Jets’ leaders rise to the occasion
Veterans assert selves in Game 7 win over Preds
Paul Maurice has been saying it all season long. It doesn’t matter if his Winnipeg Jets are a young team because they have a leadership group that makes up for the overall inexperience of the roster.
Never was that more true than in the Jets’ secondround series victory over the Nashville Predators.
The Jets won three games on the road, including Game 7, to advance to the Western Conference final for the first time in the city’s NHL history.
And it was the veteran leaders who carried them every step of the way.
Captain Blake Wheeler had two goals and nine assists in the best-of-seven.
Assistant captain Mark Scheifele had seven goals, an NHL record for road goals in a single series, and four assists.
Assistant captain Dustin Byfuglien had four goals and four assists and churned up tough minutes on the blueline.
Veteran centre Paul Stastny, a brilliant trade deadline acquisition by general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff, had six goals and five assists. You get the picture. These guys were clutch when the Jets needed them most and they’ve led the Jets into a conference final, where they have home-ice advantage against the expansion Vegas Golden Knights.
“We’ve got really, really good leadership in our room,” Maurice said, repeating a quote he has given almost daily since Day 1 of the season. “They prepared themselves and then came out and did the two things we wanted to do in (Game 7), one was play fast, but also enjoy playing the game. Make plays, play with some confidence and some courage. And we looked like that right from the start.
“And it was like that right through the whole bench. There were a lot of players that didn’t end up on the goals and assists that played huge roles.”
Goalie Connor Hellebuyck was certainly one of those. So was defenceman Tyler Myers, who scored the first goal of Game 7.
As for Patrik Laine, Nikolaj Ehlers and Kyle Connor, the three youngsters who combined for 104 goals during the regular season, they were OK, but they weren’t stars. Of course, they didn’t need to be.
It’s almost amazing that the Jets have come this far with their three top goal scorers combining for just five goals in 12 games, but when you have players like Scheifele, Stastny and Wheeler stepping up they way they did, the pressure is off the youngsters.
Wheeler’s mindset and demeanour in the Nashville series was perfect. He never got too high, never got too low. He flushed losses and didn’t dwell on wins.
The whole team followed. “There is no momentum in the playoffs,” is the way he put it at one point during the series.
The Jets sure found that to be true as they won the series against the Preds without ever taking two games in a row.
Dealt a crushing blow in Game 6 — a 4-0 shutout on home ice with a crowd that was ready to explode leaving in disappointment — the Jets bounced right back for Game 7 and played their best hockey of the series.
They have a belief system right now that is carrying them a long way.
And why wouldn’t they believe anything is possible?
The Jets had the best regular season of any team left in the playoffs. They have home ice advantage the rest of the way.
They have four rock-solid lines that can score and defend, a group of six defencemen that matches up with any in the league right now and a goaltender who is a Vezina Trophy finalist and a consistent playoff performer so far.
They also have a head coach in Maurice who has been to a Stanley Cup final before and is eighth all-time in terms of games behind the bench with 1,447.
Best of all they have men who lead by example in their locker-room.
No one works harder than Wheeler. Few have gone to greater lengths to become elite players than Scheifele. Byfuglien is tough, can score and keeps things light in the room.
Then those three go out and combine for 30 points in a best-of-seven against the supposed best team in the league.
That’s some “wow factor” right there.
Wheeler is nominated for the Mark Messier leadership award this season.
Considering what he has done, with the help of his assistants, to bring the Jets this far, it would be a shame if he doesn’t win it.