Winnipeg Free Press https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/hockey/jets/jets-devour-sharks-468254223.html

Jets score big in test against Sharks 's key contributors come together in decisive victory

By: Mike McIntyre

The playoffs are three months away, with plenty of hockey to be played between now and then. But as spring-like weather blew into town Sunday to provide a brief respite from the cold, the passed another big test which shows they might just be up for the challenge that lies ahead.

Winnipeg gave the kind of performance needed to succeed every spring — top-notch goaltending, contributions from so-called role players, solid special teams and attention to defensive detail — as it beat the battle-tested 4-1 at Bell MTS Place.

Winnipeg improves to 25-11-7 on the year, including 5-0-1 since returning from the Christmas break.

Meanwhile, San Jose falls to 21-13-6.

"Any time you get to play against big (Joe) Thornton and (Brent) Burns and (Joe) Pavelski and those guys, it’s a playoff game. I’ve played against them a lot. My first playoff series, when I was with the Avalanche, was against them. They’re phenomenal players and a phenomenal team. When the Sharks come into our rink, we’re going to be ready to play," Matt Hendricks said.

The veteran centre helped set the tempo.

He dropped gloves with defenceman Brenden Dillon just over two minutes into the game, exchanging a series of powerful punches, then opened the scoring just past the midway mark of the first on a breakaway dash that beat Martin Jones.

"Just doing my part. Got a good break there on the . It feels good to help the team out any way that I can," said Hendricks, who is up to four goals on the year.

Winnipeg’s bottom-six forwards got an emergency makeover just before the game as Adam Lowry was a late scratch because of to an upper-body injury.

Rookie Jack Roslovic made his season debut with the Jets, skating on the fourth line with Hendricks and Marko Dano.

Shawn Matthias moved up to the third line with Joel Armia and Andrew Copp.

Dano made it 2-0 midway through the second, deflecting a slap from Jacob Trouba for his second goal of the season.

Both goals have come in the four games since he returned to the lineup, after being a healthy scratch for 30 games straight.

"Because of his personality and the importance in our room, they love when the fourth line scores," Jets said of Hendricks.

"We got two goals off the fourth line — really important. We have three of our top nine guys out of the lineup, albeit two of them in more of a shutdown role. We’re going to need that," he said, referring to Lowry, Brandon Tanev and , who are all on the shelf.

Copp, who shifted from wing to centre Sunday, assisted on the goals from Hendricks and Dano.

"It’s a testament to each guy stepping up and carrying a bit more of the load. Obviously, our leadership has done a great job," Copp said of continuing to play well through recent injuries.

Coming into the game, much had been made of Dustin Byfuglien playing 17:53 in Friday’s 4-3 win over Buffalo and his complaints one day later.

He certainly didn’t help his cause with another tough outing, in which he played 18:48, fourth among blue-liners ahead of only Dmitry Kulikov and Toby Enstrom, who returned to the lineup after missing 23 games with an injury.

With Tyler Myers in the box for tripping, Byfuglien was given a chance to help kill the .

It’s a role he hasn’t been used in much lately.

He responded by taking a hooking penalty that put his team down a pair for 1:06.

Logan Couture cut the lead in half shortly after Myers got out of the box, ripping a shot just under the bar past Connor Hellebuyck. Couture had been near the net all day, hitting two posts earlier in the game.

The Sharks nearly tied it later in the period, as an ill-advised Byfuglien pinch led to a 2-on-1.

But Hellebuyck came up with a big stop, only to be run over by San Jose’s Chris Tierney in the process.

Enstrom appeared to push him into the crease, and the Sharks were incredulous about being penalized.

It was a critical moment.

Winnipeg’s power play, ranked No. 1 in the NHL on home ice and No. 2 overall, made them pay.

Myers unloaded a cannon, which was tipped by onto the stick of , who beat Jones with just 57 seconds left in the middle frame.

"That was a huge goal that took us into the third with a two-goal lead," Perreault said.

"I feel like we’ve been able to find the lanes and get a lot of pucks on goal. A lot of goals that we’ve scored, just like (Sunday’s) goal, were just kind of a rebound, just banging pucks around the crease.

"This is usually what makes a good power play: when you can find those rebounds around the net — and we’ve been able to do that."

The Jets locked it down in the third period with a clear emphasis on being responsible in their own end and getting all five players back to defend. Perreault sealed the win with an empty- netter, with just over three minutes to play. He’s up to 12 goals on the season.

"I feel like this year, better than the past few years for sure, we’ve been really good at holding onto leads, and we did that again. So it was a huge win and we’re happy," Perreault said.

