WINNIPEG — When the 2017-18 regular season concluded, with the Winnipeg Jets on an 11-1 run, they were in second place in the Central Division with 114 points. As the No. 2 team in the entire National Hockey League, behind only Nashville, it was clear that the cake was finally done in Winnipeg.
General manager Kevin Cheveldayoff’s tutorial in drafting and developing was panning out. Maybe Scott Oake’s town was ready for another Cup celebration, but this time it wouldn’t be the Avco Cup.
Today, Winnipeg sits atop the Central. But is it a better team than a year ago?
“We’re not too worried if people are worried about our advanced stats or whatnot,” said third-line centre Adam Lowry. “In a playoff series, the sample size is too small to worry about our Corsi number.”
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It’s not only the advanced stats, however, that indicate a Jets team that is still pretty good, but perhaps not quite the powerhouse it was a year ago.
For instance, last year’s 118-point club is on pace for just 101 points this season. In a weaker Central Division, they’ve fallen six spots to eighth in the NHL, and facing a schedule that will make it awfully tough to replicate the run that shot these Jets into the playoffs a year ago.
Patrik Laine, who had 44 goals last season, has 29 this year. And remember, 18 of those goals came in the month of November. Since Dec. 1, Laine has just eight goals while posting a minus-20 this season.
Year over year, goaltender Connor Hellebuyck’s goals-against average has gone from 2.36 to 2.97, while his save percentage has fallen from .924 to .910. The latter is a significant statistic, considering the Jets allow the third-most shots in the NHL (33.5) — a full five more per game than tonight’s opponent, the San Jose Sharks (28.4).
“We’ve given up a lot of chances, and we might be as tight defensively as we were last year,” Lowry said. “But people also have to look at, we’ve been without Dustin Byfuglien for almost two months. We’ve had some pretty key guys out of the lineup at different times.
“Guys are now at the point where we know what it’s going to take to be successful in the post-season. I don’t want to say that guys have been saving themselves, but it’s about peaking at the right time.”
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That is the hope here, with Byfuglien having left the team on the recent road trip to go back to Winnipeg for alternative treatment. He is a huge part of this team, both offensively and defensively, and add to that a shoulder problem that could keep Josh Morrissey out until very close to the playoff opener, and you have a team trying to perfect its game with two of its Top 4 defencemen watching from the press box.
Then there are the expectations. For the first time in the history of NHL hockey in this city, the Jets were picked by some to win a Stanley Cup this season. Not only is that a new wrinkle for the team, but for the Winnipeg fans and media as well.
“We played a game in late December, we won, and I think it put us in first place in the conference at that point,” head coach Paul Maurice recalled. “The theory was that it was out first complete game of the year — in, like, Game 45 or something.
“Expectations are what they are.”
Heavy is the head that wears the Central Division crown. The Jets went all the way to the Western Conference Final last season. The expectations are to go further in 2019.
“When Helly’s on his game we’re going to put him up against any goalie in the league,” said Lowry. “Same with our D-corps. When they’re healthy, when we get those guys back, just look at that depth. You’ve got Tyler Myers on, arguably, your third pair.
“People are saying maybe we’re a paper tiger; that you want to play Winnipeg in the playoffs. We’re still tight for that Central Division lead. We’ll get home ice in the first round and take it from there.”
Those will be the only games that matter, in the end.
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