Jets will test their new-found mojo in Edmonton
The Winnipeg Jets hopped a charter plane bound for Edmonton on Friday packing a much-needed dose of confidence.
Back-to-back road losses to the New York Rangers and Buffalo Sabres? Erased.
A successful two-game set against the Washington Capitals has done wonders for a team that appeared to be teetering on the brink once again — just last weekend.
“Absolutely,” defenceman Anthony Bitetto was saying before the Jets took off Friday. “You take three out of four points against a team like that, a Stanley Cup contender and they won the Cup a couple years ago, that’s huge for us. Mentally, physically, everything.
“(Thursday) night was a really good example of when we play our game, we’re good at it.”
That game’s been hard to find for much of the season. The revolving door to the first aid room surely hasn’t helped.
But pro hockey is a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately world, and Thursday’s 3-0 Washington whitewash was as good as we’ve seen from these Jets in a while.
Since falling behind the Caps 3-0 in their barn on Tuesday, the Jets somehow outscored Alex Ovechkin and Co. 6-0 over the rest of the home-and-home, not including the Great 8’s 4-3 shootout winner in that first game.
If you’re looking for the springboard to the new-found bounce in the Jets’ step, look no further than what happened in the U.S. capital.
“The way we came back in that game in Washington was probably the turning point more than (Thursday),” captain Blake Wheeler said. “There was probably some residual effect to how we played that game, and fought back and gave ourselves a chance to get a point.”
Two common denominators from the shootout loss to the shutout win: penalty killing and goaltending.
That Winnipeg has the best PK unit in hockey through the month of February — 31-for-33, including a perfect 19-for-19 over the last eight games — is nearly unbelievable after what we saw before that.
“Don’t jinx it,” Bitetto said. It’d be easy to understand this team’s belief in jinxes or curses, given what’s happened with injuries.
It’s to the point where players like Bitetto can’t be sure if they’re in the lineup or not until they arrive at the rink.
“It’s pretty tough, to be honest,” he said. “The one game I wasn’t at the rink yet. Found out at 5:20 I was playing, so just made my way over there ... tried to do what I could to get ready.
“I thought they were kidding when they called me at 5:20.”
That would have been Tuesday’s game in Washington, where Sami Niku hurt himself in the pre-game soccer-ball warm-up.
Who knows how the final hours will go in Edmonton on Saturday, as Josh Morrissey remains a question mark for a blue-line corps that may as well have the red cross as its logo?
It’s easier to make up for the loss of talent when you have people such as Nathan Beaulieu stepping outside his comfort zone to play nearly 25 minutes and block seven shots, as he did Thursday.
“Fortunately, none broke my bones this time,” Beaulieu said, managing a chuckle despite the memory of the three injuries he’s already suffered this season. “Unfortunately it’s become the norm. Curve balls. That just speaks for our group, our culture, our maturity level and just our next-man-up mentality. It’s been the same way the whole year.
“We’re still standing, we’re still swinging, we’re still in the fight.”
The Oilers will test that fortitude.
Get caught standing against the likes of Connor Mcdavid (87 points) and Leon Draisaitl (99, tops in the NHL) and you’ll look foolish fast.
“Giving odd-man rushes the other way, giving easy ice, those types of players will rip you up,” Wheeler said.
“They’ll burn you,” Beaulieu acknowledged. “When you’ve got a one-two punch like that, it’s very terrifying. It’s kind of like Chicago. And kind of like Washington, too. So we’ll be on our toes and ready to go.”
Of course, the Jets have their own weapons, with the reunited trio of Wheeler, Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor leading the way.
They also have a grip — how tight remains to be seen — on something that’s been elusive this season: confidence.
“It’s a dogfight to the finish line here,” Bitetto said. “We just go forward with the same mentality. Stay confident, stay having fun and compete.”