To be the best you gotta beat the best and Winnipeg did just that this past weekend. The Jets rode the Lightning and came out on top, putting an end to Tampa Bay’s eight-game winning streak with a thrilling 5-4 overtime victory that sent the crowd into hysterics.
The teams traded chances back and forth all night, combining for a total of 89 shots. It was the kind of pressure the vast majority of NHL teams would wilt under, speaking to the resiliency of both squads. It also made for one of the best hockey games Jets fans have seen since the NHL returned to Winnipeg.
At one time Winnipeg hockey fans dreamed of watching NHL-level hockey back in their own building, but Sunday’s game was at another level. Having grown up going to Jets games in the old arena, I’m familiar with a city whose legends amount to first round playoff losses or championships in less-respected leagues. We are in uncharted territory here as no team from this city has maintained a level of excellence this high for this long at the NHL level.
Take it all in Winnipeg. You will be talking about this era of hockey for decades to come.
Assist: Laine’s dirty word
Mark Scheifele’s dominance is rightfully commanding a lot of the attention these days, so it comes as a bit of a surprise for some when they realize Patrik Laine is on a five-game point streak. The big Finn is on a rare stretch that’s seen him put up more assists than goals.
When I asked him about the apples he’s collecting and if the goal-scoring success of his teammates is turning him into an assist man, he responded with classic Laine humour.
“Nope. I hope not,” he said. “I’m going to take a few assists every once in a while, but I don’t want them too often.”
Laine’s joking of course, but in a way he’s not. It’s clear in practice and games Laine has a shoot-first mentality. I’m not telling you anything you don’t know.
What’s surprising is he doesn’t get more assists based solely on rebounds. Part of that would be the confidence he has in his accuracy. Shot graphs I’ve seen make it clear: Laine shoots for the inside of the posts whereas other scorers get pucks through goaltenders and into the meatier part of the net with more frequency. So when Laine’s shot is off it’s often more likely to miss the net than hit the goalie.
Secondary scoring surge
Lost behind the common heroics of the Scheifeles, Wheelers and Laines are some pretty stellar performances by the Jets’ supporting cast. Having a lot of depth is one thing, but having so many of those players at the top of their game is not so easily done. The Jets are making it look simple.
It starts on special teams where the Jets’ secondary unit has five power play goals in its past five games. Mathieu Perreault is responsible for three of those — he has goals in four straight games and points in five straight.
Josh Morrissey is also on a tear. Give him eight points over his past five games.
Morrissey’s been outdone over that stretch by fellow defenceman Dustin Byfuglien, who has nine points over his past five games. That surge has him operating a hair under a point-per-game pace at the ripe age of 33.
When the league slowly turned smaller and faster and bigger players couldn’t keep up, a lot of people believed Byfuglien would be one of the casualties. Instead he’s thrived.
In a league with shrinking players Byfuglien’s size advantage only grows, but it wouldn’t work without his skating ability. Head coach Paul Maurice marvels at the big man’s agility and endurance. Since Maurice took over behind the bench in 2014, he says Byfuglien has come to training camp in better shape than the previous season every single time.
For those searching for the fountain of youth, the legends say it’s to be found right here in Winnipeg. You’ll just have to go through Byfuglien and Blake Wheeler to get to it.
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Brandon Tanev
If you watched our Sunday night Hometown Hockey broadcast you may have caught our story on Brandon Tanev who took a path to the NHL like no other.
Tanev’s skill was evident from a young age, but it all came crashing down in his teenage years when the players around him began to sprout and Tanev didn’t. By the age of 15, Tanev was less than five-feet tall resulting in him being cut from his triple-A team.
Crushed, Tanev quit the pursuit of his hockey dreams and instead played shinny with his friends and a little bit of high school hockey.
Suddenly at the age of 18, Tanev had a growth spurt, shooting up to his current height of six-feet.
At 19, Tanev attempted a walk-on at the Junior A level and made the cut. He played 46 games that year with the Markham Waxers of the OJHL and 58 games the following year with the Surrey Eagles of the BCHL. That earned him a ticket to Providence College and a four-year journey that ended in the Friars’ first-ever national championship and an offer from the Winnipeg Jets.
Nice to see that hustle paying off for Tanev, whose relentlessly direct style has him sitting fifth on the Jets in goal scoring.