The Jets are 16-3-1 at Bell MTS Place, the second-best home record in the league.

"It means a lot because we play 41 games here. We seem real comfortable here. Our fans are great. It gets proud loud, pretty noisy. I remember being an opponent in here. It’s a hard environment to play in when you’re a road team," Hendricks said.

Hellebuyck made 31 saves and improved his record to 23-4-6.

"It just gives us confidence. We come into this room and on any given night, we know we’re the team to beat. We’re confident. We’re walking that line of almost arrogance," Copp said.

"We know we have a great group in here and we can be the best team in the league on any given night.

"Having that home record brings confidence for us, (having Hellebuyck) in net is confidence for us."

Winnipeg now begins a stretch in which it will play six of its next seven games on the road, beginning Tuesday in Buffalo. https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/hockey/jets/maurice-left-with-tough-decisions-on- productive-forwards-468270153.html

Maurice left with tough decisions on productive forwards

By: Mike McIntyre

Adam Lowry tried. But after taking a few twirls during Sunday’s pre-game skate, the decision was made to keep him out of the lineup. That opened the door for Jack Roslovic to make his season debut and play just the second NHL game of his career.

"You’ve got to prepare every day like you’re going to play, so I just went to bed (Saturday) and thought, ‘You’re either going to be playing or not.’ So I’m going to prepare like I’m going to play, and I found out about five minutes left in warmup that (Lowry) couldn’t go," Roslovic said after his team’s 4-1 win over San Jose.

The top scorer from the certainly didn’t look out place. Roslovic got 7:57 of action Sunday, with two shots on net. He had a great scoring chance late in the game while on a line with Matt Hendricks and captain Blake Wheeler, who was double-shifting in place of Marko Dano.

The fact he was taking a regular shift late in the game was certainly telling. Other players, including Dano, and Kyle Connor, saw their ice time limited.

"We had a couple of guys that were having a real hard time getting the puck out, getting it off the wall. And he wasn’t. There were three plays in the neutral zone where he had to make a read, and he made it perfectly. He covered off a guy who had made a mistake one time," Jets head coach Paul Maurice said following the game.

Lowry is considered day-to-day and could play Tuesday in Buffalo. The injury apparently happened sometime during last Friday’s game against the Sabres, although Lowry finished the game. However, he was absent from Saturday’s practice.

Maurice said there’s certainly a temptation to keep Roslovic in the lineup regardless, although who would come out is the question.

"Yes would be the answer based on the game, we really liked it. Marko Dano’s got two goals since he’s come back. Shawn Matthias got one... So you can’t really look at those guys and say there’s a failing there. I don’t know that there’s anybody further up the lineup that I’m willing to take out right now. We’re what, 5-0-1 in the last six, so we’re all right. But I certainly have no problem playing him," Maurice said.

Hendricks was certainly impressed with what he saw.

"The guy can skate, huh? He’s fast. He’s got a great head for the game. He seems to be able to find those soft areas. You can tell why he’s been so offensive in the American (Hockey) League. He’s got that ability," Hendricks said. "With a break here or there, he would have had one in the net. Or a couple of assists. He’s been working extremely hard since he’s come up. I’m glad he got the opportunity to show what he had. I thought he did a good job."

Roslovic said he will remain ready for whenever the next opportunity presents itself.

"It’s all about the journey right now, and it’s going to sometimes be games like where you don’t find out until five minutes before, and sometimes you’re going to know the day before. It’s all good," he said.

Could Mark Scheifele return to the lineup sooner than expected?

Don’t rule out the possibility. Maurice updated the status of his injured No. 1 centre this weekend, saying Scheifele is making some positive strides.

"I think he is going to be a quick healer," Maurice said.

Scheifele went down with some type of serious shoulder injury during the Dec. 27 game against Edmonton and was slated to miss between six-and-eight weeks. Surgery was not required. Maurice said Scheifele is now about a week away from being able to get back into the weight room to do some lower-body activity.

"He’s not enjoying it by any means. We’ll have to watch him trying to get a little bit ahead of himself," Maurice said.

Maurice just missed out this past weekend on being named the head coach of the Central Division all-star team.

Although the Jets are leading the division, Nashville began the day Sunday with a slightly better winning percentage. And that meant the honour went to Predators bench boss .

To date, only the captains of the four divisional teams have been named based on fan vote. Nashville defenceman P.K. Subban will lead the Central. The rest of the roster for the three-on- three mini-tournament is expected to be named on Wednesday.

Several Jets are likely in the running, with goalie Connor Hellebuyck and captain Blake Wheeler likely the favourites.

