With the Winnipeg Jets’ season on an 11-day pause for the all-star and player breaks, I thought it would be timely to take a look back at some of the more significant moments of this season’s first 52 games.
Thirty-two of those 52 games played have been wins, so there is no shortage of candidates when it comes to selecting a top five.
Here are mine, with some context for why I think these victories stand out in particular.
The 4-1 win over the Rangers on opening night. You might remember, the narrative going into the season was that Winnipeg faced a very difficult 10-game start. Toss in the unexpected absence of Rick Bowness behind the bench because of COVID-19, and that just adds to the significance of how that all played out.
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The 4-0 shutout of previously undefeated St. Louis in Game 6 on Oct. 24. The Jets had made a pact to not fall below .500. They went into that meeting with the 3-0 Blues sitting at 2-3. Winnipeg has remained comfortably above that 50-50 line ever since.
The 5-4 overtime win in Dallas on Nov. 25, for a number of reasons. The Jets ended an 0-for-7 slide in the Big D. They blew a 4-2 lead in the final two-plus minutes of that game. It gave Winnipeg the tiebreaker advantage vs. the Stars in the season series — and the victory came on the heels of a 6-1 beatdown in Minnesota.
A 5-1 win over Ottawa in the final home game before Christmas on Dec. 20. That victory came in the midst of a five-games-in-seven nights schedule that saw the injury-riddled Jets going from coast to coast. Ultimately, it prevented Winnipeg from losing four straight for the first time this season.
…which brings us to last Monday’s third-period comeback versus St. Louis that avoided another potential four-game skid, coming off the worst home ice performance of the season and going into an 11-day break.
I’m curious — do any of these five wins make your list?
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