JETS ABOUT TO FIND OUT HOW TOUGH THEY ARE
Winnipeg has a gauntlet of talented teams to run through, including divisional rivals
There are those who want to know what’s coming and those who’d rather just take it as it comes.
Winnipeg Jets defenceman Nathan Beaulieu is in the former category when it comes to the schedule looming for his team, post-christmas.
In short, it’s time to exchange the tinsel and garland for some sandpaper.
Beginning with Friday night’s tilt with old friends from St. Louis, the Jets will quickly find out the holidays are over: After a rematch with the first-place Blues in Missouri on Sunday, it’s on to second-place Colorado, capping a three-punch combination of Central Division opponents. Two games later it’s off to Minnesota again, where the exchanges are never pleasant, notwithstanding that six-goal gift the Jets received just before Santa came to town.
“It’s a measuring stick,” Beaulieu said of the next few games.
“You want to know where you’re at. We know St. Louis, the defending Cup champs, and how Colorado’s been this year. So the next three are extremely important. And they’re not going to be pretty games. They’re going to be grinding out.
“It’s going to be probably a bit of a playoff feel to it.”
Beaulieu didn’t expect it to take long to rekindle the playoff rivalry with the Blues this weekend, even with some turkey still weighing him down.
Head coach Paul Maurice almost sounded glad his team wouldn’t be eased back into competition, hoping the division’s best would bring out the same in the Jets.
“We didn’t love a lot of our game maybe in the last 10 days,” Maurice said.
“But we get into Minnesota and it was on. Our game was right.
And this will snap you to it.”
When he first looked at this year’s schedule, Maurice pegged the last half of November and this stretch as meat-grinder sections.
November’s was mostly travel related, and the Jets emerged unscathed.
This one’s more about the opposition.
Even the non-central games are testers: the Jets round out this next eight-game gauntlet with two against Toronto, and one game each in Boston and Montreal.
“Grind and survive,” is how Maurice put it.
“You don’t get into viewing your game necessarily as a twoweek game. It’s almost a playoff game each night. And then you wouldn’t be getting too excited about that win, because you’ve got another big team coming in. Or a loss — you’ve got to get right back on your horse.”
Some prefer to ride with blinders on. Patrik Laine is one.
“To be honest, I haven’t looked at the schedule,” Laine said.
“So I have no idea what’ll be coming.”
Ditto Blake Wheeler.
“We play St. Louis the next game, too,” the captain said.
And beyond that?
“I don’t care.”
Wheeler might not know who is coming, but he’s well aware of what is coming.
“Things always tighten up the second half,” he said. “The standings get a little bit tighter and you’re fighting for your life.”
Laine didn’t mind hearing what was on the horizon. And when he heard, he said: “It’s not going to be easy.”
Then again, these games will be easy to get up for. Especially for the rivals in their own time zone.
“Personally, I like these divisional games way more,” Laine said. “I like that kind of heavy game, more than just quickness and good sticks. I like to play heavy. And it seems like those quick guys are always getting out of the way when we try to hit them.
“These heavy, rivalry games are always fun to play in. Two solid hockey teams go at it. It gets me going.”
But can it get the Jets going? This team had lost four of its last six games going into Friday’s game with the Blues. Not exactly good timing for a loaded part of the schedule.
“This is going to be a big, important block,” Beaulieu said. “It could go really good for us or you have to really look yourselves in the mirror. We’re ready for the test.”
If you’re unsure exactly how good the Jets are, you shouldn’t have to wait much longer to find out.