The game will be held Jan. 28 in Tampa Bay.

Winnipeg Sun http://winnipegsun.com/sports/hockey/nhl/winnipeg-jets/complementary-players-key-win-jets- get-big-effort-in-latest-home-triumph

Complementary players key win: Jets get big effort in latest home triumph

By Ken Wiebe

The big guns have done a good chunk of the heavy lifting on more than enough occasions this season for the Winnipeg Jets.

On Sunday afternoon, the complementary players stole the show.

The Jets got a pair of goals from fourth-liners and two more from Mathieu Perreault in a 4-1 victory over the San Jose Sharks on Sunday afternoon at Bell MTS Place.

“Just doing my part. Got a good break there on the goal,” said Jets centre Matt Hendricks, who got into a fight with Sharks defenceman Brenden Dillon 2:22 into the contest and scored a backhand goal on a breakaway at 12:42 of the first period. “It feels good to help the team out any way that I can. We played a good team game. Power play was good, penalty kill was good. (Connor Hellebuyck) was great back there. That was a good team win.”

The Jets didn’t need a frantic rally to get the game to and they didn’t run away with the game either, not until Perreault’s empty-netter with 3:12 left in regulation.

It was simply a workmanlike effort.

Hellebuyck was solid but didn’t have to be spectacular, finishing with 31 saves as he improved to 23-4-6 on the season while lowering his goals-against average to 2.36 and raised his save % to .923.

Dano, playing just his fourth game since returning to the lineup after being a healthy scratch for 30 consecutive games, scored his second goal of the season on a beautiful redirection.

Although he was limited to less than five minutes of total ice time, Dano’s goal proved to be the game-winner in a game the Jets were missing three forwards – Mark Scheifele, Adam Lowry and Brandon Tanev – because of injuries.

“We had everyone contributing,” said Jets forward Andrew Copp, who moved to centre when Lowry was a late scratch with an upper-body injury. “It’s a testament to each guy stepping up and carrying a bit more of the load.”

The Jets gave up their first power play goal in six games, but got an important power-play marker from Perreault with 57.5 seconds to go in the second period, restoring a two-goal lead after Sharks centre had made it a one-goal game.

“That was a little unfortunate because we killed the five-on-three and then (Tyler Myers) came out of the box and they still get the goal,” said Perreault, who is up to 12 goals and 23 points in 31 games. “But, yeah, that was a huge goal that took us into the third with a two-goal lead. I feel like this year, better than the past few years for sure, we’ve been really good at holding onto leads and we did that again. So it was a huge win and we’re happy.”

The Jets home-ice dominance continued as they improved to 16-3-1 at Bell MTS Place.

This most recent stretch at home has seen the Jets compile a record of 15-1-1, picking up 31 of a possible 34 points – which is one of the biggest reasons they remain in top spot in the Central Division standings.

“It just gives us confidence,” said Copp, who had a pair of assists. “We’re walking that line of almost arrogance. We know we have a great group in here and we can be the best team in the league on any given night. Having that home record brings confidence for us, (having Hellebuyck) in net is confidence for us.”

That confidence has led to results.

Since returning from the Christmas break, the Jets are 5-0-1 and picked up 11 out of 12 available points.

Even at that impressive pace, it’s been tough for the Jets to create much separation in the standings.

Jets defenceman Toby Enstrom returned to the lineup after missing 23 games with a lower-body and finished with just under 16 minutes of ice time.

“It didn’t look like he missed a beat,” said Maurice. “There were no bobbled pucks. There wasn’t anything in his game that said he was rusty at all.”

Maurice continued to hold his players accountable on Sunday, resulting in a decrease in ice time for some key cogs.

For the second time in as many games, Jets defenceman Dustin Byfuglien was held under 19 minutes of ice time, finishing with 18:48 after playing just 17:57 in Friday’s win over the Buffalo Sabres.

Byfuglien made a bad pinch during a power play early in the third period, allowing Sharks forward Joel Ward to go in on a partial breakaway.

But for the most part, Byfuglien kept the risk/reward element of his game in check and that’s what he’ll need to continue to do in order to get back to his season average of roughly 23 minutes per game.

Maurice also reduced the ice time of first-line wingers Kyle Connor and Patrik Laine during the third period, moving captain Blake Wheeler onto a line with Hendricks and Jack Roslovic, a late addition to the lineup after Lowry was unable to play.

Laine, who has gone a season-high seven games without scoring but has compiled six assists during that stretch, was limited to 13:20 while Connor had a shot in goal during the first shift but didn’t generate any attempt during the rest of the contest, finishing with 13:16 of ice time.

