The Winnipeg Jets had a strong week going 3-0 on the road and they are finally starting to string together consecutive wins. There have been a lot of stellar individual performances over the last three games and many players are deserving of a three-star award.
The Jets got their road trip started with a pair of wins in the state of Florida. They beat the Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning each by a score of 4-3 and followed that up by winning 2-1 in hostile territory against the Nashville Predators.
Related: Jets Weekly: Laine, Niku, Road Trip & More
The Jets have now won five consecutive road games and are turning into true road warriors with one of the best records in the National Hockey League away from their home arena. With that said, let’s get started with this week’s “Jets’ 3 Stars of the Week.”
3rd Star: Patrik Laine
Patrik Laine is taking the third star this week for his stellar efforts both with and without the puck on his stick. He has been playing great on the top line with Nikolaj Ehlers and Mark Scheifele and he is slowly morphing into a guy who can contribute even when he is not racking up the points.
Laine has been more physical so far this season than any other since joining the Jets and his defensive zone play is slowly coming along as well. He is turning into an assist machine this season and registered three in the game against the Panthers and now has 14 on the season.
Related: Jets’ Top Line Beginning to Shine
Laine scored his lone goal of the week against the Predators on a great passing play with Kyle Connor just 18 seconds into the first period. Although the goals have not been piling up for him so far this season it has still been refreshing to see him contribute in many other ways.
2nd Star: Nikolaj Ehlers
Ehlers has had a hot stick as of late registering a goal in each of the last three games. This new-look first line for the Jets has been paying dividends for the club and they do not appear to be slowing down anytime soon. In fact, they seem to be getting better each game and finding more and more chemistry amongst each other.
Ehlers has had one his best starts to a season since joining the Jets and he is now up to 17 points in 22 games played. He is also the first player this season to hit double digits in goals as he currently leads the team with 10 on the season thus far.
Ehlers’ consistent play has earned him the second star this week and he currently sits second place in our season totals behind the man you are about to hear about next.
1st Star: Connor Hellebuyck
Connor Hellebuyck has once again earned this week’s first star. He is racking up the points in our season total count and for good reason. The 26-year-old just keeps getting the job done game after game and is starting to garner some early Vezina Trophy talk. His highlight of the week came against the Predators where he stopped 38 of 39 shots in the 2-1 win.
Related: Jets Report Cards 2018-19: Connor Hellebuyck
It is not hard to tell the Jets are getting a lot of their wins thanks to this man and everyone, myself included, are wondering how long till he breaks? It will be a sad time if that were to happen as the Jets clearly need him to play this well all season long to have any hopes of making the playoffs.
The Jets are one of the worst teams in the NHL at giving up high-danger scoring chances and Hellebuyck has faced the second-most shots against so far this season – this guy deserves all the praise he is receiving right now.
Season Totals
We are going to be keeping a tally on who earns player of the week throughout the 2019-20 season – first star gets you three points, second star gets you two points, and third star gets you one point. Here is our current total thus far with Hellebuyck still leading the way.
- Connor Hellebuyck: 15 points
- Nikolaj Ehlers: 10 points
- Mark Scheifele: 3 points
- Patrik Laine: 3 points
- Kyle Connor: 2 points
- Bryan Little: 2 points
- Jack Roslovic: 2 points
- Mathieu Perreault: 1 point
- Ville Heinola: 1 point
- Josh Morrissey: 1 point
- Adam Lowry: 1 point
- Andrew Copp: 1 point
Ryan is very passionate about the game of hockey and loves being at the rink. He is a current regional scout in his home province of Manitoba and a graduate of SMWW. He has played the game since the age of five at many different levels and is always looking to find new ways to stay involved. In his free time when he isn’t busy at the rinks or writing articles/reports, Ryan enjoys spending quality time with his wife and daughter. Follow him on Twitter @Goet91.
