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Watching The Party – FFUD’s 1st Round Preview: Wild vs. Jets or We’re Really Rivals, Guys. Please Believe Us!

By Sam Fels 1454 0

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SCHEDULE: Game 1 Wednesday, Game 2 Friday, Game 3 Sunday, Game 4 April 17th

We move to the Central, where we have a supposed “rivalry.” At least it is according to the Wild broadcast. When it isn’t the Hawks, of course. Watch any game against the Jets from the Minnesota side, and you’ll hear the Jets only referred to as “our great rivals.” I’m sure the Jets have no idea what they’re talking about. Because like, you could drive it if you really wanted to? Because they’re both frozen hellscapes? Because they’ve both been irrelevant for their entire existence? Probably the last one. Anyway, one of those teams is probably going to change that this time. Hint: it’s not the ones who wear green.

Goalies: The Wild didn’t get the other-worldly goaltending from The Doobie Brother that they usually do when they’re this high in the standings. He was just about league average overall, which is probably what he is. The problem for the Wild is that he’s been pretty putrid in the playoffs, though last year he simply just got out-dueled by Jay Gallon. And we should thank him for that, because it caused the Blues to trust Allen for another season and look where it got them. Dubs isn’t going to win this series, there’s a chance he might lose it, but most likely in the middle.

We don’t know anything about Connor Hellebuyck in the playoffs, because this is his first foray. But he was excellent in the regular season, and the Jets have so much firepower up front that he might not be required to do more than simply not lose it. If he does better than that, and the Jets simply don’t freeze under the bright lights, then things could get awfully silly for a while up in the Frozen Tundra With No Airport That’s Not Green Bay.

Defense: The Wild took a major hit when Ryan Suter broke his leg. While he might not be what he was, he’s still the their anchor. Without him, some combo of Jonas Brodin, Matt Dumba, and Jared Spurgeon is going to have to do the heavy lifting. All of these guys are good, and Spurgeon is more than that, but with their depth eroded and the Jets having at least 10 forwards who can hurt you, the problems are farther down the lineup. And no, Nick Seeler and and Nate Prosser aren’t going to do anything other than get caved in when they’re on the ice.

This might have been a problem before, but with the return of Trouba it won’t be this series. Keeping Byfuglien away from the hard stuff is what he’s built for, and if Trouba is near his best he can nullify just about any top line. Josh Morrissey has been a surprise, and Toby Enstrom could return during the series though he’ll miss Game 1. It’s not the best blue line in the division but it’s hardly embarrassing.

Forwards: Another huge advantage for the Jets. While Eric Staal had a revival season, and Mikaeal Granlund is great, and Jason Zucker had a breakout season, there’s just not enough here.  Mikko Koivu is going to have a hard time keeping up with Scheifele, Charlie Coyle is never going to be anything. Nino Neiderreiter couldn’t buy a bucket this year. The bottom six is going to be a real issue, even with Jordan Greenway now here.

Meanwhile, the Jets boast what might be the deepest crop of forwards around. Blake Wheeler is an under-the-radar Hart candidate. Scheifele is a monster. Kyle Connor could be rookie of the year. Ehlers and Laine are on the second line. Little and Perreault on the third. Adam Lowry is the egg-head’s case for Selke. There’s no let-up here. Every line they throw out should be better than whatever Gabby throws over the boards.

Prediction: Hockey can be strange. I don’t know if Paul Maurice remains an idiot or finally put it together this year, but he doesn’t have to do much to defeat Bruce Boudreau who manages every playoff series choking on a ham bone. Chase any sort of matchup or structure and you’re ahead of Gabby. Sure, Hellebuyck could lose it in his first playoff series. The sticks could go cold under actual expectations this time. Dubnyk I suppose could go nuts. But that’s a lot of motherfuckin’ ifs. Jets in five. 

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Game #82 – Hawks vs. Jets Q&A: Gametime Art Traveling In Time

By Sam Fels 1711 0

It was only two weeks ago that the Jets were at the UC, so here’s what @GameTimeArt had to say about them then. 

