Keeping pucks out of their own net has become a problem for Jets

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This article was published 30/11/2018 (2472 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

THE Winnipeg Jets appear to have sprung a leak in their own end of the rink, quickly taking on water while going from one of the stingiest teams in the league to one of the most generous.

While scoring goals hasn’t been a problem of late, keeping them out of their net certainly has. A team that sat second overall in goals-against average just two weeks ago has sunk to 15th.

“I think we’ll look at this as a whole group,” coach Paul Maurice said Friday following an optional practice at Bell MTS Iceplex before the team jumped on a plane to fly east.

“Our back end can do some things, our forwards can certainly help better and we’ve all got to do some things to help our goaltenders.”

The 14-8-2 Jets will try to get their defensive game back in order when they open a three-game road trip today in New Jersey. That’s followed by a pair of games in New York on Sunday against the Rangers and Tuesday against the Islanders.

The Jets have scored 28 times in their past six games, but managed to win only three of them. That’s because they’ve given up 26 goals in that same span (24 on goalies, two into empty nets). Poor coverage, turnovers, missed assignments and questionable goaltending have all been factors.

Connor Hellebuyck, one year removed from being a Vezina Trophy finalist, looks like a shell of his former self lately. He’s given up at least one stinker in four consecutive outings, and his 3.09 GAA is 36th among netminders who have appeared in at least eight games this season. His .904 save percentage isn’t much better, ranking 30th in the league.

“No different than our team. He comes in and figures he should have about a .975 and eight shutouts by now, right? Because you feel good and they’re competitive and they want that,” Maurice said.

“And then reality sets in and you’re going to have some stretches. So this is a really important time for him to handle.

“He’s had some get by him that he doesn’t like at all, he’s had a bunch with some strange breaks — the Pittsburgh game winner (last Tuesday). So he has to learn how to deal with this now. I’ve got complete faith he’s going to do it.”

Hellebuyck and backup Laurent Brossoit will likely split the back-to-back weekend games. Brossoit has been excellent in his five starts, with a 2.05 GAA and .937 save percentage.

•••

The Jets blue line will be missing a major piece for at least the next three games.

Dustin Byfuglien (concussion) did not make the trip to New York and won’t skate until late next week at the earliest. Dmitry Kulikov (upper body) also remains sidelined, although he has resumed light skating. Joe Morrow is also a question mark, as he battles an upper-body injury.

As a result, both Sami Niku and Cam Schilling will likely get additional ice time after making their season debuts Thursday against the Blackhawks.

Schilling recorded his first NHL point, an assist, in his seventh NHL game (and first in more than 3 1/2 years).

“I felt pretty comfortable right away. I mean, I’m a seventh-year pro now. I’ve played in the American League a lot. Obviously this is a faster pace, but it’s still the same systems and everything so it was nice to be able to, like, seamlessly come up and, kind of, even the same routine, same building and everything,” said Schilling.

Maurice was impressed by the 30-year-old, who saw 13:15 of action.

“He just looked like that old veteran… He’s played, I don’t know, about 450 pro hockey games. He didn’t force the game, he looked kind of relaxed out there. And moved the puck well, all his reads were good, made some plays,” Maurice said.

“You like those guys, because you know that a player like that is on that bench appreciating it. He’s not daydreaming about the year he’s going to win the Norris, he’s appreciating the National Hockey League. If he plays like that he can play in the National Hockey League. So I was happy for him.”

As for Niku, the reigning AHL defenceman of the year was particularly blunt in assessing his play, which involved 12:03 of ice time, no shots and a minus-one rating.

“I wasn’t good. That’s all; I did everything wrong. I didn’t move, my passes weren’t there, I did nothing,” Niku, 22, said following Friday’s practice.

He had been a healthy scratch for nearly three weeks and admits jumping into an NHL game — just the second of his career — after such a break was difficult.

“Yeah, of course it’s hard. Still it was only three weeks. I should know how to play hockey,” he said.

Byfuglien’s absence likely means ongoing big minutes for the top pairing of Jacob Trouba and Josh Morrissey, who played a career-high 28:59 Thursday and was plus-three.

“Just played an exceptionally smart game, knowing that he was going to play a lot of minutes. Sometimes that will fire a guy up. He was so good with his stick, his gaps, his reads,” said Maurice.

•••

Winnipeg could get one injured player back as early as today in the form of Andrew Copp, who has missed the past three games with a concussion.

Copp shed his non-contact jersey at Friday’s practice and feels ready to go.

“I feel good. I’ve felt good probably the last four or five days now,” said Copp, who suffered the injury after taking a big hit from Minnesota’s J.T. Brown that sent him head first into the divider by his bench.

“At the time, I thought it was more dirty than it was. I put myself in a bad spot and luckily they changed that pole and (put) a little pad (on the) curved glass there. So, that probably saved me from a bigger injury. “I don’t know if my head would be attached to my body if it wasn’t. That probably saved me some years on my life, to be honest with you,” said Copp, who has one goal and two assists in 21 games this season.

Copp said the concussion is the third of his career. The first came while playing college hockey in Michigan, and the other two while wearing a Jets jersey.

“That’s why you’ve got to make sure that all of your symptoms are gone and that you’re doing the proper things, taking the proper vitamins, doing the proper exercises to get your brain going again and for the rest of your body to help along with that,” he said.

“I’ve got some great resources that I reached out and worked with. It’s obviously a huge part of our sport right now, with all of the concussion talk, but if you keep doing all of the right things, hopefully you can alleviate those symptoms as you grow older.”

 

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @mikemcintyrewpg