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The intent behind that famous old saying, “Go west, young man,” did not work out for the Winnipeg Jets. Not by a long shot.
No, the Jets certainly did not prosper on their six-game swing through the Pacific Division.
Coming home with just two wins, they didn’t match what would have been their minimal expectation when the trip opened on Nov. 4 in Los Angeles.
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Two weeks ago, Winnipeg had the NHL’s top-producing offence, averaging 3.75 goals per game. On Monday they rank 14th in that category after scoring just 15 “real” goals in those six games.
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Over that same time frame, the Jets slipped from third to eighth in goals against per game. The power play started 0-for-15 in California before coming back to life at 4-for-8 in the final three games.
The penalty kill — so good to start the season — allowed goals in five of the six games, operating at just under 73 per cent.
Turnovers, missed passes, defensive zone coverage errors, blown third-period leads. Correctible, perhaps, but the rate of recurrence would suggest the solution isn’t quite as achievable as has been suggested by the players and head coach.
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The number one line got torched through the first five games — to the tune of a combined -22 for Mark Scheifele, Kyle Connor and Gabe Vilardi — before Saturday’s 4-3 shootout win in Calgary that provided a bright spot to go along with the emergence of the Lowry line as the trip went on.
Go west? It tended more to go south for the Jets over the past two weeks.
As Josh Morrissey suggested post-game in Calgary, though, they’ve won two of three. So, we’ll see if that’s the directional course to be taken over these next three games at home.
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