At their current rate, the Winnipeg Jets are on pace for about 47 wins this season, close to a franchise-record cadence with three-quarters of the campaign still remaining.
They’re a team that competes, battles and chameleons into any type of game that is thrown at them in terms of skill, speed, physicality and grind – even including Tuesday night’s loss to Dallas.
In other words, this version of the Jets has been impressive, with perhaps the best still to come in front of a fanbase that surely wants to get on board — albeit with a patient and cautious approach.
But what could ultimately prevent the Jets from achieving a near record season – and maybe even 50 wins again — is their special teams, two areas that have weighed them down like an anchor this season, with scattered signs of either improving.
Sure, Tuesday night Winnipeg killed off both penalties they were assessed, only the seventh time in 21 starts they’ve been perfect on the penalty kill. At 74 per cent efficiency this season, it’s a quantum departure from owning the seventh-best PK in the league last year.
And then there’s the power play, a hit-and-miss entity that did nothing on four chances last game — including two five-on-threes to spark the offence or even momentum — and the Jets’ winning streak at home ended at three. Their power play now slumbers in the bottom third of the league.
Now, are these areas fixable? Of course! Will it take drastic revamping to change their course? Not likely, given it’s the same personnel, essentially, on both the power play and penalty kill units from last season — but improvement is required.
While Winnipeg’s five-on-five play is the envy of the league statistically, in order for the team to win significantly more than it loses, at least one of the special teams needs to better its pace, and quickly, in order to catch up to the cadence of the rest of the team this season.
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