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

By Sam Fels 1709 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.

 

Game #44 Preview

Preview

Spotlight

Q&A

Douchebag Du Jour

I Make A Lot Of Graphs

Lineups & How Teams Were Built

Everything Else

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

By Matt McClure 1955 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 1818 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.
Everything Else

Potemkin City Limits – Hawks at Jets Preview, Customs Detainment

By 1243

 at 

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.

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Incalculable Effects – Jets vs Hawks Preview, Amazon Gift Return

By 1533

 vs 

Game Time: 7:30PM
TV/Radio: CSN, WGN-AM 720
Fireman Ed’s Cousin Gord: Illegal Curve

In what was a tradition unlike any other, the Hawks for seemingly eons played a home game on West Madison on Boxing Day, and even during the Stone Ages the building was more packed than usual. The league in its wisdom has opted to extend the holiday break, pushing the return to action to the 27th, and even giving the Hawks a road game or two in recent years on the date. But tonight will be as close to the Boxing Day games of yore as the league will allow, and the Hawks will be welcoming the Jets to the UC once again already.

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Jets Q&A With Garret Hohl

By 1283

Garret is a contributor for JetsNation.ca. You can follow him on Twitter @GarretHohl.

Let’s start with Connor Hellebuyck, who was supposed to fix the Jets’ biggest problem for years. It hasn’t worked out that way. What’s been the problem? Still hopeful or is this worrying? Are most of the problems on the kill?

Hellebuyck has indeed been better than Pavelec’s overall average. A career 914 save percentage is still better than a 907, and that’s significant. All things being equal, that is an improvement that will lead to wins.

The issue is that all things have not been equal. Team struggles on special teams, penalty differential, and have been their worst shot metric team (both Corsi and expected goals) since the move to Winnipeg.

It’s still early to tell what Hellebuyck will be, you need about 3000 shots (ish) for that. I have confidence he’s an answer to getting something better than Pavelec. The real question: how much better?