“We had a couple of guys that were having a real hard time getting the puck out, getting it off the wall,” said Maurice.

Having to watch half of a period isn’t necessarily a bad thing, since it’s bound to catch the attention of Laine and Connor, both of whom are enjoying a strong season but are still young players working on consistency over the course of an 82-game schedule. http://winnipegsun.com/sports/hockey/nhl/winnipeg-jets/roslovic-gets-shot-skilled-forward- doesnt-look-out-of-place-in-season-debut-with-jets

Roslovic gets shot: Skilled forward doesn’t look out of place in season debut with Jets

By Ken Wiebe

Jack Roslovic knew he was on call and prepared accordingly.

But during the pre-game warm-up, Roslovic was wandering around the neutral zone during the line rushes like most healthy scratches do when there is an extra player on the ice.

During the moments before the team came out for the anthems, word trickled down that centre Adam Lowry would be scratched with an upper-body injury and that Roslovic was set to make his season debut with the Winnipeg Jets.

“Didn’t know until late, so you’ve got to prepare every game day like you’re going to play. You never know what’s going to happen,” said Roslovic. “Preparation starts the night before the game really. As far as that goes, they said be ready so I was ready. I thought it went alright.”

Roslovic, who was used mostly on the fourth line with Matt Hendricks and Marko Dano but also saw some time on the first power play unit.

With Kyle Connor and Patrik Laine struggling a bit to get pucks out of the defensive zone, Jets head coach Paul Maurice moved Hendricks and Roslovic onto a line with captain Blake Wheeler for a good chunk of the third period.

“You feel more comfortable as the game goes on,” said Roslovic, who took seven shifts for just over four minutes during that third period. “I didn’t feel too many butterflies. I just played my game. You’ve got to do whatever you can do to mean something in the lineup and it was good to get that opportunity.”

Roslovic, who has 15 goals and 35 points in 31 games with the Manitoba Moose of the , took 14 shifts for 8:57 of ice time, finishing with two shots on goal and a couple of nice set-ups in his second NHL game.

“The guy can skate, huh? He’s fast,” said Jets centre Matt Hendricks. “He’s got a great head for the game. He seems to be able to find those soft areas. You can tell why he’s been so offensive in the American (Hockey) League. He’s got that ability. With a break here or there, he would have had one in the net or (had) a couple of assists. He’s been working extremely hard since he’s come up. I’m glad he got the opportunity to show what he had.”

Jets head coach Paul Maurice said Lowry is officially day-to-day and could be an option to play Tuesday against the Buffalo Sabres.

Will Maurice considering keeping Roslovic in the lineup even if Lowry can play?

“Yes would be the answer based on the game, we really liked it,” said Maurice. “Marko Dano’s got two goals since he’s come back. Shawn Matthias got one, he had a huge block. So you can’t really look at those guys and say there’s a failing there.

“I don’t know that there’s anybody further up the lineup that I’m willing to take out right now. We’re what, 5-0-1 in the last six, so we’re all right. But I certainly have no problem playing him.”

Canadian Press https://www.chrisd.ca/2018/01/07/winnipeg-jets-san-jose-sharks-4-1-fifth-straight-home- victory/#.WlOSda6nFhE

Winnipeg Jets Down San Jose Sharks 4-1 for Fifth Straight Home Victory

By Darrin Bauming, The Canadian Press

WINNIPEG – Mathieu Perreault’s two goals Sunday afternoon lifted the Winnipeg Jets to a 4-1 win over the San Jose Sharks while also continuing the club’s torrid pace on home ice this season.

Winnipeg (25-11-7), which leads the Central Division with 57 points, captured its fifth-straight win at home to move three points ahead of the Nashville Predators.

“It’s great coming to the rink knowing we have a strong game here at home,” said Perreault. “Not so sure why it’s been that way but we’re having a lot of fun right now. We’re just really happy with how things are going.”

The Jets are among the NHL’s best on home ice with a 16-3-1 record at Bell MTS Place and their home power-play unit ranks No. 1 in the league.

“I feel like we’ve been able to find the lanes and get a lot of pucks on goal,” said Perreault, whose first goal came with the man advantage to give the Jets a 3-1 lead. “A lot of goals that we’ve scored, just like tonight’s goal, was just kind of a rebound, just banging pucks around the crease.

“This is usually what makes a good power play — when you can find those rebounds around the net — and we’ve been able to do that.”

Jets coach Paul Maurice said confidence has been the key to his team’s success at home.

