WINNIPEG – There is always a lot of debate about how wide the window of contention is for teams pursuing the Stanley Cup.
A year ago, the Winnipeg Jets entered the tournament as one of the clear favorites, even though they slipped to second place in the Central Division in the second half towards the end of the regular season.
After reaching the Western Conference final in 2018, expectations were sky-high and it was believed that the jets had the talent to take the next step.
It turned out that the St. Louis Blues had other ideas and bounced off the jets in the first round of a six-game series, the turning point of which was obvious.
With a 2-2 draw in the series, the Jets took a 2-0 lead in game 5 and almost made it 3-0 towards the middle of the second half.
Kevin Hayes had the puck behind Jordan Binnington, but when blues defender Colton Parayko put it on the ice, Hayes accidentally threw the puck off the net instead of into it.
The blues recovered and Jaden Schwartz delivered the dagger in the waning seconds of the regulation period.
St. Louis never looked back and the jets never recovered.
Although the scoreboard was 3-2 in the series, the Jets scored two goals in the third period to bring the end result closer than it actually was. Make no mistake, the result was never really doubtful – even if the comeback attempt was admirable.
And just like that, the Jets continued their longest run in franchise history with a disappointing exit from the first round.
History has shown that for some teams, just as much (or more) learning results from these heartache conditions before a breakthrough is actually possible.
What does this mean for the jets when they returned to the ice on Monday to start preparing for their best-of-five play-in series with the Calgary Flames?
With almost five months between games until August 1st, it is clear that the questions will outweigh the answers.
What we do know is that the jets spent most of this season as a bubble team, switching between over and under the playoff line.
This allows you to remove favorites from any label you may want to attach to them.
This is not to say that the jets will wear the glass slipper at the end of the ball.
This is also not a bottom feeder club. For now, let’s examine the reasons why the jets should be considered sleepers.
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THE JETS ARE BATTLE TESTED
As mentioned earlier, a good part of this core group is preparing for the third playoff run (several holdovers were part of another in 2015, when the jets played long distances well, but their inexperience was shown by the Anaheim Ducks being swept up will have its advantages.
There was a long and successful run (leading to the first nine playoff wins in franchise history dating back to the Atlanta Thrashers) and two early exits.
Of course, due to the circumstances of the pandemic, these playoffs will be like no other, but that does not mean that no lessons could be learned from the road that was already in use.
“You don’t have to explain to your players what playoffs look like,” said Jets coach Paul Maurice. “What, you go back two years, we had to. We didn’t really have the guys who ever played a playoff game, let alone in the long run. But now we have successive years in which our drivers are familiar with how the playoffs work, and we were very impressed since we were so young. This experience is very important. “
The jets have also learned to hide the outside noise associated with the territory at this time of year when you play in a Canadian market.
“We manage our own expectations in our room. We are not too concerned about what people outside of our team think, what they write, what they say about us, ”said Center Adam Lowry. “We have a goal in this room. It starts against the flames and hopefully we can go on.
“Throughout the year we’ve fought injuries, fought various things, and we’re going to the playoffs fairly well and rested. We’re looking forward to getting this team on the ice and seeing what happens.”
Under-the-radar movements often pay off
Think of the capitals of Washington in 2018.
When Brian MacLellan, general manager of Capitals, picked Michal Kempny from the Chicago Blackhawks, the move made little waves when he appeared on the list of transactions.
Most saw it as a small deep movement.
But Kempny, an occasional healthy scratch at the Blackhawks, played important minutes in the second pairing when the Capitals defeated the Golden Knights in five games and won their first Stanley Cup.
Dylan DeMelo has never been in jeopardy of being a healthy scratch with the Ottawa senators, but he’s the guy who doesn’t make much headlines. And yet he does the little things that are necessary to make his defense partner’s life easier.
The jets took a second step and got Center Cody Eakin from Vegas for a conditional selection in the fourth round in 2021, which would improve to a third if Winnipeg qualified for the playoffs or the Winnipegger with his hometown team again signs.
Like Paul Stastny and Hayes before him, Eakin centered the second line, but the initial cost was much lower than a first-round selection that the previous two players had collected.
Eakin gave the lineup of the jets a little more advantage and, in addition to the experience of reaching the Stanley Cup final with the Golden Knights, achieved a second rating.
If the jets do any run, you can bet that DeMelo and Eakin will have a positive impact.
THE JETS HAVE ELITE GOALTENDING
In a toss series, it is rarely a bad idea to bet on the team with a proven Netminder.
When the Los Angeles Kings conquered the Stanley Cup in 2012, Jonathan Quick was in the middle of it all, starting with the surprise in the first round of the Vancouver Canucks.
These playoffs ended with Quick winning the Conn Smythe Trophy through Quick.
While the kings were the eighth seed in the Western Conference this year, the Jets are entering the play-in round as the ninth seed, just percentage points behind the flames.
For the jets to make some noise, the leader of the Vezina Trophy, Connor Hellebuyck, has to shine – and that’s exactly what his teammates expect from him.
“Thank goodness we gave him a little break,” said Jets captain Blake Wheeler. “We trained him pretty well this year. He had an excellent season. We are not sitting here talking to you without the work he did this year. We definitely have a lot of confidence when we have him between the pipes. “
When the stake is highest, the man behind the mask is often the most important player on the ice.
“We feel we have the best goalkeeper in the league, so if he’s at the top of his game he can win games himself,” said striker Mathieu Perreault. “That’s what playoff hockey is all about. If you want to win the Stanley Cup, the team with the goalkeeper is usually one of the hottest. We feel we have this, so we have a legitimate chance of winning this trophy. “
