The Winnipeg Jets are off to their first-ever 6-0-0 start in franchise history, so it goes without saying that there’s a lot going right. After their 3-2 win over the St. Louis Blues on Oct. 22, the Jets continued their torrid start to the regular season after grinding out yet another victory.
Now two weeks into the season, the pieces of their game that are contributing to the wins are apparent, and the areas of improvement have not come back to bite them yet. Let’s talk about the undefeated Jets in this week’s notebook.
What a Start, Winnipeg
The Jets are the only undefeated team remaining in the NHL. What else can you say, really? This team has shocked the league by coming out and just refusing to lose despite being on the ropes more than once. Skill? Tenacity? Luck? What is it about this team that has prevented them from losing early in the season, and how can they find a way to keep the fun rolling? It may be a mix of all three of those, but sometimes that’s just what is needed to capture this type of success.
While this stat means little, as it’s separated by four playoff losses to the Colorado Avalanche, but the Jets have not lost a regular-season game since March 30. That’s a 14-game winning streak in the regular season, which is pretty impressive all told. That said, this season is the one that counts, and that six-game streak is still pretty good.
Related: Winnipeg Jets Remain NHL’s Lone Unbeaten Team After Franchise-Best 5-0-0 Start
Despite being down in four out of the past five games, they’ve found that extra gear to get the job done and scrape out the win. They sit alone at the top of the NHL standings, something that I’m sure most fans could get used to. Still, the first loss will eventually come, but they’re doing a heck of a job banking points early to give themselves breathing room for when it matters most.
Enjoy this, Winnipeg, because what we’re seeing is fairly rare and it’s a ton of fun to watch.
Hellebuyck Still in Vezina Trophy Form
While the outright success of the team often implies it, Connor Hellebuyck is among the many Jets who are playing at the top of their game. The difference between the 31-year-old netminder and the rest of the team, however, is the fact he’s the reigning Vezina Trophy winner who doesn’t look like he’s lost a step.
In his five starts this season, Hellebuyck has stopped 127 of 134 shots, which is good for a .948 save percentage. It is truly astounding to think at this point last season, there were legitimate concerns about how slow of a start he was having. What an incredible difference one year makes.
For the better part of the past half-decade, the Jets’ success has come on the back of stability in the crease which has been provided by Hellebuyck. His long stretch of elite seasons is responsible for a great deal of wins, and he’s standing just as tall as ever as he improved to 5-0 after defeating the Blues.
Everyone is Getting on the Scoresheet
When coaches and players drop the “full-team effort” cliche in post-game interviews, it is often overlooked as an exaggeration and that’s typically the case. However, if you look at the scoresheet from each of the Jets’ six wins this season, it’s the furthest thing from just a figure of speech.
The Jets have six point-per-game players, including four out of the six members of the top two lines. Mark Scheifele and Nikolaj Ehlers lead the way, each with eight points. Another great story is how Cole Perfetti, who got off to a slow start with the rest of that second line, is now sitting at seven points after going pointless in the first three.
The middle six has been a huge success thus far, with both the second and third lines outscoring their opponents by a fairly decent margin. While it isn’t expected to be as high-powered for the entire season, the Adam Lowry line providing an offensive boost has been a more than welcome development. Lowry and Nino Niederreiter have four points, while Mason Appleton leads the line with five.
There may still be some tinkering to get everyone running at full speed, but for now, it’s working fairly well. One of the biggest successes is the fact that none of the forward lines are getting buried at even strength. The top line, which has a track record of being out-performed, has an edge in the shots battle over the opponent but has been just a tad unlucky with finishing. If just some of those find their way into the net, it is a massive development.
Arniel Keeping Everyone Involved
Something that has become apparent in the first six games is that head coach Scott Arniel doesn’t want people sitting for too long. Aside from Dylan Coghlan, who could find his way into a game this road trip, every healthy player who wasn’t in the lineup on opening night has found their way into a game. Ville Heinola and Jaret Anderson-Dolan remain on injured reserve, but will certainly factor into that rotation in the future.
David Gustafsson and Logan Stanley have both been in the lineup over the past few games and while Gustafsson has taken a seat again, Stanley has now played the past two. Eric Comrie also got into a game, starting against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Oct. 20 and stopping 39 shots on his way to his first win in a Jets jersey since 2022. It was a day of reminiscing, as the Jets honored long-time center Bryan Little before Comrie returned and won for the team that drafted him in 2013.
Arniel has spoken on the fact that he doesn’t want players to be cold for too long, as it would be less of a shock to be thrown into the lineup if an injury were to come up. That is why it seems likely that a Coghlan sighting is in the cards, as he is the only one who hasn’t got his shot since the start of the season. If it keeps everyone warm, it isn’t a bad strategy to future-proof the depth.
The Week Ahead Includes Trips to Seattle, Calgary
The next challenge for the Jets is out in the Pacific Northwest, as they take on the Seattle Kraken at Climate Pledge Arena on Oct. 24. They follow that up with a game against the Calgary Flames on Oct. 26 before returning home to face the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday, Oct. 28.
The question everyone is asking is, “How far can they take it?” Well, we’ll find out just how many wins they can string together as the road trip continues through the Western Conference.