So the Jets have lost to the Preds twice in the past couple weeks. Does that put any fear into your playoff hopes or does the fact that the Jets (barring something stupid) will win their first playoff game and quite possibly series since being resurrected be enough for everyone?

In a strange way it doesn’t really put fear into most Jets fans because those last two meetings have been with a Jets team with four or more regulars out of the lineup including their top center and top defenseman and really save for a stretch of ten minutes at the end of one game and ten minutes at the start of the other, a depleted Jets lineup hung in ok against the Preds, so I think there is still hope that if the Jets can get healthy, they should give Nashville a good fight. That said, I think everyone expects good things from the first round and then we’ll worry about a potential second round blood bath against the Predators.

Blake Wheeler has 89 points. He shifted to center when Scheifele was hurt. And yet he doesn’t seem to be getting any Hart Trophy love. While it would be hard to make a case for him over say MacKinnon or Hall or Malkin or Kucherov, shouldn’t he at least be discussed?

Maybe a little… If there was an award for most inspiring leader who leads inspiringly – is that the Messier award? – then Blake should get that hands down. As far as most valuable player, I’d say he deserves a brief mention but I don’t even know if he’s the MVP on the Jets as I’d argue Connor Hellebuyck has been far more important to the Jets win totals than anything Blake has done. Then again, maybe I’m just not used to seeing actual good goaltending for my team so I could be biased.

Flying under the radar a bit is Kyle Connor, thanks to Wheeler and Laine and Barzal in the Calder race. What’s most impressive about his game as a rookie?

I love Connor’s ability to weave in and out of traffic when he has the puck, especially when it comes to skating into the offensive zone. He seems to have this ability to find just enough room on the ice to make a move past a defender or at the very least give himself an extra second to move the puck forward or pass it off to a teammate.

How much has Trouba been missed?

A lot and really it’s only because with Trouba out, it has meant Tyler Myers I’d argue has gotten more minutes per game than he can handle and Myers’ game – especially in the defensive zone – has suffered because of it. Byfuglien has done well in stepping up as he does and Josh Morrissey is quietly good as always, but Trouba is kind of the lynchpin that holds the Jets defense together. To put it in a much dumber context, Trouba to the Jets defense is like syrup to waffles. Sure, the waffles are ok without it, maybe even good depending on the quality of the other ingredients you have, but syrup just makes the entire dish so much better. Jacob Trouba is syrup.

What do you foresee for the Jets come the spring?

Increased health going into the playoffs for one thing, a first round series where the Jets have home ice and which should be a win because I think they match up well against Minnesota, Dallas or Colorado and then a second round where the limits of my heart being able to function properly will be severely tested.

 

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Game #78 – Jets vs. Hawks Preview/Foot Exam: All The Kids Are Right

By Sam Fels 1815 0

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RECORDS: Jets 47-19-10   Hawks 31-36-10

PUCK DROP: 7:30

TV: NBCSN Chicago

STOP SAYING THE YEG: JetsNation.ca

Well now it’s really New Toy Day for the Hawks.

They will spend the next two games unveiling all sorts of things, getting a look at some kids who could be something and some who could just be on a flier (not a Flyera). Tonight sees Dylan Sikura make his Hawks debut, on a line with Alex DeBrincat, and if you already have images of them doing this for a decade together, I won’t stop you. They’ll be centered by EggShell, so hey, all the kids are here. and all right. Maybe.

Tomorrow night will see Blake Hillman, or Hill Blakeman, not sure which, and Collin Delia with his superfluous L make their debuts in Colorado. If you were a fan of the Cubs from 2012-2014 or the White Sox now, you know this feeling. There are some kids who come up late in the season that are worth getting excited about. And then there are some that they’re just throwing against the wall (strangely, it was Mike Olt for both teams). That’s what those two feel like, but hey, you never know.

