Odds and Ends about the Winnipeg Jets and the NHL –
Some random facts and a few thoughts about the Winnipeg Jets, the Manitoba Moose, and the National Hockey League.
1. The Winnipeg Jets played three home games last week, going 3-0-0 and currently have a home record of 7-2-1. Their overall record is 12-4-3 for the season.
2. There is something going on in Winnipeg that NHL and AHL fans aren’t used to. Two hockey teams with very good records and winning in their home barn. Maybe they should have changed the name to Bell MTS Place sooner.
3. The Jets go on the road for four tough games this week. Actually, all road games are tough. There are no gimmes in the NHL. You would think the Jets learned that in their last road trip. This trip will be much tougher with games in Nashville, L.A., Anaheim, and San Jose. I’ll take four points. What about you?
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4. The Manitoba Moose won their three home games last week and now have an overall record of 11-5-1-1. They currently sit in first place in the Western Conference’s Central Division.
5. The Winnipeg Jets bottom six forwards have kicked in a few goals lately and some fans are going a little over the top about having four lines that can score now. Any time you get contributions from the third and fourth lines, it is a bonus but I’m not quite ready to declare the Winnipeg Jets a complete four-line hockey team. Let us see if the bottom six can contribute on a semi-regular basis first and the upcoming four-game road trip will be a nice test.
6. The U.S. Thanksgiving is upon us this Thursday and it has become an unofficial benchmark for predicting whether your team makes the playoffs or not. An impressive 78% of teams that are above the line Thanksgiving actually make the playoffs. This bodes well for the Winnipeg Jets and their fans.
7. Brandon Tanev is fast. I’d like to see a race between him, Kyle College and the Danish Dasher.
8. Pet peeve: The inconsistency of NHL officiating on a night to night basis. I could probably list this as a pet peeve every week. It is a major concern in my opinion.
9. I didn’t realize Matt Hendricks was as slow as he is. Sometimes he looks like Buff after a two-minute shift in OT.
10. Welcome back to the lineup Mathieu Perreault. MP notched goals in back to back games after returning to the Winnipeg Jets lineup on Thursday night. He also scored on Saturday afternoon versus New Jersey and the interesting thing was that he was playing on the fourth line with Joel Armia and ex-Capitals linemate Matt Hendricks. Mathieu Perreault makes a huge difference when he is healthy and playing because he makes almost every line he plays on better.
Update: Flyers defenceman Radko Gudas received a 10 game suspension from the NHL for his woodchop to the back of Mathieu Perreault’s neck in Thursday’s game at Bell MTS Place. I think that was just about right being a repeat offender. The new head of “Player Safety”, George Parros got it right.
11. Jack Roslovic has been moved to the wing by Manitoba Moose head honcho Pascal Vincent. I don’t know what precipitated this move but this could serve him well if the Jets need to call up some reinforcements from the farm. Being versatile never hurts.
12. Mason Appleton is starting to turn some heads in the AHL with his play. Who knows if or when he gets to play in a couple of games in the NHL but 17 points in 18 games for the 21-year-old is nothing to sneeze at.
13. FYI: After 18 games, Michael Hutchinson’s stats (7 games) are actually better than Eric Comrie’s (11 games) but both are very good. Hutch is rocking a 2.29 GAA and a .933 SV% while Comrie has a solid 2.56 GAA and a .921 SV%.
14. Defenceman Tucker Poolman has been recalled from the Manitoba Moose due to Toby Enstrom’s injury. It looks like Toby will be out of the lineup for approximately eight weeks. It will be interesting to see who slots into the lineup. I would guess it’s Ben Chiarot due to the fact he is on the NHL roster but I’m willing to bet Poolman gets a look on the road trip.
15. Question for Kevin Cheveldayoff: Have you had any inquiries about Michael Hutchinson and what are teams offering? If I had to guess it’s probably a mid-round pick at best.
16. I was just perusing the Winnipeg Jets schedule and starting on Jan. 30 and running through Feb. 20, they play TEN straight home games. I don’t think any Winnipeg Jets team going all the way back to the 1972 WHA Jets ever played ten in a row at home. I’ll have to get my crack research staff on it. PHYLLLLLLLLLLIS.
17. Bryan Little might not be scoring a ton but he is holding his own in the faceoff circle with a solid 57.8%. BTW he scored a nice goal versus the Coyotes last week and potted the shootout winner against Philly on Thursday night.
18. The Adam Lowry, Andrew Copp, and Brandon Tanev line continued its solid play during the Winnipeg Jets 3-game homestand. Nothing fancy. Just good hard work in both ends. One thing I’ve noticed is that Andrew Copp’s and Brandon Tanev’s speed have made Adam Lowry’s life much easier on the forecheck.
19. Goaltending:
- Conner Hellebuyck: 11-1-2 … 2.27 GAA … .931 SV%
- Steve Mason: 1-3-1 … 3.76 GAA … .892 SV%
20. Special Teams: Rule of thumb. Have the two red numbers total at least 100% when added. (as your minimum)
- PP: 8th at 21.9% … down from 6th at 24.1% last week.
- PK: 18th at 80.3% … up from 26th at 78.0% last week.
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Thanks, Mitch
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2 thumbs up on #9!
LOL …. that was more of an observation than a shot at him but it is certainly true.