Kids are all right
Jets’ youngsters not just surviving, but thriving during playoff baptism of fire
The sample size remains small, though the youngsters in the Winnipeg Jets lineup are having no issues with the adjustment to the Stanley Cup playoffs so far.
One of the biggest question marks surrounding the Jets going into the opening-round series with the Minnesota Wild was the lack of playoff experience throughout the roster.
The Wild’s significant edge in playoff games (748 to 265 going into the series) has barely been a factor, other than goalie Devan Dubnyk providing high-quality play between the pipes and allowing only seven goals on the 84 shots on goal he’s faced.
On the flip side, the Jets youth is playing a big role in how they’ve jumped out to a commanding 2-0 lead over the Wild as the series shifts to the Xcel Energy Center on Sunday.
Nine players on the Jets roster have already suited up for their first Stanley Cup playoff game.
“Continuation of the regular season. They were really important players for us all year,” Jets head coach Paul Maurice said on Saturday morning before his team departed for Minnesota.
“They’ve handled the emotion of it very well. I haven’t seen a difference between the young players and the older players in our game. Probably both teams were a little tight in Game 1, early, and you couldn’t tell by the numbers or names on the back, how many games they had in. I think they handled that quite well.
“What these guys have done is they hang on to the game that they’ve played. They’re coming to the rink and sometimes the young guys don’t get caught up in the moment. They all feel they’ve got 20 more years of it, so why bother? They’ve looked comfortable.”
Comfortable would be an understatement and it starts in goal, where Connor Hellebuyck has been rock-steady.
Although Dubnyk has been under siege, Hellebuyck is making the saves he needs to and hasn’t allowed a softy among the three pucks to get behind him so far.
Were it not for a late power-play goal in the final minute of Friday’s 4-1 victory, the Jets goalie would have secured his first career playoff shutout.
“You know what, we got the win and that’s all I care about, especially this time of year,” said Hellebuyck. “The guys played so well in front of me, there’s no fault.”
On the back end, the only
Jets player with a Stanley Cup ring, Dustin Byfuglien, has been a dominant force, doling out big hits with regularity while chipping in a pair of assists.
As has become customary, second-year blue-liner Josh Morrissey has been excellent for the Jets as well — showing very few signs of being a playoff newbie. “Especially for Game 1, I think everybody, but you have some nerves going into it. Once you get out there and get playing the game and get into the feel of the game and make a pass or a hit or something like that, you just feel like you’re playing,” said Morrissey. “You know the time of year you’re playing but you’re still just playing that same game.”
Up front, Jets sniper Patrik Laine has been dangerous and leads his team with two goals and three points, while linemate Nikolaj Ehlers has two assists and is starting to find more open space out on the ice.
Rookie left-winger Kyle Connor has yet to hit the scoresheet, but he’s looking more and more comfortable as the series moved along and created several high-quality scoring chances for himself in Game 2.
Andrew Copp provided a nifty redirection in the third period to make it a 3-0 game on Friday.
And what did Jack Roslovic do when he checked into the lineup when Mathieu Perreault was unable to suit up due to an upper-body injury?
Roslovic quickly chipped in a pair of assists and made sure there was no drop-off in play on Bryan Little’s line.
“They’re coming in with confidence and that’s all you can ask from the young guys. They’ve been unreal for us throughout the first two games here,” said Jets defenceman Tyler Myers. “You look at (Roslovic), he didn’t look out of place at all. If anything, he was controlling the play and making plays out there. For a guy who’s jumping into his first playoff game and the atmosphere, it’s pretty nice to see. For us guys who’ve been around, we’ll just keep trying to help them out as much we can.”