HAYES GETS TASTE OF WINNIPEG
Forward picked up at trade deadline known for his defence, unlike his new teammates
So Winnipeg was the place Kevin Hayes hoped he’d go at the NHL trade deadline?
We wonder if he’ll still feel that way in two months.
Hayes, plucked off Broadway and plunked down in Winterpeg for his first game with the Jets on Tuesday, discovered something he might not have known about his new team.
It has issues. Predominant among them is a perplexing inability to close a deal.
Tuesday’s two points were in the bag with a twist tie, the Jets holding a 2-1 edge on the Minnesota Wild as closing time approached.
But the home side came apart at the seams in the final 90 seconds, the fruits of its labour spilling out and rolling down the aisle.
We’ve seen this cleanup all too many times this season. Where the Jets of a year ago were sturdy as steel under the weight of late-game pressure — they held a riveting 42-1-1 mark when leading through two periods — this year’s bunch has now blown 40-minute leads seven times (19-4-3).
That’s the second-worst mark in the league: only the Florida Panthers, with eight, have lost more games in regulation or overtime/shootout when leading after the second period.
But that’s just the symptom. The disease is loose defensive play in general, and it’s crept like mould into the Jets’ game. Hayes is supposed to help with that, and early indications are he could.
Never mind his feather pass setting up Brandon Tanev for a scoring chance against Minnesota. His best play was at the other end, being right in front of his own net to intercept a Wild pass and take away a potential chance against.
THE CHEMISTRY HUNT
There wasn’t a lot of offence from the new second line of Hayes between Nik Ehlers and Mathieu Perreault.
The combo of Kyle Connor with Bryan Little and Jack Roslovic, based on even-strength time on the ice, was No. 3, getting almost the same ice time as Adam Lowry’s grinder line. Connor got plenty of extra time on the power play, but as one of the Jets’ top players he’s got to be in the top-six, if not back up with the No. 1 unit, alongside Blake Wheeler and Mark Scheifele. Maurice has maybe a dozen games to figure this out, because you don’t want to be searching for chemistry right up until Game 1 of the playoffs.
TWIN GOAT HORNS
Another thing Hayes quickly learned about his new team: a penchant to take penalties. They don’t get much more unnecessary than the net-front cross-check Tyler Myers delivered, giving the Wild the power play that produced the tying goal and sparked Winnipeg’s implosion.
Myers shared the game’s goat horns with Dmitry Kulikov, whose soft check allowed Joel Eriksson Ek to score the winner. It was a fitting end to the game for Kulikov, who played as bad a game by a Jets defenceman as we’ve seen in a while.
FIRST IMPRESSION
Like most, I was surprised with the strong, confident play of Nathan Beaulieu, one of two defencemen picked up at the deadline.
Someone who couldn’t get into Buffalo’s lineup didn’t figure to have a lot to offer the Jets, never mind plug right into Josh Morrissey’s spot alongside Jacob Trouba. But he looked remarkably comfortable playing Winnipeg ’s aggressive, pinching game. They say first impressions can be lasting. Beaulieu’s will last until at least Friday.
THE HENDRICKS FACTOR
I’m one of those who greeted the addition of Matt Hendricks at the deadline with a bit of an eye roll. I mean, with the depth the Jets have up front, the guy may have a permanent seat in the press box.
To hear Maurice and Minnesota coach Bruce Boudreau sing Hendricks’ praises makes you think there must be something to all this talk of him being a valuable presence “in the room.” Maurice put some meat on the bones of that cliche the other day, saying the important thing Hendricks does is take young players aside and keep them engaged, even if they’re not getting the ice time they feel they deserve. “They see the coach picking other young guys ahead of them to play, don’t understand why, how that all works,” Maurice said. “And Matt excels in taking those young players and keeping them on the right path when the coach isn’t around or Blake Wheeler isn’t around ... it has a huge impact on your room and on your culture and these young players learning how to be good pros.”