Somehow the first quarter of the season has already passed and the Jets have certainly seen their share of ups and downs. The season started off with a successful 4-game road trip in the Eastern Conference, coming away with 3 regulation wins. Then came a 3–1 win vs. Calgary in their home opener to give them an impressive 4–1–0 record.
It was tough sledding after that, though, as they only managed another 4 wins in their next 14 games. Within that stretch was a 6-game losing streak, an embarrassing 7–0 loss in Nashville, and very poor performances against Montreal, Minnesota, and Dallas. They finished their first 20 games with a 9–9–2 record, good for 20 points and a spot in 6th place in the Central Division.
If the Jets have any shot at the playoffs, they must finish no lower than 5th in their division. The Central Division is brutal once again and Winnipeg must find a way to finish ahead of Dallas, St. Louis, Minnesota, Nashville, or Chicago. Not an easy task. It seems likely that both Western wildcard teams will come from the Central, as the Pacific looks much weaker.
The Jets will need to continue to receive a strong performance from Blake Wheeler. Wheeler has been a notoriously slow-starter, but this year has been different. The speedy forward has been a point-per-game producer with 21 points (8 goals, 13 assists) in the first 20 games. He’s been among the NHL’s top 10 scorers for most of the early season. Bryan Little has also been racking up points; he is second on the team with 18 points.
One of the biggest developments is the progress of Mark Scheifele. The 2nd-line centre finally looks the part of an NHL player after putting on some much-needed muscle over the summer. When we first saw Scheifele as an 18-year-old in 2011, he was a skinny kid who too easily got knocked off the puck and was falling down on the ice more often than not. At 22, Scheifele has filled out his 6’3” frame and is a force on the ice. With 7 goals in the first 20 games, he’s on pace for his first 25-goal season. His 12 points put him in a tie for 4th in team scoring while his +7 plus/minus trails only Toby Enstrom’s +8.
There certainly are no injury excuses right now. The only player to join Grant Clitsome on the injured reserved list is Andrew Copp, who missed 4 games with an upper-body injury. Injuries are inevitable, but the teams that have the most success are often those that have the fewest injuries. Perhaps this will factor in as the season progresses.
November might be the hardest month on the Jets’ schedule this year with only 4 home games and 10 road games. Things get a little easier in December with 7 home games and only 5 games on the road. Might be a good time to make up some lost ground.
