Wheeler fuels the soaring Jets
Captain doing it all to set the standard for Winnipeg’s talented young roster
It almost looked like Winnipeg Jets captain Blake Wheeler needed a hand from his teammates just to get over the boards at the end of his last shift.
He had just played a brilliant defensive shift with the Jets protecting a one-goal lead. He twice prevented Nashville Predators big boomer P.K. Subban from shooting by getting in the lane, and when the defenceman finally unleashed, Wheeler threw his body in front of the puck.
For good measure, he scooped up a loose puck and fired it 190 feet into the empty net to seal a 6-4 win in a playoff-like contest at Bridgestone Arena.
It was just another example of the kind of sacrifice Wheeler and his teammates are willing to make to be successful this season. He wasn’t alone. Left winger Andrew Copp also had a big block in the final minute and defenceman Josh Morrissey recorded seven blocks in the game.
“There was willingness from our guys to block shots and that was a critical part of us keeping that game right,” Jets coach Paul Maurice said.
Adam Lowry played 16 hard minutes, centring a third-line that scored the Jets first goal for the second straight game (both times by Lowry) and provided the game-winner by Brandon Tanev with 1:26 left in the game.
Lowry also went 12 for 22 in the faceoff circle against a team full of draw specialists, and took away a sure goal from Preds’ winger Craig Smith on a brilliant backcheck.
This team has clearly bought in to all-out defence and it all starts with the captain.
Wheeler, at 31, has been on a mission this season. Before the season began, he was talking about how this had to be the year for the Jets to make the playoffs, and so far he’s done everything in his power to make it happen.
He has 41 points, which puts him fifth in the NHL in scoring, but he’s done so much more. His work ethic, leadership on and off the ice, and durability — he has missed a grand total of three games in the last five seasons — are setting great examples for a team full of talented young players.
Around the NHL, Wheeler is regularly talked about as being one of the most underrated players in the league.
It’s incredible how far he’s come since the days when he toiled with the Boston Bruins and was regarded by some as a disappointment.
Though he scored 50 goals and had 110 points through two-anda-half seasons in Boston, Wheeler didn’t really show star qualities. You’d be hard-pressed to find people in Boston who saw a future top10 scorer and team captain.
The Bruins, who will host the Jets on Thursday night at the TD Garden, certainly saw him as expendable.
All that changed when he was traded to Atlanta late in the 201011 season. It cost him a chance to win a Stanley Cup as the Bruins went on to win a championship that season, but it allowed Wheeler to flourish, develop a complete game and become a leader of men.
He’s been at his finest this season and the Jets have followed. The last three games against key division opponents St. Louis and Nashville have been nasty physical affairs with post-season intensity, and the Jets came away with two wins and a “should have won” along with a multitude of bumps and bruises.
Tuesday’s win over Nashville was a game where both teams made some mistakes, but the Jets did a better job of overcoming theirs.
The Jets play was gritty and resilient. There were plenty of opportunities for them to get down — starting with an own-goal by Tyler Myers — but they didn’t.
Some say it was a season-defining win. That could turn out to be true, but that grit they showed was nothing new.
“How about those last two against St. Louis?” Wheeler said.
The point is, these players are getting used to battling, to throwing everything at the opposition net and throwing themselves in front of everything directed toward theirs.
It doesn’t hurt when the young guns — Nikolaj Ehlers and Patrik Laine — account for three goals and Connor Hellebuyck is often outplaying his counterpart in goal.
But you don’t win without heart and determination and a relentless work ethic.
You don’t win without being willing to sacrifice your body.
You don’t win without a leader who is willing to do it all.