The Winnipeg Jets are proving many naysayers incorrect early within the season. Many consultants picked the Jets to complete out of the playoffs this season, and rightfully so due to the strikes or lack thereof made by normal supervisor Kevin Cheveldayoff.
Nevertheless, no strikes are typically the very best, and the Jets’ technique is paying off early within the season. They’re 6-0-0 and sitting on the prime of the Central Division.
Let’s Not Dismiss the Winnipeg Jets This Season
We should do not forget that head coach Scott Arniel coached these gamers throughout stretches of final season when then-head coach Rick Bowness stepped away for private causes. So, they’re accustomed to this group, and so they belief his decision-making abilities behind the bench.
He’s getting the Winnipeg Jets to play a tough and rugged model of hockey based mostly on protection. That’s what made them so profitable final season. Whereas it unraveled within the first spherical of the Stanley Cup Playoffs in opposition to the Colorado Avalanche, the Jets deviated from their model of play. Winnipeg tried to play run-and-gun hockey as an alternative of the bodily hockey model they had been recognized for.
You noticed that model within the season’s opening recreation once they routed the Western Convention Champion Edmonton Oilers 6-0. Winnipeg was throughout Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and the remainder of the Edmonton Oilers group. Each likelihood to play bodily, they did.
NHL Information: The Winnipeg Jets and Cole Perfetti Agree on a Two-Yr Deal
Not solely that, however the gamers who had been introduced in as a part of the Pierre-Luc Dubois commerce have lastly acclimated to their new environment. Gabriel Vilardi performs on the highest line with Kyle Connor and Mark Scheifele. The Jets prime line is likely one of the finest within the NHL.
Vilardi was all the time a very good participant with the Los Angeles Kings, however there have been inconsistency points. These points don’t exist with the Jets this season. He’s making Scheifele a greater participant.
Scheifele is trying just like the participant he did for the Jets earlier than he had the hit on Jake Evans through the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs. He’s extra assertive with the puck. Scheifele has all the time had a very good shot. The identical will be mentioned about Connor, however including a participant like Vilardi has given the Jets prime line a distinct factor.
The Chicago Blackhawks Did Okay This Offseason, the Winnipeg Jets Not So A lot
However for those who search for and down the lineup, this Winnipeg Jets group has extra depth and is well-rounded. Cole Perfetti is coming into his personal on the second line with Vladislav Namestnikov and Nikolaj Ehlers. Ehlers is discovering his recreation this season, serving to drive the offense.
Winnipeg’s third line, with Nino Niederreiter, Adam Lowry, and Mason Appleton, is perhaps the very best within the NHL. These guys have nice chemistry, and this line won’t be outworked. Lowry units the city main by instance. He was the right captain for this group. In the meantime, Morgan Barron, Alex Iaffalo, and Rasmus Kupari are additionally chipping in.
Perhaps the Winnipeg Jets wouldn’t be as dangerous as many thought. Typically, you may’t decide a group by its strikes or lack of strikes; maybe you have to decide a group on expertise, ability, and play on the ice.
The Winnipeg Jets had been a gifted group earlier than the season began. They’re simply displaying the world that typically it’s best to fly beneath the radar.