“We also know that a big chunk of our home games are still ahead of us,” Maurice said. “November, December were tough schedules. We made the most of our home games which was really really critical.

“Some of those road trips can be a little taxing for your club, so you gotta be good at home.”

The Jets opened the scoring midway through the first period after Matt Hendricks was sent in alone on the breakaway. He beat San Jose goaltender Martin Jones glove side on the backhand for his fourth goal of the season and third in four games.

Winnipeg made it 2-0 midway through the second period after Marko Dano scored his second goal of the season, deflecting a Jacob Trouba point shot.

Logan Couture scored San Jose’s only goal on the power play. The Jets had held off the Sharks for over a minute of 5-on-3 play before Couture notched his 16th of the season and first goal since Dec. 9.

“We would have liked to get another power-play goal and shut them down on our (penalty kill),” said Couture. “But they scored some timely goals that won the game. The third was tough to come back down two against that team in the third period. They shut it down pretty good.”

“I thought we were in the game,” said Sharks head coach Peter DeBoer. “They jumped on us in the first five, six minutes. I thought we knew that was going to happen and I thought we got our legs underneath us. I really liked our game. Really, the third goal was killer.”

The Sharks are 21-13-6 and in third place in the Pacific Division.

“Overall, we’re OK,” said DeBoer. “We’re not perfect. We’re not exactly where we want to be, but it could be worse.”

Andrew Copp and Tyler Myers each had two assists for the Jets.

Winnipeg goaltender Connor Hellebuyck made 31 saves for his 23rd victory of the season, while Jones finished with 26 stops in the loss.

With an assist on Perreault’s power-play goal, Winnipeg captain Blake Wheeler extended his point streak to six games. He moved to centre after Mark Scheifele was injured last month and has eight points over five games since switching positions.

The Jets will kick off a four-game road trip Tuesday at Buffalo.

The Sharks are off until Saturday’s home game against Arizona.

Mercury News https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/01/07/three-takeaways-sharks-deboer-still-looking-for-an- explanation-on-costly-penalty-in-loss-to-jets/

Three takeaways: Sharks’ DeBoer ‘still looking for an explanation’ on costly penalty in loss to Jets

By PAUL GACKLE | [email protected] | Bay Area News Group

WINNIPEG, Manitoba — The sting of Friday’s third-period meltdown in Ottawa intensified Sunday as the Sharks lost the final game of their five-game road trip in Winnipeg.

The Sharks put together a quality game against the Central Division’s top team, but they lost for the fourth time in five games, completing the road trip with a 1-2-2 record.

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Here’s what we learned as the Sharks (21-13-6) entered their five-day bye by coming out on the wrong side of a 4-1 decision against the Winnipeg Jets (25-11-7):

1. Costly penalty baffles Sharks coach.

The turning point came with 83 remaining in the second period.

After Logan Couture cut the Jets lead to 2-1 at 14:47 by recording his team-leading 16th goal, Chris Tierney received an opportunity to tie the game on a two-on-one play.

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Instead of scoring the equalizer, Tierney got hauled off to the penalty box for goaltender interference after he crashed into netminder Connor Hellebuyck. Tierney fell into the Jets goalie because he got shoved by defenseman Toby Enstrom.

Mathieu Perreault scored on the ensuing power play by sliding a rebound through Martin Jones’ legs, giving the Jets a commanding 3-1 lead heading into the second intermission.

“I couldn’t really go anywhere,” Tierney said, recalling the pivotal penalty. “I thought I got hit in. Obviously, the ref saw it another way. It was a big turning point. It goes from being a chance to tie it up 2-2 to being in the box and we’re down 3-1.”

The Sharks aren’t blaming the loss on the penalty.

They fell into a 2-0 hole by allowing Matt Hendricks to score off a breakaway at 12:42 of the first — a product of defensive miscues by and Brenden Dillon — and leaving Marko Dano alone in front of the net to redirect a point shot from Jacob Trouba at 11:03 of the second.

They also failed to generate five-on-five offense, scoring their lone goal on the power play.

Regardless, Tierney’s penalty deflated the Sharks comeback effort and baffled head coach Pete DeBoer.

“The third goal was really the killer,” the Sharks coach said. “I don’t understand it. I’m still looking for an explanation on how that’s a penalty, but that’s what you deal with.”

2. Sharks road trip ‘definitely could have been better’.

The Sharks faced a stacked deck Sunday.

They played a matinee in their third game in four days, the last contest of a roadie that went from Dallas to Montreal to to Ottawa to Winnipeg in eight days. They also ran into some tough luck by drawing the Jets in the final stop of the trip, the top team in the Central Division (57 points) and the NHL’s second-best home squad (16-3-1).

