Winnipeg Jets: 3 Things to Watch in November
As the calendar turns to a new month, here are three things to watch for from the Winnipeg Jets during the second month of the regular season
November is finally here! As we turn the page to November, the Winnipeg Jets are currently tied atop the Central Division with the Dallas Stars. Both the Jets and Stars have amassed 11 points in nine games.
The new month will be interesting for the Jets. The Jets will play 12 times over the 30 calendar days with seven games at home at the Canada Life Centre and the other five games on the road.
It should be a fun month of hockey around the NHL as teams start to solidify themselves. By the end of this month, the Winnipeg Jets will have played a quarter of their 2022-2023 regular season schedule.
Here are three things to watch from the Winnipeg Jets’ perspective during the month of November:
3. Seven Games in 13 Days to End the Month
To start off, we are going to turn our attention to the Winnipeg Jets schedule at the end of the month, specifically from November 17 to November 29th.
On November 17 the Jets begin a three-game homestand with a matchup against the Anaheim Ducks. Then on November 23, the Jets hit the road for a three-game trip and then they finish the month off on November 29 in Winnipeg against the Colorado Avalanche.
This is a lot of hockey in a short amount of time and there is one extremely important thing to look at during these last four games of November.
The last Jets’ four games of this month, including their whole three-game road trip from the 23rd to the 27th, are all against Central Division opponents.
These games will be extremely important for the Jets as they look to separate themselves from their Central Division foes at the early stages of the season. These games will definitely be fun to watch.
2. Can the Winnipeg Jets Powerplay Find Their Form?
The Jets finished the first month of the season with a powerplay success rate of 13.8% which is the seventh-worst rate in the NHL.
So far this season the Jets have scored a total of four goals on a total of 30 powerplay opportunities. 30 powerplay opportunities also ranks the Jets in the middle of the NHL when it comes to the number of times a team has had a man advantage.
Most people would not find the Jets’ early season powerplay struggles as a surprise considering the Jets’ special teams are under new coaching.
But these struggles are not just on the powerplay alone. The Jets have struggled to score goals in general. Winnipeg has only averaged 2.89 goals per game, which is 25th best in the NHL
It will be interesting to watch over the next month if and how the Jets adjust their powerplay and if those adjustments provide any success for the Jets.
Being successful on special teams may be the difference in winning or losing a game and those points could make the difference in making or missing the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
It is interesting to note that four out of the past five Stanley Cup winners have finished with a top-10 powerplay at the end of the regular season.
1. Can Connor Hellebuyck Sustain His Run?
Connor Hellebuyck had an outstanding end of October. In his final three games of the month, which were all within a week’s timespan, Hellebuyck picked up his first shutout of the season en route to a 2-0-1 record and stopped 111 of the 117 shots he faced.
The twenty-nine-year-old netminder made some incredible saves and was one of the main reasons why the Jets beat the Los Angeles Kings 6-4 and why the Jets picked up a point in their 2-1 overtime loss to the Vegas Golden Knights. There is a great argument to be made that Hellebuyck should have been named one of the NHL’s three stars of the week.
Hellebuyck looks to be in Vezina form, but the question is whether he can keep this up. I think most would agree that it is unreasonable to ask Hellebuyck to make over 40 saves a game.
If the Jets step up in front of Hellebuyck and limit the amount of high quality scoring opportunities he faces, then we could see the Jets remain at the top of the Central Division standings at the end of November. But if the Jets continue to rely on Hellebuyck game-in and game-out to steal points and he faces over 40 shots a game, this could be a long month for the Jets.
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The Jets play their first game of November this Thursday night (November 3) on home ice against the Montreal Canadiens. Stay tuned to our site for all your Winnipeg Jets news, opinions, and more!
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