Jets flying despite hurts

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This article was published 01/01/2018 (2811 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

DENVER – It appears nothing can hold back the Winnipeg Jets these days.

 

Despite No. 1 centreman Mark Scheifele, its second defensive pairing in Dustin Byfuglien and Toby Enstrom, and winger Brandon Tanev, who was having a breakout season with the Jets, all currently out with injuries, Winnipeg has barely lost step filling the holes in its lineup.

They haven’t just treaded water, either, but have have risen to the top of the Central Division standings, holding a one-point edge on the Nashville Predators heading into today’s action. Only two points separate the Jets from first place in the Western Conference – a spot currently held by an even bigger surprise this season in the surging Las Vegas Golden Knights.

It wasn’t long ago that this type of adversity might have been too much to handle for Winnipeg — particularly the loss of Scheifele, the team’s leader in ice time and second-leading scorer before he suffered a suspected shoulder injury. He won’t be back until at least early February and it could be as later in the month if he needs the entire projected eight weeks to recover.

The last time Scheifele missed notable time — he suffered a season-ending knee injury that forced him from the final 19 games of the 2013-14 season — the Jets struggled, going 7-9-3 in that stretch.

Though a small sample size, the fact the Jets have been able to win the past two games without their top centre is just one way in which they’ve grown from then to now. While we saw Winnipeg juggle a number of injuries on the blue line in the 2014-15 season, enough to make their first playoff appearance in Winnipeg since coming from Atlanta, this time the Jets aren’t just hanging on, but are flourishing.

“It doesn’t matter who is in the lineup and it shows how much we believe in the next guy,” Byfuglien told reporters following Monday’s practice in Denver. “(You know) the guy next to you is going to work hard, so you’re going to work hard, too. It’s one of those things where we just drive off each other and it doesn’t matter who is in the lineup for us.”

The ability of the Jets to plug-and-play guys has been evident early on in the last two games, with Shawn Matthias and Marko Dano both able to make an immediate impact in their recent returns to the lineup. Matthias scored on his first shift in a 4-2 win over the Islanders Dec. 29, after being scratched for almost a month. Dano did the exact same thing in Sunday’s 5-0 romp over the Edmonton Oilers at Rogers Place, bringing to life the bench and his confidence after being inactive the previous 30 games.

What’s more, the Jets are starting to get healthier. Byfuglien could be back as early as tonight’s game against the Avalanche and Enstrom, who has missed the last 21 games with a lower-body injury, is expected to return in the next week or so. That bodes well for the Jets defence, especially with the steadily improved play of Dmitry Kulikov and Tyler Myers, who with the return of Byfuglien and Enstrom will make as formidable as any third-pairing defence in the NHL.

Then there’s the stellar play of goalie Connor Hellebuyck, perhaps the biggest surprise this season after mixed results last year. Hellebuyck has been able to handle the heavy workload required of a No. 1 goaltender, performing at a high level almost every night he’s been in net. He’s been particularly good of late, and on Monday was recognized as the NHL’s first star of the week.

“The defencemen in front of me have been outstanding and then our offensive guys have just been unbelievable putting pressure on the puck,” said Hellebuyck. “The chemistry in the room is really good right now. The guys are all feeding off each other and you can feel it and it’s a pretty fun time.”

Over the past seven days, the 24-year-old was a perfect 3-0, including a 35-save shutout over the Oilers (his third shutout of the season). He has started 30 games this year and appeared in two others, boasting a record of 21-4-5. Hellebuyck boasts the NHL’s eighth-best GAA (2.37) and save percentage (.923), and his 21 wins rank third among all goalies. He’s projected to reach the 60-game mark for the first time in his career.

“If your guy can (steal) you one (game) a month, that’s a huge change in your standings at the end of the year,” said Jets head coach Paul Maurice. “I don’t think we should ask our goalies for one a month, but if he can give you one of those, it’s the difference in the game. There have been a lot of nights when he’s been really good. Just solid.”

Maurice noted the recent win over the Islanders on Dec. 29– a game he said seemed to sum up the value of Hellebuyck. That night, Maurice said, he made 42 saves look easy. But it’s because he is sound technically that many of those saves might be overlooked.

“Maybe didn’t look like he had a lot of difficult saves, but that’s because his positioning was so good,” the Jets coach said. “He made a lot of good shots look easy (to stop). But that Islander game, for me, he’s the best player on the ice and it’s not even close.”

Jets captain Blake Wheeler projected that without Scheifele there might be a dip in the team’s scoring. That seemed like a safe assumption, especially when you consider that dating back to the start of last season only four players – Edmonton’s Connor McDavid; Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov; Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby; and Chicago’s Patrik Kane – have tallied more points than the Jets centre.

But that dip hasn’t happened, at least not yet, with the Jets scoring nine goals in the last two games, with production coming from all parts of the roster. Mathieu Perreault capped off a dominating display by the Jets over the Oilers with a third-period goal that was his 10th of the season. With the tally, Perreault became the sixth Jet to record double-digits in goals, joining Patrik Laine (18), Nikolaj Ehlers (17), Scheifele (15), Kyle Connor (13) and Wheeler (11). Furthermore, the 5-0 win over Edmonton was the 21st time this season the Jets have scored at least four goals in a game, the most in the NHL.

There is little to suggest that the Jets won’t be able to continue their dominance in the second half but that won’t mean it will be easy. If the Jets lack anything, it’s experience, with a roster among the youngest in the NHL. With the second half of the schedule the hardest stretch of hockey, as teams start to feel the wear and tear of an 82-game season, it’s no surprise that the more experienced clubs often prevail down the stretch.

The Jets have a tough month coming up, with seven of their 11 games in January being played on the road and eight against opponents in the West. They’ve fared well against their own conference, and specifically against their own division, where last year they had the best record against Central Division teams, at 17-7-2. This season, the Jets are 7-3-1.

“You don’t want to take that for granted,” said Wheeler, when asked to reflect on the Jets top spot in the division heading into 2018. “We still have a lot of road games, a lot of tough games. We keep this thing going through January and we’re going to be in a good position come February, where we have a lot of home games. And we’ve been playing well at home. We’ve got to stay in the fight and keep doing the same things.”

jeff.hamilton@freepress.mb.ca

twitter: @jeffkhamilton