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 had a light schedule last week with only two games and went 1-1-0 and are now 4-3-0 overall for the season.
2. On a sad note, early last week Canada lost an icon. We all knew it was coming but that didn’t make it any easier to take. Rest In Peace Gord Downie.
Sometimes the word icon gets thrown around pretty loosely but Gord Downie was and always will be a Canadian ICON.
— MoTown Curmudgeon (@WpgSportsTalk) October 18, 2017
3. The Winnipeg Jets are getting absolutely nothing from their third and fourth lines. Is it personnel? Is it usage? Is it the combinations? Whatever it is, this can’t continue.
4. I actually read after Toronto’s 2-0 win over the Caps in Washington on Tuesday night that they were now the Stanley Cup favourites! It was an impressive win for sure but isn’t that a pretty bold statement this early in the season?
5. When in doubt blame it on Chris Thorburn, Mark Stuart, or Ondrej Pavelec. What? They don’t play here anymore? Oh.
6. Yes, Nikolaj “don’t call me Nik” Ehlers turned the puck over at the blue line and it led directly to Columbus’s first goal by Cam Atkinson last Tuesday but the bigger question for me is …. “where the hell was Josh Morrissey and Jacob Trouba on that play? They both jumped into the zone way too early. Maybe one of them but NOT both.
7. Congrats to Winnipeg Jets coach Paul Maurice who won his 600th game as an NHL head coach on Friday night. He is the 17th coach in NHL history to reach that milestone.
8. Pet peeve: I don’t think this actually qualifies as a pet peeve but I’m tired of Mathieu Perreault’s injuries. I’m sure he is too.
9. Steve Mason should let Paul Maurice know he would just as soon not start on “Free Pizza Night”.
10. I must admit I liked what I saw from Kyle College this past week. He played very well in both games and I don’t think he plays another game for the Manitoba Moose. Sorry, Pascal.
Loading ...11. Overheard in the bowels of Bell MTS Place. Steve Mason to Paul Maurice. “Hey Paul, can you start me behind that team that Helle gets to play with?”
12. Is it just me or is the Winnipeg Jets schedule weird so far this season?
13. FYI: Paul Maurice coached teams have only made the playoffs five times. (see #7)
14. How is it possible to know you have a problem and in this case, I’m talking about the Winnipeg Jets penalty killing and not do anything about it. It takes no special skill to kill penalties, a chimp can do it but the chimp needs a game plan from the guys posing behind the bench. Our third and fourth line guys can’t score and they can’t kill penalties, so what good are they? Maybe the Jets should roll two lines and they can do it all!
15. Question for Kevin Cheveldayoff: How long are we going to watch your third and fourth lines do squat before you do something about it?
16. Congrats to Brendan Lemieux who played in his first NHL game on Friday night versus the Minnesota Wild. He worked hard, hustled, and provided energy to his line but I don’t see much offense coming from him or any longevity at the NHL level.
17. Congrats to Blake Wheeler on his 200th goal in the NHL. It was a biggie as it was the game-winner vs Minnesota on Friday night.
18. In my opinion, Toby Enstrom has been quietly awful this season.
19. They always say that whoever gets the best player in a trade usually wins the trade. Evander Kane was a handful off the ice depending on who or what you believe BUT he was the best player in that trade. I wasn’t convinced originally. I thought the Winnipeg Jets did pretty well in the deal with the Sabres but “the natural” has been playing some pretty good hockey. It looks like it’s going to be up to Jack Roslovic to tip the scales back in Winnipeg’s direction.
20. Special Teams:
- PP: 18th at 17.4% … up from 23rd at 10.5% last week.
- PK: 31st at 72.0% … down from 30th but up from 71.4% last week.
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Connor looked good. I’d put Perreault (when healthy) with Lowry and Armia, Hendricks with Mathias and Petan. Give Enstrom some time off. I really think the PK needs to play hard right to the end because they have allowed at least 4 or 5 goals in the last 20 seconds. Maybe Hendricks helps the PK.
if Hendricks doesn’t help their PK there is no justification for signing him then
I thought he’d at least help with faceoffs but they’ve been pretty good without him. I still think the PK looks good for about 1:40 but gets lazy late in penalties. It has been marginally better. This is why I don’t like stats because they could do well the next 10 games and still be 25 or worse in the league. Another reason why analytics mean diddly to me. Plus with video you can correct things quickly.
Then the Jets coaching staff better start using video. It’s taking a looong time to correct things quickly.
19) I think the Jets won the Evander Kane trade. Kane may turn out to be the best player in the deal, but he was a big off-ice distraction for the team. Bogosian has done next to nothing with Buffalo, and Kasdorf is somewhere in the ECHL.
On the other hand, Drew Stafford served his purpose here, making a big impact for the Jets in their run to the playoffs. Tyler Myers was a decent return but injuries have plagued him. Armia has been a regular in the lineup, and still can peak as a 2nd line player. At 21, Lemieux can still prove himself to be a impact player if he manages to become more disciplined. The Wild Card is Roslovic. At 20, he has been the best Moose player (excluding Connor), and looks like he’s NHL bound next season, and can peak as a 2nd line centre. We can put this question to rest in two years from now, in any case.
yes … the Jets did net more “roster” players but I can take or leave Armia … Roslovic is the wildcard … the deal served its purpose at the time but it wasn’t the slam duck I originally thought it was.
Agree on Toby. Has lost a step for sure. Team still needs a top 4 lhd. Bad PK is all on the coach. Has the players and the speed to be agressive on pk but system is passive. Doesn’t work at this level. How Pomo hasn’t figured that out is beyond me.
that seems to be the popular opinion … I gave up a long time ago trying to figure out coaching decisions
When does the coaching staff get the defensive game straightened out? It’s all about demanding hard work and then getting it out of the players. If they can’t then it’s on the coaching.