Jets up, up, when away

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 04/11/2014 (4051 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

If breaking new ground means momentum, the Winnipeg Jets surely have some headed in the right direction.

The Jets, on a 4-0-1 run in their last five games, return to the MTS Centre tonight to face the Nashville Predators.

The surge has put the Jets back in touch with the playoff pack in the NHL’s Western Conference.

This is a short stay at home. The Pittsburgh Penguins visit on Thursday night and then the Jets head elsewhere for five more games.

The team returns from last week’s four-game road trip with a couple of firsts.

It’s the first time in franchise history for back-to-back shutouts on the road. The last team to do so was the L.A. Kings, last November. The last team to do so on back-to-back nights was the Buffalo Sabres three seasons ago, Feb. 29 and March 1, 2012, according to Elias Sports.

And Winnipeg’s 3-0-1 record in those recent away games marks the first time since the 2011 relocation a four-game trip or longer has produced zero regulation losses.

Since the beginning of the 2011-12 season, the Jets have made 11 road trips of four games or more.

Their previous best in this category was a 4-1-0 record on a five-game, eight-day route in February 2013, just after the lockout ended.

Surprisingly, long-ish road trips have not been the undoing of the team since it moved to Winnipeg.

In 11 of them since the fall of 2011, the team has returned home six times with a winning record. In the 53 total games of all those lengthy trips combined, the Jets have a 25-19-9 mark. In terms of getting points, that’s a .557 percentage. If that mark was applied to a full season — and keep in mind this particular stat for the Jets is exclusively road games — that’s a 91-point pace, certainly not confirming a playoff place but a lot closer to one than the team has played in its three out-of-the-playoffs season so far in the Manitoba capital.

Also, as it concerns the longer trips, the Jets have never failed to win a game when the excursion is four or longer and only once out of the 11 has it been just that, one win.

In the Paul Maurice era, the team has now had three of these trips (with another one starting Saturday in Ottawa). Maurice’s marks have been 1-1-2 last February, 2-2-1 last March and 3-0-1 last week, totalling 6-3-4.

And 4-0-1 is also the head coach’s longest unbeaten-in-regulation string since he took over in January.

The just-completed trip, and in fact this five-game points streak, also illustrates the head coach’s priority for better team defence does have its upside.

In the five games, the Jets have given up just five goals. With such attention to the details of defence, plus steady goaltending, results are more likely, even with the thin offence the Jets have displayed since Game 2 of the season.

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In this five-game span, Winnipeg has scored just eight times. That kind of pace going forward is going to be problematic, but timing is everything, and that’s what momentum is all about.

The core of the Jets’ recent game will be put to the test in the days and week ahead.

Tonight, the Predators come to town with their 7-2-2 mark, which has included timely scoring and stingy defence of their own. Nashville has already been here once and its 2-0 win at the MTS Centre was part of Winnipeg’s rocky 2-3 first homestand.

And Thursday, the Penguins bring their powerful attack. Pittsburgh has 41 goals in its first 10 games this season.

tim.campbell@freepress.mb.ca