And so it begins: the NHL is 106 years old, and this season, like every other, will take on a personality of its own.
As we’ve seen in recent years, trends and storylines repeat themselves constantly and consistently. But we are only three nights into a season that will last until next April and those trends are far from being formulated.
Trust me: teams that win game one won’t go 82-0 — at least I don’t think so.
Seriously, the quick glimpse we have watched only tells me one thing: expect the unexpected. The quality of play, the level of competition, the speed of the game in the NHL have never been better. Team 32, probably Anaheim or Chicago, will beat the top teams. And on any day of the week, a goaltender can steal a game. The Winnipeg Jets and their fans saw it first hand in their 5-3 loss to the Flames on Wednesday night.
For me and many others, the Jets were good enough to win the game in Calgary. And if they play like that on most nights, they will win more than they will lose. The talent, the depth, the speed of this team put them in good stead for the 82-game schedule.
We saw the Pierre-Luc Dubois trade work for the Jets with the Alex Iaffalo goal. We saw renewed enthusiasm and work ethic from both Connor Hellebuyck and Mark Schiefele. And we saw quality play from the core players like Josh Morrissey, Kyle Connor and captain Adam Lowry.
I know it’s early and the game was far from perfect, but I suspect most people in the organization feel more positive about the Jets than they did before the game — even if it was a loss.
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