will. It’s how you navigate them that ultimately tells the tale. So far, so good.

3. POWER OUTAGE: Not to rain on the parade around here, but we need to talk about Winnipeg’s power play. It stinks. And that’s being kind.

The Jets went zero-for-the-road-trip, whiffing on 13 chances in total. It arguably cost them a perfect 4-0-0 record, as a timely goal or two in San Jose Tuesday would have made a world of difference in that tough 2-1 loss to the Sharks.

When the Jets return to the practice ice Friday, it would behoove them to spend a considerable portion working on the PP. specifically, finding a way to get some pucks towards the net, rather than the entirely predictable pass-a-palooza around the perimeter that might look pretty, but is anything but productive.

4. DEVIL IS IN THE D-TAILS: The Jets gave up just eight goals in the four road games and have now gone an incredible 18 straight without surrendering more than three in a night. Not surprisingly, Winnipeg has gone 13-5-0 on that stretch.

In the first 10 Jets games of the year, they gave up four or more goals six times and went 4-4-2.

As much as he praised his top line for leading the way offensively against Los Angeles, Bowness was quick to give flowers to other players for contributions that won’t make the highlight reel or scoresheet.

“We got some tremendous efforts. The Scheifele line speaks for itself,” Bowness said.

“But don’t ever forget the backcheck Adam Lowry gave us in that second period, that was absolutely huge. The big shot block by Nate Schmidt in the third. All those little details that we talk a lot about, you could see those. It’s great the Scheif line made the biggest difference in the game, but there were a lot of major contributions from a lot of guys because of that. Because it meant a lot to a lot of guys in that room.”

Amazing what can happen when you put your mind to something and stick to a structured, disciplined style.

Don’t look now, but Connor Hellebuyck has shaken off a slow start by his high standards and is back to looking like a three-time (and, if he keeps this up, soon-to-be four-time) Vezina Trophy finalist.

He is now tied for the NHL lead in wins by a goaltender (14) and is tied for fifth in goals-against-average (2.42) and tied for 10th in save percentage (.916) among masked men with at least 10 starts. And he’s rapidly climbing all those categories.

Hellebuyck and his teammates saved their best for last, entering the final frame against the Kings with a 3-2 lead, then holding the NHL’s best third-period club this season (by goal differential) to just six shots as they sealed the victory with two tallies of their own.

“It was a great road trip. Three games in four nights, back-to-back, we don’t make excuses, we keep pushing,” said Bowness. “It was great to see.”

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

X: @mikemcintyrewpg