Veteran Jets lead the way as young guns struggle

They beat the Preds the next time they played and topped them again in Game 1 of this second-round series on Friday.

As a group, they’re learning how to not get caught up in the highs and lows of playoff hockey, embracing the grind, accepting that it’s more about overall play than personal stats.

To that end, you might point to three of the Jets young stars and question their contribution to the series, they being Patrik Laine, Kyle Connor and Nikolaj Ehlers, who combined for 104 goals during the regular season. They have two goals in the playoffs.

That’s one less than grinder Brandon Tanev has all by himself.

Laine does have six points in seven games and has generated 24 shots on goal, but he doesn’t seem to have the usual quickness on his release and many are wonderingifheislabouringdueto an injury.

Ehlers and Connor seem to have no confidence aroundthenet,thougheach player has three assists. Ehlers used his speed to generate a rebound goal by Paul Stastny in Game 1 and Connor, who seems to be having a hard time finding the strength to get into the greasy areas, has contributed to Scheifele leading in playoff goals with eight.

But so far, the real drivers of this series have been the veterans, particularly Scheifele, captain Blake Wheeler, defenceman Dustin Byfug- lien and goaltender Connor Hellebuyck.

Actually, Hellebuyck isn’t really a veteran, with only twopreviousseasonsunder his belt, but he plays like one.

Defenceman Josh Morrissey, who is just 23, has been rock solid, while rookie Jack Roslovic has mostly been a non-factor while playing on an oddball fourth line with Hendricks and Andrew Copp.

The Jets should be close to getting another veteran back in forward Mathieu Perreault, who has been out for six games, which should help restore some of the balance to their lines.

But as this series shifts to Winnipeg and the whiteout madness hits a new level, the Jets will need more contributions from everybody and that means big goals from their big goal-scorers.

Hendricks, for one, believes Laine, Connor and Ehlers are absorbing the keys to playoff success with every shift and in a series where one big goal — cue the Fiala double-OT highlight — can make all the difference, it’s only a matter of time before they get one.

“We got better over that day and a half between Game 1 and (Game) 2,” Hendricks said. “You can see the belief system in this room and the resolve and all those cliché words. They’re there andthey’rerealandyoucan feel them in here.” Jets fans believe, too. After watching the first two games of this series, why wouldn’tthey? nationalpost.com Kevin Fiala’s double-OT goal staved off a 2-0 series deficit for Nashville Sunday as the series shifts to Winnipeg.