Mitch Kasprick is now the “Westdale Curmudgeon”
Odds and Ends, Thoughts and Questions, from this past week in hockey –
Just so there’s no confusion when I’m spewing my bias, I am a fan of the Winnipeg Jets, Arizona Coyotes, Manitoba Moose, Winnipeg Ice, and all Team Canada Hockey teams.
I am NOT a fan of Gary Bettman or as I call him, Count Chocula. I am a big believer in the 7Ps. You’ve been warned.
1. Jets: The Winnipeg Jets had a good week, winning 2 out of 3 games but the highlight of the week was a 5-1 thumping of the Dallas Stars which improved their record to 9-4-1.
Even though this is probably temporary with the AVs just a couple of points behind us, it’s still nice to see and it was extremely important to have this kind of start and win back some of the fan base.
2. Jets: It might be sacrilegious to say this but I’m not here to wave pom-poms. The 3-2 loss in Calgary was probably Helle’s poorest outing of the season.
3. Jets: While we’re talking about Calgary, when was the last time Kyle Connor showed up for a game there?
4. Jets: Once again the Jets’ special teams failed them again in a very winnable 3-2 loss. The PP gave up a short-handed goal and later in the game the Jets had a two-man advantage for 1:18 and DID NOT MUSTER A SHOT ON GOAL. You could probably go to the zoo and grab 6 random chimps and give them a 2-man advantage for 1:18 and they could manage 2 or 3 SOG.
5. Jets: Even the most skeptical Jets fan has to admit that after watching the home team beat Dallas 5-1 that Rick Bowness has the boys on the right track.
6. Moose: The Manitoba Moose are a tidy 7-3-1-0 after splitting their two-game series with the Calgary although the Wranglers managed to leave town with 3 points. The Moose are still sitting in third place in the AHL’s Western Conference.
7. Jets: When is Nik Ehlers going to play again? I’ve had enough of Mason Appleton on the top line.
8. ICE: The Canadian Hockey League announced their Week 6 edition of the Kia CHL Top-10 Rankings for the 2022-23 season. The Winnipeg ICE won all three games they played at home this week including two games against the #1 ranked Red Deer Rebels. Their record is a very impressive 18-1-0 record and this should vault them to the #1 spot in the CHL when the new rankings come out on Wednesday.
Kia CHL Top-10 Rankings – Week 6
as of Nov. 9
1. Red Deer Rebels
2. Quebec Remparts
3. Winnipeg ICE
4. Ottawa 67’s
5. Sherbrooke Phoenix
6. Portland Winterhawks
7. Windsor Spitfires
8. Seattle Thunderbirds
9. Halifax Mooseheads
10. North Bay Battalion
9. Jets: I think it’s fair to see that right now Kyle Connor is a little snake bit. That’s the bad news, the good news is he is still getting scoring chances and any game now he is going to go off. If you own him in any fantasy leagues DO NOT SELL LOW.
10. Jets: The “Gus Bus” is playing pretty darn good hockey driving the fourth line. I don’t think the fans that watched him play with the Moose had any doubts. The nice thing about David Gustafsson is he is also a good offensive player that I can see playing in more offensive situations in the future. I’m a fan.
11. Jets: I haven’t liked Neal Pionk’s game very much this season but I was very impressed with his play in all three games last week. He’s not a big guy but when he plays with that gritty edge in his game, almost like he’s pissed off at something he seems to play very well. His offensive game has been solid all season but he hasn’t been good in the d-zone. This was an encouraging sign for me.
12. Jets: Poll question-
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13. Jets: After the shit-show on the powerplay the night before in Calgary it was nice to see the Jets defenceman shooting the puck on their PPs in the Seattle game. Now if they can start hitting the net we might get somewhere.
14. Jets: My weekly question for Rick Bowness, Kevin Cheveldayoff, or Mark Chipman.
This one is for Rick Bowness and Kevin Cheveldayoff. How long are you guys going to torture Ville Heinola? It is time to give him a shot. AGAIN. (see #19)
15. Jets: Special Teams: Rule of thumb. Have the two red numbers (PK and PP) total at least 100% when added (as your minimum).
- PP: 17th at 20.00% down from last week at 20.20%
- PK: 5th at 83.80% up from 6th last week at 82.80%
- FO: 27th at 45.80% up from 30th last week at 44.90%
16. Jets: Goaltending:
- Conner Hellebuyck: 7-3-1 … 2.08 GAA … .935 SV% … 2 shutouts
- David Rittich: 2-1-0 … 2.73 GAA … .890 SV%
