Time: 11:30 am CST
Channel: TSN
Radio: CJOB680/Power 97
The Winnipeg Jets are coming off one of their worst outings of the season in a losing effort against the Dallas Stars, but things don’t get any easier as our squad heads east to meet up with the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday. News from the Jets’ coaching staff post-practice indicates that Gabriel Vilardi, Nikolaj Ehlers, Sean Monahan, and Mason Appleton will all be game-time decisions, so the lineup certainly remains in flux at this point.
The Hurricanes are coming in on a two-game winning streak and have a solid 19-7-4 record when playing at PNC Arena. Allowing only 8 goals over their past 5 matches, the Canes have been causing opposing offense’s all kinds of problems. While Winnipeg dropped Thursday’s game in Texas, the 6th place Jets have been good on the road this season (16-9-3) so they will be hoping to return to the win column against one of the Eastern Conference’s better teams (4th in the East, 8th in the NHL).
The Winnipeg Jets have been finding it difficult to put everything together at one time this season. Even when they were piling up the wins with defensive gems and great 5 on 5 scoring, the special teams were firing blanks. Then when the power play finally starts netting pucks on a regular basis, the offense dries up at even strength. As a result, the team starts pushing for more goals, leaving themselves open to the counter-attacks that killed them last game.
The answer of course is to play Rick Bowness’ system properly. If all the players are putting in the effort, then when that first forechecker disrupts the opponent’s breakout, the next Winnipeg forward is right there to either pick up the loose puck or get in position to provide a passing option. If the play doesn’t result in an immediate chance, then the cycle can begin in the search of a better look. The same thing goes in the other zones, like when a tight gap allows a defenseman to step in the neutral zone to break up a pass or a good backcheck helps take back possession of the puck. Of course in the defensive zone, the layers of Winnipeg players is vital to ensuring the team doesn’t get stuck in their own end for minutes at a time. When the puck is dumped into the Jets end, proper gaps guarantee that the first man back has a great passing option to start the break out. Just as important, the third player must be in a spot to smoothly exit the zone. Any mistakes or delays in any of these things will give the other squad the chance to make the easy play to either avoid the forecheck or create some offense of their own. It’s hard work, but if the Winnipeg Jets can do these things consistently, then offense will eventually come from all areas (top 6, bottom 6, PP). It will also make them a very hard team to beat….just like they were for the first half of the season.
Got a bit off-topic there, so let’s get back to preview stuff. I was looking at Winnipeg’s player stats and saw that Sean Monahan is still holding onto that unsustainable shooting percentage (25%). That got me to thinking that he should probably take more than 2.5 shots per game then, but was truly surprised to see that Mark Scheifele averages less (2.25). I know Scheif has typically gotten more assists than goals over his career, but he’s also a player who’s had 38 and 42 goal seasons, so someone has to tell him to pull the trigger more often. The #1 center is leading the team with 52 points, being chased by Josh Morrissey (46 pts), Nikolaj Ehlers (42 pts), and Kyle Connor (41 pts). While we don’t know how the forward deployment will look on Saturday, we do know that Connor Hellebuyck (2.23 GAA/.924%) will be in between the pipes.
The Carolina Hurricanes are being offensively led by Sebastian Aho (62 pts), Winnipeg-born Seth Jarvis (48 pts), and Martin Necas (42 pts). The Canes have used four different goaltenders this season, but only Pyotr Kochetkov has performed above average (2.35 GAA/.911%). What is impressive about Carolina is their depth scoring, as the team has six players with points in the 30’s and five in the 20’s at this point of the season (comparably the Jets have 2 & 5 respectively). As a result, the Hurricanes have the 12th best offense in the NHL, while allowing the 6th least goals against. So Winnipeg has their work cut out for them….here’s what the head-to-head looks like:
I can’t say looking at the stats have made me feel any better about Saturday’s battle versus the Canes. Carolina has a dangerous power play and very good penalty killing units, all while regularly out-shooting their foes by an average of 7 shots. This is a very good team that Winnipeg will be facing.
The trade deadline is getting closer and while most of the names of available players don’t get me very excited, there always are a couple that could be ideal for the Winnipeg Jets. This season, the two that intrigue me the most are Casey Mittlestadt of the Buffalo Sabres and Martin Necas of the Carolina Hurricanes. With the Sabres’ Mittlestadt, I think the ship truly sailed when Kevin Cheveldayoff pulled the string on the early Monahan trade, but I still feel he would have been a good add. The 25 yr old Necas is a guy I’ve always liked and he is coming off a career season (28 G/71 Pts), but the experts say Carolina are worried about his next contract. The Czech forward is on pace for 62 points and is only a couple markers away from his second 20 goal season. Because the 6’2” right handed center/winger is still an RFA after this year, the Canes don’t have to rush a decision and I truly can’t see him being moved at the deadline unless they are totally blown away. If Winnipeg is planning on continuing with a defense-first system next year, I would urge Chevy to at least explore a Necas deal during the summer….potentially dangling Kyle Connor as bait?
I’ve clearly rambled long enough…so in the short time (about 10 hours from when I posted this) before the game, let me hear your thoughts, concerns, conspiracy theories, trade suggestions, or even your favourite game-day foods in the comment section below.
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