WINNIPEG — As the Winnipeg Jets are finding out, playoff hockey is a different animal.
The tests are not the same in April, when the Nashville Predators line up against you every second night, as they are in January when the Arizonas and Buffalos break up the schedule with their mixed-up lineups of aspiring NHLers and wannabe regulars.
This time of year exposes weaknesses in your game, both systematically and individually, while at the same time providing an occasion that players can rise to. So far the Jets are just fine as a team, with a 5-2 post-season record. Individually, Mark Scheifele, Josh Morrissey, Dustin Byfuglien and Connor Hellebuyck are among those who have found a way to get better as the level rises, while some of their teammates aren’t there yet.
As the series shifts north to Winnipeg, we’ll offer a few thoughts on a few players — some who are exceeding expectations, and others who are getting left behind.
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Kyle Connor had 31 goals and 57 points this season, but still awaits his first career playoff marker. Chances? He’s had a few, but the dangerous winger who made his way to the Jets top line as a rookie this season has yet to arrive in the playoffs, despite 15 shots on net.
Meanwhile, Nikolaj Ehlers was a 60-point, 29-goal winger this season. That’s 60 goals and 117 points between the two support wingers, but only three assists each in a goalless post-season thus far.
In a Game 2 track meet that should have been right up the speedy Dane’s alley, Ehlers didn’t have enough impact. He has been pushed to the perimeter too much thus far, as a young skill player learns that the game turns with the calendar in April.
He’ll figure it out, because he’s smart and skilled. Until then, the Jets are getting enough goals that both Connor and Ehlers get a pass from the coach.
“Evaluate the group almost as the line,” Paul Maurice said Monday. “So, Connor hasn’t scored but Mark Scheifele clearly has. The (Paul) Stastny line has produced some big goals for us. (Ehlers) speed, the big (Stastny) goal in Nashville — it’s all Nik Ehlers, right? From one end to the other, he tries to put it to the net, (Patrik Laine) gets a great chance and Paul Stastny scores. But Nik Ehlers drives that play.”
The good news for Connor is he doesn’t have to look far to see how one elevates their game in the playoffs. His centreman, Scheifele, has been a beast.
“Nothing more than usual throughout the regular season,” said Connor. “It seems like the bigger the stage, the more he elevates his game. He really comes to play.”
On defence, Josh Morrissey is playing a stable, physical, puck-moving game that has truly impressed. He has the speed to defend in today’s game, and he is surprisingly physical for a player of his small stature. The Jets expect him to grow offensively as he matures, but for now we see a player who will soon replace Toby Enstrom in the lineup, perhaps as soon as next season with Enstrom in his UFA season.
It’s awesome to watch young guys who relish games like these.
“Nothing compares to the Stanley Cup Playoffs,” Morrissey gushed. “Nothing comes even close to the spectacle of it, the grind, the compete, the level of play. It’s just that — it’s on a whole other level.”
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Enstrom is a special case, in what could be his final weeks in a Jets jersey. He’s coming off an injury that put him down for a month, and joining a series like this one after a month off is like walking out onto the freeway with roller blades on. It’s going to take Enstrom a while to catch up, and his coach is no doubt aware of that.
Enstrom is minus-3 in two games vs. Nashville, but the Jets believe Byfuglien is more comfortable with his old partner at his side, so they will take the tradeoff of a rusty Enstrom for a better Byfuglien. For now, anyhow.
On the third pairing, Ben Chiarot had us lauding the Jets’ extraordinary depth as he stepped up his game in the absence of Enstrom, Tyler Myers, and Jacob Trouba this season. And so far in the playoffs, but for an untimely whiff on a puck late in the second period Sunday, Chiarot has held his own.
But as this series ramps up — and speeds up — will Chiarot’s game hold up? The Jets are playing with house money with this player. So far he has exceeded expectations but the level is rising.
Here’s where we find out if this depth defenceman has hit his ceiling or not.
