Since January 1st the offence for the Winnipeg Jets goal scoring has been absolutely putrid. They rank 31st in goals per game. Their power play percentage is even worse in dead last. This out-of-this-world decline all began when the Jets took Nikolaj Ehlers off the top line. It is really hard to be anything but pessimistic looking at the Jets’ scoring depth and how their best forwards are getting deployed. The “new and improved” second line has flopped and Bowness has decided to bench some notable players. The Jets offence seems to be in a real rut and based on the current regime, it seems like the most likely outcome is praying the Jets to go on a shooting percentage uptick bender.
The last month and a half have all but proved the problems the Jets have are real threats to their Stanley Cup chances. The offence needs to be better. At the current moment they don’t have enough offensive firepower, their power play stinks and if the trade made for Sean Monahan is the Jets big swing then don’t expect a deep playoff run for Winnipeg.
When You Have an Elite Line, You Must Separate Them
In terms of goals scored and controlling scoring chances Gabriel Vilardi, Mark Scheifele and Ehlers were an elite line firing on all cylinders. Yet the local media could not stop talking about how the Jets were salivating over getting Kyle Connor back with Scheifele. It is no surprise that ever since Connor has returned the Jets have struggled to score. All Connor does is score goals. He does not play defence. Plus he does not control the flow of play and he does not carry a line by himself. Therefore when he is not scoring he isn’t doing anything. With a struggling Connor the Jets’ goal scoring is not near it’s best.
Winning Despite Rick Bowness’ Confusing Roster Deployment
The Jets dominated the San Jose Sharks in their last game. But one Ehlers turnover in the second period that didn’t lead to much was all it took for Ehlers to be put on the fourth-line. It didn’t end their though as the aforementioned slumping Vilardi and perennial dog-house member Cole Perfetti along with Ehlers didn’t touch the ice for the last seven minutes of the game.
Bowness has cited defensive reasons for Perfetti and Vilardi when both those players’ two-way analytics are absolutely sparkling. Bowness says he wants the right things (strong two-way play) but then benches two of the Jets’ best defensive forwards. Furthermore, Bowness says he wants two-way play. He then plays two of the worst defensive forwards in the entire league (Connor and Scheifele) 21 minutes a night. This does not even take into account the struggling power play. A power play that the Jets refuse to change up structurally or lineup wise. The Jets power play being bad is starting to sound like a broken record but it has to be better.
Jets Goal Scoring Ability Needs to be Upgraded
On their best night (with Ehlers on the top line) this Jets team has depth that rivals last year’s cup-winning Vegas Golden Knights. However, when they are not at their best, they seem to be a lot like the Seattle Kraken. A team that has a lot of quality pieces but not enough star power to score the big goal when needed. The Jets have the best goaltender in the National Hockey League. Plus they have the best team defence in terms of goals against. There is a definite pathway to success with this formula. But the Jets need to go all out this year. As it could be their best chance to win a championship in the Jets 2.0 era.
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