I know, I shouldn’t have expected it. It was too early for the Jets to snap out of their funk. But if the Winnipeg Jets didn’t beat the Detroit Red Wings, things were really about to get bad.
The Winnipeg Jets are actually second in the league in points. Sure, they’re on the higher end of games played, but second is better than last. Fifteen points in 11 games, is a ~112 point pace. Huh.
The way this team has been playing, you’d hardly know. But you know what? That’s what great teams do. They find ways to win when they’re not at their best.
What kind of point pace would these boys be at if they weren’t playing well? What if Connor Hellebuyck and the defense was sturdy? Or if the offense wasn’t 20th in goals per game?
Either way, the struggles have gotten to the point where I’m feeling good about the team when they right the ship, but are not yet at the point where I’m genuinely worried about the season outlook. It’s a decent place to be. But the clock is ticking.
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And if you have to get as lucky as the Jets did to eke out a win against the Detroit Freakin Red Wings, you definitely have some things to look at. Yes, Jimmy Howard was good.
But is every goalie just having a great night when the Jets are on the ice? At some point you have to blame the offense. Kyle Connor got a ridiculous pass from Blake Wheeler to tie it in the second.
In the third, Dustin Byfuglien recorded his 500th NHL point by hitting Howard in the shoulder with a puck, and having it bounce over and land past the goal line.
Hey, two points is two points, but that’s about the ugliest the Jets could’ve made that look. But look who was there again to impress? Laurent Brossoit. What can you say about this guy? He stopped 22 of 22 on 5-on-5 and 27 of 28 overall.
Brossy Boi is now sitting on 3-0 record, a .957 save percentage and a 1.68 GAA. Start him more and more. Connor Hellebuyck could use the break, at the least, and you can see what you really have in Brossoit.
Remember, the Jets play in Toronto tonight. It’s a quick turnaround and I’m sure that contributed to the Jets underwhelming show in Detroit’s Little Caesar’s Arena. Is that an excuse? Sure, but it’s not a very good one.
And it won’t mean a whole lot if Winnipeg comes out tonight and can’t handle Toronto. Nobody would blame the Jets, Toronto’s insanely talented. But so is Winnipeg. At some point, you gotta beat someone good.
The Jets have been blessed by a mediocre schedule in the early going, but if they never beat anyone worth beating, it’s not going to look great. There are only so many Red Wings, Coyotes, Senators, Rangers, Kings, Panthers, Blues…Jeez I guess there’s more than I thought. But still, not the point.
Winnipeg has a chance to prove they were able to hold back against Detroit to save something for Toronto (who have not played since that game in Winnipeg). That would be something.