The Winnipeg Jets are 3-0-0 via their first three video games of the 2024-25 season, posting a 6-0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers and 2-1 additional time wins over the Chicago Blackhawks and Minnesota Wild. It’s the primary time in 2.0 historical past they’ve rattled off three-straight wins to start a marketing campaign.
There’s been a lot to glean from the primary 120-plus minutes of hockey performed below new head coach Scott Arniel and his workers. Right here, we’ll dive into three takeaways.
1: Scheifele Off to a Scorching Begin
Will Mark Scheifele ever not be concerned in a Jets’ objective once more? The Jets’ first-ever draft choose has picked up a degree on the workforce’s final six tallies, aiding the 5-0 objective in opposition to the Oilers, scoring the 6-0 objective, scoring each targets in opposition to the Blackhawks, scoring the tying objective in opposition to the Wild within the closing second of the primary interval, and aiding Kyle Connor’s additional time winner. His six factors leads the workforce.
The 31-year-old’s torrid begin has included a few milestones: his additional time winner was his Three hundredth-career objective and the sport in opposition to the Wild was his 800th. It’s laborious to consider he was thought of by most to be nearly as good as gone earlier than signing a large contract final October to doubtless stay a Jet for all times.
Scheifele is at the moment on tempo for 164 over 82 video games, and whereas he clearly received’t attain that, his bids to guide the workforce in factors for the second-straight season and function at a point-per-game-plus clip for the eight marketing campaign of his profession are each off to good begins. Might he even be the primary 2.0 Jet to achieve 100 factors in a season?
2: Particular Groups Making an Influence
Considered one of Arniel’s foremost targets this season was to enhance the particular groups and have them make a extra frequent constructive impression than final season. It’s to this point, so good on that entrance in a small pattern dimension.
The ability play — which completed twenty second final season with an 18.75 per cent effectivity — is rocking a 42.85 effectivity through three targets in seven alternatives. The regime, now run by assistant coach Davis Payne, hasn’t been good however attached for 2 targets in opposition to the Oilers and one in opposition to the Wild in additional time. They went zero for 2 in opposition to the Blackhawks, with one alternative wanting disjoined and one wanting extra harmful.
Connor and Scheifele have scored on the person benefit to this point, and that’s a promising signal issues are diversifying. Gabriel Vilardi carried the power-play load final season by scoring a team-leading 9 regardless of solely taking part in 47 video games.
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— Winnipeg Jets (@NHLJets) October 10, 2024
The Jets’ penalty kill, which completed twenty first final season and is now below assistant coach Dean Chynoweth’s watchful eye, has killed all of its shorthanded alternatives. Whereas it has not been referred to as upon closely — the workforce has been down a person solely 5 occasions — it’s been good when it’s mattered.
The regime — which now deploys Scheifele, Connor, and Nikolaj Ehlers along with the extra conventional bottom-six penalty killers — has been extra aggressive on the puck provider than in previous seasons and the hope is that aggression will translate to shorthanded possibilities. Their largest kill got here late within the third interval in opposition to the Wild when Rasmus Kupari was despatched off for prime sticking, not permitting a shot to protect the 1-1 impasse and set the stage for Connor’s heroics.
“Final yr, the story was that we’d at all times come out on the mistaken facet of that or we’d win despite particular groups,” Adam Lowry mentioned after the sport versus the Wild. “It’s good to have them contribute in a constructive method.” (From ‘Connor works OT magic to propel Jets previous Wild,’ Winnipeg Free Press, Oct. 13, 2024.)
A contending workforce’s power-play and penalty-kill percentages ought to add as much as 100-plus and the Jets’ at the moment sits at 142.85. That may go down, after all, however the hope is particular groups stays a constant energy because the gamers get extra snug with their new assistant coaches’ techniques.
3: Jets’ Protection & Hellebuyck Making Life Robust On Opponents, Particularly Massive Weapons
The Jets, who received the William M. Jennings Trophy final season for permitting the league’s fewest targets, have picked up the place they left off by solely surrendering two to date. The protection has accomplished a reasonably good job at limiting high-danger scoring possibilities (permitting a median of fewer than 10 per recreation) and staying calm within the pair of tight contests. Connor Hellebuyck has been locked in with a .976 save proportion on 83 pictures.
They’ve accomplished an particularly good job of holding opponents’ greatest at bay. First, they saved the lethal duo of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl to a few pictures, with not one of the three pictures coming off McDavid’s stick.
They then saved teen sophomore sensation Connor Bedard off the scoresheet, holding him to at least one shot. The 2023 first-overall choose was additionally on the receiving finish of a textbook hip verify by Neal Pionk throughout a first-period rush try.
It was an identical story in opposition to the Wild, after they restricted Kirill Kaprizov — often called “The Thrill” for his capacity to show a recreation on its head in a rush — to 4 non-high-danger pictures.
The one two males to place one in on the Jets are middle-six ahead Blackhawks Ryan Donato and Wild defenseman Jake Middleton. Utile gamers, however not precisely family names.
Fast-Hit Observations
- The Jets’ second line of Cole Perfetti, Vladislav Namestnikov, and Ehlers has been the least-effective line of 4, producing zero targets. That they had some higher shifts and generated extra possibilities in opposition to the Wild than in opposition to the Oilers or Blackhawks, however the line appears to lack chemistry total regardless of taking part in the primary 18 video games collectively final season. Arniel broke them up for the third interval in opposition to the Blackhawks and one has to marvel how lengthy he’ll persist with them; he’s loath to interrupt up his sturdy third line of Mason Appleton, Lowry, and Nino Niederreiter, however he may need to if Perfetti/Namestnikov/Ehlers doesn’t present extra quickly.
- The attendance for the house opener was 14,564, about 800 shy of a sellout. The actual fact there was a Winnipeg Blue Bombers recreation throughout city on the identical time that drew a sellout crowd of 32,000-plus doubtless contributed to the empty seats at Canada Life Centre. The attendance in opposition to the Wild on Thanksgiving Sunday was 12,916. The Jets averaged 13,740 followers final season and have made some aggressive strikes to draw extra season ticket and partial-season package deal holders.
- Down on the farm, the Manitoba Moose started the 2024-25 American Hockey League (AHL) marketing campaign with a pair of victories over the Iowa Wild, capturing a 6-4 win on Oct. 12 and 3-2 win the subsequent day. 2021 second-rounder Nikita Chibrikov leads the membership with 4 factors (one objective, three assists;) rookie netminder Domenic DiVincentiis captured his first-career AHL victory within the second contest, making 37 saves.
Jets Proceed 4-Recreation House Stand, Will Honour Hellebuyck and Little
The Jets proceed their four-game residence stand on Friday, Oct. 18 after they welcome the San Jose Sharks to city. It’s “Hellebuyck Night time” on the downtown enviornment; the workforce will honour their star goaltender for successful the 2024 Vezina Trophy in what may also be the five hundredth begin of his NHL profession.
On Sunday, Oct. 20, the Jets will face off in opposition to the Pittsburgh Penguins and honour Bryan Little, who they signed to a one-day contract late final month so he can retire as a Jet. Little was drafted twelfth total by the Atlanta Thrashers in 2006 and was one of many gamers True North Sports activities & Leisure inherited after they purchased and relocated the franchise in 2011; he performed all 843 video games of his NHL profession with the Thrashers/Jets franchise, recording 217 targets and 204 assists for 521 factors and 4 targets and eight assists for 12 factors in 27 playoff video games. His profession ended prematurely at 32 years previous on account of a severe head harm in November, 2019.