Winnipeg Jets: Three Things Dave Lowry Should Do To Make the Playoffs
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.
2. Make Some Changes in the Jets Bottom Six
The Jets should get dynamic forward Nikolaj Ehlers back into the lineup shortly after the all-star break. In his absence rookie, Cole Perfetti has exceeded expectations at the NHL level fitting in seamlessly on the Jets’ best line with Pierre Luc Dubois and all-star Kyle Connor.
For Dave Lowry, this creates one of those good problems to have, as he can move a player down in the lineup to help inject some offense into the bottom six. The Jets’ bottom six forwards this season have been disappointing in terms of contributing any secondary offense and establishing any type of identity.
My solution would be to move Blake Wheeler on to the third line with Adam Lowry and Paul Stastny. I’m not one of those fans who think that Wheeler is done as a player. However, it’s clear this season that he would be better suited to a third line role, giving up his spot to the more offensively talented Perfetti or Ehlers.
A third line of Wheeler-Lowry-Stastny would be defensively responsible and should be able to score against more favorable matchups. It also allows Lowry to pick and choose three players for the fourth line from Jansen Harkins, Dominic Tonitato, Kristian Vesalainen, Austin Poganski, Evgeny Svechnikov, and David Gustafsson when he returns from injury.
Creating some competition for a fourth line spot, and sending a clear message to establish an identity as a high energy, hard forechecking fourth line might lead to better results.
1. Get the Defense More Involved in the Offense
The Winnipeg Jets are currently ranked 21st in goals for in the NHL. The highest scoring defenseman on the Jets in terms of points is Nate Schmidt who sits at 44th in the NHL for defensemen.
Call me an optimist, but I think the Jets defense is capable of contributing more offensively, and that we have the skill to do so. While none of Neal Pionk, Josh Morrissey, and Nate Schmidt are at a Cale Makar level in terms of offensive talent, they all have offensive skills.
Ville Heninola has demonstrated some offensive talent, particularly at the AHL level, and even Logan Stanley has shown a willingness to shoot the puck on net. With the playoffs on the line coming out of the all-star break the Jets cannot afford to play conservatively.
Lowry needs to get the defense involved more offensively. I’m not suggesting end-to-end rushes, but I am suggesting pinching more in the offensive zone and trying to get more shots on net. That can be a risky approach, such as when a miscommunication on a Heinola pinch at the end of the Philadelphia game cost them the game winning goal to the Flyers.
However, with the season on the line, and the overall offense struggling, it is time for the Jets to play more aggressively, putting more pressure on opposing teams from their blue line. If the Jets continue to play conservative, passively with their defense in the opposition’s zone, I fear that the season could be over for them by the end of February.
Winnipeg Jets Fans: What do you think Dave Lowry should do to get the Jets into the playoffs? Leave your comments below!
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