3 Reasons to have Optimism for the 21-22 Winnipeg Jets at Christmas
Christmas time is here and, at the Holiday break, there are many reasons for optimism regarding the 2021-2022 Winnipeg Jets.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays Winnipeg Jets Fans. At Christmas, the Jets are currently thirty games into their 82 game season and currently sit in fifth place in the Central Division.
This season has been a topsy-turvy one for the Jets. We’ve seen the highs of the Jets pick up points in twelve out of thirteen games from late October to mid-November and the lows of a seven-game losing streak.
But there are plenty of reasons for optimism regarding this Jets team and the 2021-2022 season can prove to be a successful one for them.
Here are our top three reasons for optimism for the Jets:
3. Still a long way to go
As mentioned above, the Jets are in fifth place at this point of the season, but they have only played 30 games. There is still a lot of hockey left to be played.
The Jets still have 52 games left this season, which is only four games less than they placed all last year in the 56-game shortened regular season.
Winnipeg is not in a bad spot either. Although they currently are outside of the playoff picture, they are only three points behind a wild card spot and six points out of a divisional playoff spot.
There is no need to panic yet about the Jets. Winnipeg still has a majority of the season left and there is plenty of time for them to solidify their place in the playoffs.
2. Lowry is making his mark
It caught many by surprise when Paul Maurice resigned as head coach of the Jets during his ninth season in that position. The Jets had found success under Maurice in years prior, but they needed a new leader behind the bench.
Assistant coach, Dave Lowry was then named interim head coach and has only been in that role since December 17 and for two games. The Jets have won one and lost one since appointing Lowry.
As stated on the last slide, there are still over 50 games left for the Jets this season and Lowry has not had the opportunity to make his mark behind the bench.
Most new head coaches do not have the same success that Bruce Boudreau is having. Boudreau was named the Cancuks head coach on December 5 and the Cancuks are currently on a six-game winning streak and have yet to lose under him.
There is no reason to compare Lowry to Boudreau. Lowry, the first-time NHL head coach, is taking over for Maurice who has been behind the Jets bench for eight full seasons. It may take some time for Lowry to change the Jets into his team.
It should be fun to watch the Jets after the break as we will get to see the identity of this team under Lowry. This can definitely be a positive for the Jets moving forward.
1. The top-guns are heating up
It was a slow start for some of the Jets’ top players this season, but some of those players are turning the corner.
Some of those players that had slow starts include Mark Scheifele and Blake Wheeler. Scheifele only had eight points going into December, but since the start of December, he has eleven points in that time frame and there were only two games during this month that he did not register a point. Blake Wheeler was on a five-game point streak before he got hurt, in which he had ten points during those games.
Then you add in the fact that Nikolaj Ehlers is currently on a three-game point streak and had four points in the Jets’ last game against the St. Louis Blues.
Also, we’ve seen a different Pierre-Luc Dubois compared to last year. Dubois already has 14 goals and 11 assists this season in 30 games and has already eclipsed his point total from last season (20 points).
Lastly, Kyle Connor has been on a tear this season. He is the Jets leading scorer with 18 goals and 14 assists.
The Jets’ top-six is elite and at points during this season they have struggled. The Jets have only lost three games (0-2-1) up to this point where they have scored three or more goals.
When the Jets’ top players are producing they are an extremely tough team to beat and the trends going into Christmas look good for the Jets.
Winnipeg Jets Fans: Will the Winnipeg Jets make the postseason? Leave your comments below!
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