The presence of Delia might just be what lit a fire under Anton Forsberg, if you consider two competent starts in a row “a fire.” It’s barely a kindling, but in this season it just might count. Then again, Delia wasn’t really that good in Rockford, and played in the ECHL this year so basically you can conclude he kinda sucks. We’ll get to this tomorrow, though. Forsberg is probably only going to get three more starts, with the two back-to-backs remaining, at most four. He has to basically crush all of them if he’s going to compete for the backup job next year. And even that probably isn’t enough, though he’ll get a chance in training camp regardless. It’s not as if no one has anything to play for.

As for Sikura, the talent really isn’t the question. The kid has serious hands and serious sense. The question is can he get into areas and stay there with his diminutive size, the way Top Cat does. Another question is how much of a product playing with the best center in college hockey he is. Most think he is just a touch below the level of Adam Gaudette, so we’ll see. The Hawks wanted Sikura earlier than this season, and generally the guys they’ve picked out of college early have been effective (Schmaltz, Hinostroza, Leddy to name a few). You’re allowed to have high hopes on this one.

As for the rest of it, it’s kind of the same. Gustafsson and Murphy get a chance to prove they can be a top four pairing next season (only one of them can). Brent Seabrook can look forward to having Blake Wheeler target him on every single zone entry as is his way. That’s about it.

The Jets don’t have much more to play for. They’re entrenched in second. They’re almost certainly getting the Wild in the first round, and they really should pound the shit out of them when they get there. They’re staring at a second round bloodfest with the Predators, which is going to be an awesome time even if you want both teams to lose. They’re getting healthy, as Scheifele has returned to center the top line, making for perhaps the scariest top nine in the NHL. Jacob Trouba and Toby Enstrom should be ready to go for the playoffs. Trouba has played a couple games though looks like he might miss out tonight. They’ll need them both, as that’s their weak spot, the blue line.

Connor Hellebuyck has won his last five starts and hasn’t lost one in regulation since March 8th. He’s playing as well as can be, and if he keeps the streak going into April then this team can go as far as it wants. Which is weird to say about the Jets, but the world doesn’t have to make sense.

Only five more to go.

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Game #71 – Hawks vs. Jets Preview, Proof Of Concept – Fixed Frequencies

By Matt McClure 1829 0

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Game Time: 7:00PM CDT
TV/Radio: NBC Sports Chicago, WGN-AM 720
Frosty Peters: Jets Nation, Arctic Ice Hockey

After splitting a home-and-home with a decent if injury-depleted Bruins team, the Hawks take another step towards ending this miserable ass season tonight in Winnipeg, where they’ll face a Jets team that might have finally gotten its shit together, but probably hasn’t.

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Game #44 – Jets vs. Hawks Preview, Refrigerator Cleaning – Call Before You Dig

By Matt McClure 2269 0

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Game Time: 7:30PM CST
TV/Radio: NBC Sports Chicago, WGN-AM 720
Wanker County: Arctic Ice Hockey, Jets Nation

The second game of the Hawks’ six game homestand that spans their by week takes place tonight, with the seemingly-not-going-away first place Winnipeg Jets paying a visit to Club 1901, and it seems that the Jets might have actually gotten their shit together.

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Game #44 – Jets vs. Hawks: Q&A With Cara T And Art Middleton

By Sam Fels 1763 0

The Jets have won six of seven. Sitting top of the Central. Do you not want to wake up?

Art: There have been a lot of “Wait, is this real life?” moments for me as I’ve watched these Jets this season. As we’ve gone along though I’m buying in more and more to the fact this team is legit really good to the point of where I look at those last seven games the Jets have played, who they’ve faced (EDM twice, BUF twice) and thought to myself “Yeah, this is expected. The Jets *should* have the record they have over the last seven games.” This weekend will be a huge test for them though and I fully expect them to split the two games with a win and a loss. If they win both though, please, don’t wake me up.

Connor Hellebuyck is at .923 for the year. What have you noticed him changing this year from previous ones or is it just a matter of experience and maturity?

A lot has been made of what he did this summer as far as training and the work he put in with noted goalie guru Adam Francilia, but before last season in his time with the NCAA and AHL his play style was known as “big and boring” and he got away from that last year in his first real NHL season. I think this season is just a case of him having that year under his belt and getting back to basics. I also think bringing Mason in was big in terms of helping him relax going into the season with really not that much pressure – or at least not as much as he had at the start of last season when it was him in his first real rookie year, Michael Hutchinson or bust.

