The Winnipeg Jets are not exactly California Dreamin’ – they lost all three games of the Golden State portion of their six-game road trip.
So, what went wrong for a team that entered the Pacific swing 9-3-0 but are now 9-6-0 and looking like they spent too much time in the sun? Let’s dive in.
Lack of Offense
File this one under the “no duh” category: a team cannot expect to win when they only score two goals in three games.
The Jets usually have no trouble putting pucks in the net, but were outscored a combined 9-2 by the Los Angeles Kings (3-0 loss on Nov. 4), San Jose Sharks (2-1 loss on Nov. 7), and Anaheim Ducks (4-1 loss on Nov. 9).
Winnipeg Jets defenseman Neal Pionk vies for the puck against San Jose Sharks center Ty Dellandrea (David Gonzales-Imagn Images)
Josh Morrissey (versus the Sharks) and Kyle Connor (versus the Ducks) were the only ones to light the lamp as the team’s overall attack was impotent and easily contained. When the Jets did have good chances, they didn’t ever finish — both goals came on non-high-danger chances.
The Jets fired only 80 shots combined on Darcy Kuemper, Alex Nedeljkovic, and Lukas Dostal (23 on Kuemper, 33 on Nedeljkovic, 24 on Dostal) and didn’t make those goaltenders’ lives very difficult, generating just 21 high-danger chances. Their expected goals for percentages show the Jets got the outcome they deserved in each game: 42.86 per cent against the Kings, 39.79 per cent against the Sharks, and 46.81 per cent against the Ducks.
Related: Ducks Extend Win Streak to 7 With Victory Over Jets
The Jets quite simply need more from their veterans for the rest of the trip. They are getting healthier — Adam Lowry and Cole Perfetti are back in the lineup — so they don’t have much in the way of built-in excuses.
Special Teams Struggles
The reason the Jets got off to a 7-3-0 start despite being one of the worst teams at five on five was due to their outstanding special teams — the power play operated at nearly 30 per cent in the first 10, while the penalty kill operated at more than 90. However, both regimes faltered in California.
The power play went an ugly zero for 11 and failed to capitalize on opportunities to shift the momentum in their favour. Meanwhile, the penalty kill allowed three goals — one to the Kings, two to the Ducks — that put them further behind and pretty much put each game to bed.
Inability to Handle Opponents’ Speed
This is not something that’s been written often about the Jets over the past few seasons: they looked overwhelmed by their opponents’ speed.
The Jets are usually a stout defensive squad and allowed the league’s fewest goals in back-to-back seasons, but had seemingly no answers for their opponents’ pace. High-octane youngsters Macklin Celebrini, Will Smith, Beckett Sennecke, and Leo Carlsson were among those who ran roughshod on the Jets’ defensive core, attacking relentlessly off the rush and generating odd-man rushes and dangerous chances with ease. The number of two on ones the Jets surrendered to the Ducks bordered on comical.
The numbers, again, the Jets go exactly what deserved: they allowed 30 high-danger chances and five ended up in the back of their net. The scores could have been worst if not for pretty good goaltending by Connor Hellebuyck and Eric Comrie.
Jets’ Pacific Trip Continues
The Jets are an experienced club who are experienced at winning. They know how they have to play to succeed — you don’t win a Presidents’ Trophy by fluke — and they they know they didn’t come close to meeting the high standard they hold for themselves over the past three games. Ironically, prior to the road trip, they’d played their two most complete games of the season by far and captured well-deserved 6-3 and 5-2 victories over the Chicago Blackhawks and Pittsburgh Penguins.
Those performances seem a distant memory now, but the Jets will attempt to get back to playing that way and to leave their California nightmare in the rearview mirror. They face off against the Vancouver Canucks tomorrow night in the fourth game of the road trip.