That’s why the Sharks third period collapse in Ottawa was such a punch in the gut. If they hadn’t coughed up a three-goal lead Friday, they would have finished the road swing with a respectable 2-2-1 record under challenging circumstances.

Instead, the trip wound up being very blah.

“We got some points, but it definitely could have been better,” Couture said.

The debacle in Ottawa only cost the Sharks a point, but right now a single point is all that’s keeping the team above the fray in the Western Conference. The Sharks, who return to action with a home game against the on Saturday, are heading into the bye clinging to the final playoff spot in the Pacific Division, one point ahead of the , two ahead of the . In the wild card race, they hold a one-point edge over the and the Minnesota Wild and a two-point lead over the Chicago Blackhawks.

Every point counts.

“Overall, we’re okay,” DeBoer said. “We’re not perfect. We’re not exactly where we want to be, but it could be worse.”

3. The Sharks are still overly-reliant on the power play for scoring.

When DeBoer took over as head coach, one of his stated goals was to improve the Sharks five- on-five scoring, making the team less reliant on the power play.

Midway through his third season in San Jose, the Sharks are back at ground zero.

Since Dec. 7, 40.9 percent of the Sharks goals (18 of 44) have come with the man advantage.

Through 40 games, the Sharks have scored the fewest five-on-five goals in the NHL, tied with the Arizona Coyotes and the .

DeBoer called the Sharks a “work in progress” as the season approaches the 50-yard line.

“There’s no doubt that we need to score more (five-on-five goals). I think everyone wants to score more five-on-five other than a couple teams, but there’s no doubt (that’s true) for us,” the Sharks coach said. “We’ve had good special teams and we’re still not a high, high-scoring team.” https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/01/07/sharks-lose-to-jets-finish-road-trip-with-sub-500- record/

Sharks lose to Jets, finish road trip with sub-.500 record

By PAUL GACKLE | [email protected] | Bay Area News Group

WINNIPEG, Manitoba — The sting of Friday’s third-period meltdown intensified Sunday as the Sharks lost the final game of their five-game trip in Winnipeg.

The Sharks put together a strong showing under challenging circumstances, but they came out on the wrong side of a 4-1 decision to the Winnipeg Jets (25-11-7), completing their trip with 1- 2-2 record. The team is off for the next five days, returning to action Saturday in San Jose against Arizona.

The Sharks (21-13-6) faced a stacked deck in the final game of the trip. They were playing a matinee in their third game in four days, the last contest of a roadie that went from Dallas to Montreal to Toronto to Ottawa to Winnipeg in eight days. They also ran into some tough luck by drawing the Jets in the final stop, the top team in the Central Division (57 points) and the NHL’s second-best home squad (16-3-1).

If the Sharks hadn’t coughed up a three-goal lead in Ottawa on Friday, they would have finished the grueling trip with a respectable 2-2-1 record, making Sunday’s loss a little less painful. Now, the Sharks enter the bye week clinging to a one-point lead over the Anaheim Ducks for the final playoff spot in the Pacific Division.

The Jets opened the scoring at 12:42 of the first when Matt Hendricks capitalized on a Sharks defensive miscue. Hendricks scored off a breakaway after defenseman Brenden Dillon got caught pinching in the neutral zone and Brent Burns made an errant swipe at the puck near the blue line, giving the Jets forward an open lane to the net.

Marko Dano gave the Jets a 2-0 lead at 11:03 of the second, redirecting a Jacob Trouba point shot through goalie Martin Jones’ five hole.

The Sharks cut the lead in half at 14:47 of the middle stanza when Logan Couture scored his team-leading 16th goal on the power play, going top shelf from the left circle to earn his fourth point in two games. Brent Burns and Joe Pavelski picked up assists on the play.

But the Jets regained the two-goal advantage in the period’s final minute, capitalizing on a power play after the Sharks came out on the wrong side of a tough call.

Chris Tierney received a goaltender interference penalty after he crashed into netminder Connor Hellebuyck on a two-on-one play, the result of a shove from Jets defenseman Toby Enstrom.

Mathieu Perreault scored on the ensuing power play, slipping a rebound in between Jones’ legs to give the Jets a 3-1 edge.

Perreault added a second goal with 3:12 left in the third, scoring into an empty net.