Cara: He worked with a different goalie coach this summer and went back to being less flail-y and more controlled. Boring is good when it comes to Connor.

Josh Morrissey has carved out a spot on the top pairing for the Jets with Jacob Trouba. What’s been most surprising about his game?

At this point nothing really surprises me about his game any more because I’m all surprised out from his rookie season last year when he kind of came out of nowhere. Maybe the biggest thing I am still struck by with him is his overall hockey smarts at age 22 because he plays such a calm game, is rarely out of position in his own end, typically makes a smart play when he has the puck.

I actually forget about Morrissey most nights because he is so good you just don’t notice him. I guess his mature game at a young age.

In a previous blog post, we made a case for Adam Lowry, by the metrics, could have a case for a Selke. Do Jets fans feel the same way?

I see the odd Jets fan here or there take note of his ability to play defense in his own end, but Lowry this year has been pretty much overshadowed by two bigger stories this season with the forwards in Winnipeg which has been the play of the top six and Perreault’s work when he was put on the fourth line. The Jets third line led by Lowry has just been quietly plugging away game in and game out, they do their job in terms of helping maintain momentum, maybe even generate a little offense themselves once in a while, and then it’s either the top two lines go back to work or Perreault’s fourth line and then the excitement kicks in again. Fans are starting to notice his play a bit more though especially with the Scheifele injury having tested the Jets depth.

I have feelings about Lowry that are hard to explain because he is a fine player, but I feel like that third line could be used more offensively. Now, if he has had Tanev on his line all year so I feel like if the Jets put someone like Perreault on that line it would satisfy my desire for more offence so possibly.

Any reason to think the Jets can’t win the division here?

I can think of a few reasons why they probably won’t win the division: goaltending cools off, more injuries, offense starts to struggle, things like that. But I can tell you that Jets fans have expected all three of those things to happen by now – especially the goaltending falling apart – and it hasn’t happened yet. I think the most exciting part is that there is a growing sense that the Jets “window of opportunity” is starting to open up and that it might be worth parting with a good prospect or two to bring in more depth at the trade deadline and if they do that, then there isn’t any reason at all why the Jets can’t finish first this season.

 

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Game #32 – Hawks vs. Jets Preview, Food Drive – Cop Just Out Of Frame

By Matt McClure 2052 0

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Game Time: 7:00PM CST
TV/Radio: NBC Sports Chicago, WGN-AM 720
God Save The Queen: Arctic Ice Hockey, Jets Nation

Fresh off three somewhat palate-cleansing barely-wins against the absolute dregs of the league at home in Buffalo, Arizona, and Florida, the Hawks face a far sterner test tonight in The Peg, where the Jets at least kind of look like they have finally gotten their shit together.

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Game #32 – Hawks vs. Jets: Q&A With Cara T And Derek Gagnon

By Sam Fels 1888 0

Cara And Derek are two of the writers on staff at ArcticIceHockey.com. You can follow them on Twitter @HappyCaraT and @DerekGagnon1.

Let’s start at the top. Maybe because it took a few years. Maybe because of where he plays. But this is Mark Scheifele’s second straight year of being a point-per-game. Isn’t it time his name is mentioned in the same class as the top centers in the game?

Cara: Absolutely it is time to consider Scheifele a top centre in the league. The thing to remember about him is he was a late bloomer in junior and really came out of his shell in his draft year after playing in Junior A the previous season. It is no wonder it took him a little bit of time to really show the NHL his skill.

Derek: I do find it strange that he, and linemate Blake Wheeler, can experience repeated success without getting much praise. Playing in Winnipeg definitely plays a slight role in his lack of press in other markets, but I do believe it is time for his name to be mentioned more often. His numbers in the past two seasons have far surpassed others drafted ahead of him, and at this point I’d say he’s the second best player to come out of his draft class (Kucherov being better).

