Great goaltending making up for Jets’ trouble spots

Opinion

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This article was published 02/11/2017 (2871 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Winnipeg Jets fans had joy in their hearts after their team beat the Wild Tuesday night to move to 6-3-2 and 14 points on the season.

I felt that if the Jets could garner 12 points in October it would be a decent start, so six wins and 14 points is pleasing.

They did, however, have some concerning statistics entering Thursday’s game against the Dallas Stars — so this club is still very much a work in progress.

The Jets got to this point for several reasons — the biggest one being the play of goaltender Connor Hellebuyck. His 6-0-1 record after Tuesday’s game included a sterling .940 save percentage, fifth in the National Hockey League.

Great goaltending makes things look better than they are by compensating for deficiencies in other areas.

The power play has struggled in the past, but things got worse last week when their offensive-zone entries stunk against the Columbus Blue Jackets in a 2-1 overtime loss.

Entries have been a problem before, but that performance was abhorrent, generating nothing at any point, going zero-for-six. Their discombobulation continued with the man-advantage in their 7-1 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins Sunday, although they did get an easy entry and a goal on a four-on-three power play, taking advantage of the extra ice available.

The PP unit produced nothing in the Minnesota game.

In a column last season I suggested the electrifying Nikolaj Ehlers should be moved to the No. 1 unit and be a focus on their zone entries and also to swap in Josh Morrissey for Dustin Byfuglien. I now repeat that. At the very least, move Ehlers there until Mathieu Perreault returns from injury.

While I’m a Byfuglien fan, it’s not working on the power play, and another look can’t hurt.

At five-on-five play, head coach Paul Maurice is focused on defence and is hoping the neutral and offensive zones can bring goals via turnovers and fast transitions by his quick-striking skaters.

However, this defensive system has resulted in the Jets sitting 30th in the league in score-adjusted Corsi, suggesting they’re spending way too much time in their own zone. They are marginally better in expected goal stats but this club shouldn’t be residing in the bottom third of the league in anything.

These numbers are generally good predictors of the future — thankfully the sample size is small and there’s lots of time for improvement.

Another area that is still of some concern is the penalty-killing unit, even though it has improved from last in the league to a tie for 16th.

With a passive approach, they’re depending on great goaltending, which is fine as long as the saves continue. I wonder if they’re playing with fire, as they bleed a lot of shots against, and they’re not all from the outside, as some would suggest.

All one can ask of players is they adhere to the coach’s directions and the Jets are undoubtedly trying to do that. The more they win, the easier acceptance becomes for them. More plays become automatic, and they read and react better because of it.

Maurice isn’t about to change his systems, therefore player growth within these systems is crucial if the Jets are to make the playoffs. We can’t expect Hellebuyck to stay at .940 for the season.

The Jets have been getting improved contributions from various members of their much-maligned bottom-six forward group.

With Adam Lowry and, eventually, Mathieu Perreault returning from injuries, there’s a slight chance that Maurice might start talking about a top-nine group, instead.

And with Kyle Connor emerging as a forceful winger alongside Mark Scheifele and Blake Wheeler, it gives the coach some decent top-nine options.

It’s what the best teams have, so why not try it with the Jets’ talent? I just hope that injuries stop for a while so that we can get a complete look at Maurice’s thinking. I think there’s room for him to grow here.

This brings us to Matt Hendricks, who joined the Jets for the game in Pittsburgh. The team has accumulated a record of 2-0-2 since then.

Maurice’s trust in him was on display when he had him join Mark Scheifele and Blake Wheeler in the last couple of minutes against Minnesota while protecting a 2-1 lead.

The Wild had pulled the goalie and a defensive-zone faceoff resulted in Maurice obviously wanting two centres on the ice. I doubt that a lost draw will shake that trust.

Despite his best efforts, I don’t see Hendricks being a good fit if they have a healthy lineup, but I’m just a couch coach.

As to the real coach, I give Maurice credit for getting his squad to rally around his ideas.

One can disagree with his player deployment or systems, but as long as there are some consistent improvements in team play it should bode well for the Jets.

They, like many teams at this time of year, aren’t running on all cylinders but have built a base to work from and improve on, and have piled up some valuable points in the bank.

Until they shore up those concerning areas listed above, the Jets MVP so far — Hellebuyck — will need to hold his form. Current backup goalie Steve Mason will have to be at his best as well.

It’s the NHL “cheat-sheet” way to succeed — just find a great goaltender or two.

Chosen ninth overall by the NHL’s St. Louis Blues and first overall by the WHA’s Houston Aeros in 1977, Scott Campbell has now been drafted by the Winnipeg Free Press to play a new style of game.

Twitter: @NHL_Campbell