NHL.com https://www.nhl.com/news/san-jose-sharks-winnipeg-jets-game-recap/c-294759796

Perreault, Hellebuyck help Jets defeat Sharks Forward scores twice, goalie makes 31 saves to give Winnipeg 15th win in past 17 home games by Scott Billeck / NHL.com Correspondent

WINNIPEG -- Mathieu Perreault scored two goals, and Connor Hellebuyck made 31 saves to help the Winnipeg Jets defeat the San Jose Sharks 4-1 at Bell MTS Place on Sunday.

Matt Hendricks and Marko Dano scored for the Jets (25-11-7), who are 16-3-1 at home, including 15-1-1 in their past 17 games. Andrew Copp and Tyler Myers each had two assists.

"It's great coming to the rink knowing we have a strong game here at home," Perreault said. "Not so sure why it's been that way, but we're having a lot of fun right now. We're just really happy with how things are going."

Logan Couture scored for the Sharks (21-13-6), and Martin Jones allowed three goals on 29 shots.

San Jose has lost four straight games and went 1-2-2 on its five-game road trip. The Sharks have five days off before hosting the Arizona Coyotes on Saturday.

"We knew coming into tonight they're a good team, they're top of the conference and they're really good," Sharks captain Joe Pavelski said. "We knew it was going to take a good game from us. I think we got that for the most part. Jones was great with our breakdowns, they just found a way to stick a few extra ones in the net."

Hendricks made it 1-0 at 12:42 of the first period on a partial breakaway after a bank pass off the boards from Joel Armia in the neutral zone.

"Just doing my part," Hendricks said. "Got a good break there on the goal. It feels good to help the team out any way that I can. We played a good team game."

Dano extended the Jets lead to 2-0, tipping Jacob Trouba's point shot past Jones at 11:03 of the second period.

Couture made it 2-1 when he scored his first goal since Dec. 9 (eight games) with a point shot on the power play at 14:47, but Perreault put the Jets up 3-1 with a power-play goal with 58 seconds left in the second.

"I thought we were OK," Couture said. "We would have liked to get another power-play goal and shut them down on our [penalty kill]. But they scored some timely goals that won the game. The third was tough, to come back down two against that team in the third period. They shut it down pretty good."

Perreault scored into an empty net at 16:48 of the third period to make it 4-1.

Jets forward Adam Lowry was a late scratch with an upper-body injury. Forward Jack Roslovic took his place in the lineup.

"I guess it shows how strong our game plan is -- it doesn't really matter who's in the lineup," Perreault said. "We're sticking to it, we're playing a strong game, and [Hellebuyck's] making the saves. Right now, it feels like we can probably play anybody and still win games, which is a great feeling to have."

Goal of the game Perreault's goal at 19:02 of the second period.

Save of the game Hellebuyck stopping Joel Ward on a breakaway at 2:02 of the third period.

Highlight of the game Hendricks' goal at 12:42 of the first period.

They said it "What did we get, four points? Could have easily had six, which would have made it good. We didn't. I think we're in every game. The only game I thought was poor was the Dallas [Stars] game. Throw that one out, but the rest of the trip -- the third period [against the] Ottawa [Senators] you didn't like -- but I liked our first two. Tonight, I thought we hung in there in a tough situation and gave ourselves a chance anyway. Overall, we're OK. We're not perfect, we're not exactly where we want to be. But it could be worse." -- Sharks coach Peter DeBoer on their 1-2- 2 road trip

"You've got to prepare every day like you're going to play, so I just went to bed and thought you're either going to be playing or not. So I'm going to prepare like I'm going to play, and I found out about five minutes left in warmup that [Adam Lowry] couldn't go, so …" -- Jets forward Jack Roslovic, who played his second NHL game

Need to know Hellebuyck is 7-0-2 with 17 goals-against and two shutouts in his past nine starts. … San Jose forward was a healthy scratch. … The Sharks recalled forward Marcus Sorensen from the San Jose Barracuda of American Hockey League and put defenseman Dylan DeMelo (undisclosed) on injured reserve. Sorensen had two hits and two blocked shots in 13:11.

What's next Sharks: Host the Arizona Coyotes on Saturday (10:30 p.m. ET; NBCSCA, FS-A, NHL.TV) Jets: At the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; MSG-B, TSN3, NHL.TV)

Sportsnet.ca http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/goes-brown-weekend-wrap-will-surging-jets-buy-deadline/

Down Goes Brown Weekend Wrap: Will surging Jets buy at deadline?

By Sean McIndoe

Every now and then, we like to use this space to focus in on one particular division. Last month we went through the Metro and tried to make sense of a traffic jam of teams all separated by a few points. This month’s division features slightly more separation, but no fewer question marks. Let’s take a run through the Central.