How much of the Jets’ success should be pinned on the revitalization of Connor Hellebuyck?

The Jets have never had consistently good goaltending until this year. This is remarkable and sad all the same. A lot of their success is owed to Hellebuyck, especially early on. Let’s just hope that he remains the goalie who was coached by not-Wade Flaherty this summer and not the goalie coached by Wade Flaherty.

Lots? The recent slide in performance aside, Hellebuyck is the biggest reason the Jets find themselves where they are in the standings. Reliable goaltending has been non-existent in Winnipeg since 2011, with Michael Hutchinson dominating the Blackhawks being an exception. His record at home has been particular dominant, picking up 23 of a possible 24 points in starts at Bell MTS Place. It has been said for some time that the Jets are a playoff team with average goaltending, and they’ve gotten better than average play from Hellebuyck thus far.

How much of the Jets’ success should be pinned on no longer being the dumbest team in the league and curtailing their penalties per game to middle of the pack?

The Jets may still have some very dumb games, but getting rid of Mark Stuart and Chris Thorburn this summer has probably helped get some of the dumb out of their game. In general, the Jets really put an emphasis on taking less penalties this season and playing the game five on five has helped them a lot because they are still not great at killing penalties.

Certainly this has helped. The penalty kill has also improved its performance. The Jets brought former referee Paul Devorski in to work with the team during training camp to help cut down on the penalties, and it seems to be paying off. Staying with special teams, the Jets now have a top five power play to use as well.

Once again, according to the metrics. Matthieu Perreault is one of the most underrated players in the league. What makes him an analytic darling and is he well appreciated up there?

You are taking about Fourth Line Hero Matty P. He is genuinely a fourth line hero on the Jets since his injuries and people are really loving him there because he is able to have less wear and tear on his body while still being great offensively. In short, people love his style of play and are fine with his usage because he drags the fourth line to respectability all by himself.

Every time he gets hurt, people slam Mathieu Perreault, but the fact is he’s a very good player. I fully expected him to be picked up by Vegas last summer, and was quite happy to see him stick around when the Jets opted to protect 7-3-1. When healthy, he can contribute in any of the 12 forward positions, and is currently occupying a fourth line spot while getting power play time. He’s a very smart player, and I don’t think I can stress that enough. His positioning and awareness on the ice is great, and he makes players around him better. So is he appreciated? Yes, but not as much as he could be.

Is this all for real? How far can the Jets go?
I think this is for real and as far as Hellebuyck can take them.
I think this can be a playoff team, because of the number of skilled players. The Jets boast one of the top few top 6 forward groups in the NHL, and some talented young defenders in Jacob Trouba and Josh Morrissey. Combined with decent goaltending, they’re top-eight in the West. 
I was hesitant at first, but the longer it goes the more it seems that it might be a second trip to the post-season since relocating from Atlanta in 2011. My father projects that somehow the Jets will make it to the Western Conference Final before losing to Nashville. So yea, I’ll go with that.
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Your Friends And Neighbors – ’17-’18 NHL Previews – A Speculative Fiction

By Sam Fels 1298

This league wide preview series at long last comes to its merciful end, fittingly in the last place anyone wants to be – Winnipeg.

For as much shit as the Blues get for “This Time It Will Be Different”, the Jets continue to trot out the same roster year after year that simply isn’t good enough, led by a GM in Kevin Chevydayoff that cannot seem to get himself fired in spite of all of this inertia, and a coach in Paul Maurice who people simply accept as being competent for no other reason other than he has been behind a bench since he was 14 years old. But hey, things are bound to bounce their way sooner or later right?

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Potemkin City Limits – Hawks at Jets Preview, Customs Detainment

By 1285

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Game Time: 7:00PM CST
TV/Radio: CSN, TVA, WGN-AM 720
A New Name For Everything: Arctic Ice Hockey, Illegal Curve, Jets Nation

As the Hawks stay in the snow blasted prairies of the Midwest, they take their road show to the MTS Center in downtown Winnipeg, where they hope to actually win a game against the Jets this season in their last head-to-head meeting of the regular season.