Winnipeg Jets coach Dave Lowry has 40 games left in the season after the all-star break to get the team into the playoffs. Here are three things he can do to help achieve that goal.
When Paul Maurice shocked the hockey world by resigning as Winnipeg Jets head coach, it gave an opportunity for assistant coach Dave Lowry to take over on an interim basis. Most fans agreed with Maurice’s parting comments that the Jets are a talented team that needed a new voice to help them maximize that talent.
Maurice left the Jets with a 13-11-5 record in December. Under Dave Lowry, the Jets have a 5-6-2 record and are currently sitting outside of the last wildcard playoff spot in the Western Conference.
What happens with the Jets in the next 40 games will likely determine the fate of Dave Lowry as head coach and will have an impact on the trade deadline and future player decisions.
To make the playoffs the Jets need to finish with somewhere close to 96 points, which means that in the next 40 games, they will have to win approximately 24 games. That will be a difficult task for the team, and to do so, Dave Lowry has to get more from this group.
In the very unlikely event that coach Lowry is reading this article, here are three things that he can do to help the Jets make the playoffs in the second half of the season.
3. Play Connor Hellebuyck less often
Playing a Vezina caliber goaltender less on a team struggling to make the playoffs may seem like a terrible idea. However, as colleague Kieran Hurley pointed out in his excellent article, Hellebuyck is one of the Jets’ most important players and is struggling this season.
To date this season he is tied for his career-high in goals against average (2.90) and has his second-worst career save percentage (.910), and is winless in his last seven starts. Backup goaltender Eric Comrie has been a pleasant surprise this season in his eight starts with a goals against average of 2.34 and a save percentage of .920.
There are a number of theories as to why Hellebuyck is having a down season, but regardless, I would suggest the best approach would be to give him more rest between games. Lowry should give Comrie a higher percentage of starts, allowing a motivated, rested Hellebuyck to be at his best when he does play.
If the Jets are to make the playoffs this season, Hellebuyck is going to have to steal some games for the team when he is in.