Hold on! That’s all I have to say as the Winnipeg Jets head out on their player break, followed by the all-star break, and won’t skate in a team practice until Sunday.
The banged-up Winnipeg Jets are getting this break at just the right time.
That was a big focus following the loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday — with both the team’s captain, Adam Lowry, and head coach, Rick Bowness, calling for a reset — a return to what was making them successful and a chance to re-energize themselves as the true push for the post-season begins.
The Jets are ailing. Missing Mark Scheifele has been the biggest blow, with the team going 2-3-1 without their number-one centre.
There are more players who are fighting some injuries and bumps and bruises beyond, among them no doubt Josh Morrisey and Gabe Vilardi, who were both game-time decisions and did play on Saturday.
Beyond just that, Kyle Connor is still trying to return to form prior to his knee injury against the Ducks all those weeks ago.
So, while the team is struggling to score goals and has certainly slowed down a bit, this was always going to happen at some point.
When the Jets were first place in the league, I remember talking about the reality of things over the back half of the season, getting tougher. Losing streaks were going to happen, more injuries were going to pile up.
That’s a good reason for this break, once again, coming at the right time. But what might be more important is what’s to come.
From Feb. 19 to the end of the regular season on April 18, the Jets will play 30 games in 60 days — on average, a game every second day.
The Jets will need to be healthy and ready to roll when the schedule gets hot and heavy in a little under three weeks.
So hold on. It’s yet to get busy.