After a heartbreaking loss to the Boston Bruins to open the season, the Winnipeg Jets have found their groove in the strangest way.
Winnipeg has now won three straight games with a final score of 3-2. It started on Sunday against the Detroit Red Wings. Winnipeg busted open a 3-0 lead before Detroit clawed back. But the Jets held off the Red Wings’ last-minute onslaught to secure their first win of the season.
Then came the showdown on Monday night against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Winnipeg went down 1-0 in the second period. But they scored three times in the third period, taking advantage of an erratic Penguins defense.
On Wednesday, Kyle Connor and Cole Perfetti took control, and the Jets knocked off the Colorado Avalanche.
Ironically, the Jets would have beaten Boston 3-2 if the game didn’t go into overtime. Elias Lindholm scored at the 18:22 mark of the third period, and JJ Peterka spoiled Winnipeg’s season opener in overtime.
Still, there’s another common denominator: The Jets have played four games decided by one goal to open the season.
Winnipeg Jets Have Been Surviving Without Connor Hellebuyck
Throughout the first four games, Winnipeg has scored 12 goals, three in each. Meanwhile, the Jets have allowed 10, giving them an average margin of +0.5 goals per game. Despite that slim margin, their 3-0-1 record has given them seven of eight possible points.
The Jets have done all of this without star goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, who continues to seek a trade. It’s still early, and anything can happen with 80 games still on the slate. But goaltenders Stuart Skinner and Clay Stevenson deserve a share of the credit.
Heading into Thursday, Skinner leads the league in shots against with 100 and has posted a league-leading 92 saves. He is 2-0-1 on the year, with a 0.667 quality starts percentage, a .920 save percentage, and a 2.62 GAA. Skinner, who fell out of favor with both the Penguins and, earlier, the Edmonton Oilers, is looking for a renaissance season reminiscent of his earlier days in Edmonton.
Stevenson has appeared in just one game, but his early returns are promising. He posted a .935 save percentage and allowed two goals in that start. Whether Skinner and Stevenson are a classic starter and backup, or if the Jets ultimately go the 1A/1B route, it remains to be seen. But four games into the year, they look like a solid consolation without Hellebuyck.
Jets Keep Finding Ways To Protect Narrow Leads
It was almost like the season-opening game against Boston provided a learning experience. The very next game, Winnipeg found itself in an eerily similar situation when Detroit took control of the puck in the final minute, and Lucas Raymond put the Red Wings in a position to tie. But Skinner and the Jets did their part defensively to keep it out of the net. And they escaped Hockeytown with the win.
In the win over Pittsburgh, the Jets let the Penguins tie the game at the 8:53 mark of the third. But Cole Perfetti scored nine seconds later, and the Jets once again did enough defensively to fly out of the Steel City with momentum.
The Colorado Avalanche skated into Winnipeg with 14 goals in their first two contests. Yet Skinner and the Jets held the Avalanche to just two goals without star defenseman Josh Morrissey for most of the contest.
The Winnipeg Jets may be without Connor Hellebuyck. But their ability to survive even against the NHL’s best teams has shown that this is a group still capable of doing some major damage. The Jets will be fun to watch if they keep this trend going.
Winnipeg Jets Defying Connor Hellebuyck Absence With Remarkable Trend