For the last few years, the Central has been the league’s standard-bearer as the top division. That perception was largely driven by the Blackhawks and their three Stanley Cups, which made sense. But despite being a mini-dynasty, Chicago didn’t dominate the division during the regular season; last year was actually the first time since the current format came together in 2013–14 that the Hawks finished first, or even had home-ice in the opening round. Teams like the Stars, Blues and even the Avalanche have taken turns having big years, and last year’s playoffs turned into the Predators’ big coming-out party. In three of the last four years, the Central has taken both wild-card spots and sent five teams to the playoffs.

They may be headed in that direction again this year; we’re just not sure which five teams it would be. The Stars and Wild headed into the weekend controlling the two wild-card spots. Both teams were hoping to aim a little higher heading into the season, with the Wild coming off a 106- point season and the Stars loading up in the off-season to get back into the playoffs. So far, neither squad has really clicked, although both are still within range of the division’s top three.

The Stars come out of the weekend holding onto their spot, but the Wild ceded theirs after getting pummeled by the surging Avalanche, winners of five straight. That’s an impressive feat for a Colorado team that was dead last by a mile last year, then traded one of their best players earlier in the year. Joe Sakic and don’t seem like punchlines anymore, and it’s starting to feel like last year’s disaster may have been more of a worst-case scenario than a real indication of where the franchise was at.

But the real action has been at the top of the division, where the Jets, Blues and Predators have taken turns leading the charge. For most of the first half, it was the Blues who looked like the best of the group, but they wobbled somewhat through December after Jaden Schwartz got hurt. That continued as they dropped a pair on the weekend, although by picking up a point against the Capitals they at least held onto second place.

That’s because the Predators have been losing ground over the last few weeks, winning just three of nine. They’ve got a key injury of their own in Filip Forsberg, who’ll be out at least a month with what we now know is a broken hand. The team has gone cold ever since that Western Canada swing in mid-December that saw them win three straight by a combined score of 13–1, although they did earn a solid win over the Kings on Saturday.

All of which opens the door for the one Central team we haven’t mentioned yet. And they probably deserve a section of their own.

Road to the Cup The five teams that look like they’re headed towards Stanley Cup–favourite status.

5. (23-10-7, +29 true goals differential*): With points in 11 straight, the Bruins make their first appearance in the top five.

4. Winnipeg Jets (25-11-7, +27): There’s that missing Central team. More on them down below.

3. (29-10-2, +30): With 29 wins, the Knights already rank third all-time in expansion history. They’re halfway through the season.

2. (26-13-3, +10): Is this too high? It feels too high. But with four straight wins, they’re starting to build some separation in top of the Metro.

1. Tampa Bay Lightning (30-9-3, +52): If the playoffs started today, they’d face the Penguins in the first round. In related news, let’s start the playoffs today.

*Goals scored minus goals allowed, without counting shootouts like the NHL does for some reason.

—

Yes, it’s time to start talking about the Jets again.

I mean, we should have been talking about them all along, and many of us have been. Both those conversations typically included a lot of questions, like “Are these guys for real?” and “Is this finally the year the Jets break through and do some playoff damage?”

The answers: Yes, and to be determined.

Halfway through the season, we can safely drop the hedges and qualifiers and just flat-out say the Jets are good. They may well be the best team in the Central. Lately, they’ve at least been the most consistent, which allowed them to blow past the Blues and Predators for top spot in the division. And like those two teams, they’ve been doing it without one of their best forwards.

When Mark Scheifele went down against the Oilers in the first game after the holiday break, it was fair to wonder if the Jets’ chances at a Central crown had gone down with him. Instead, they’ve barely missed a beat, scoring at least four goals in five of their last six. A big part of that has been Blake Wheeler, having the sort of career season that 31-year-olds aren’t supposed to be capable of in today’s NHL. Between Wheeler and other productive 30-somethings like Bryan Little and Mathieu Perreault and the 21-and-under crew led by Patrik Laine and Nikolaj Ehlers, the Jets have themselves a really nice mix of veteran know-how and youthful enthusiasm.

It all leads to an interesting question: What do the Jets do in the lead-up to the trade deadline? By now, Winnipeg fans are getting sick of hearing about how GM rarely trades. But they hear about it because it’s true — he’s basically made two major deals in over six years on the job, placing him far behind just about every other GM in the league. He did fine on both of those deals, making the best of the Evander Kane situation and doing well as a seller in the Andrew Ladd deadline deal. But for the most part, he prefers the draft-and-develop approach, without all the wheeling and dealing that most of his peers like to lean on.

You could make the case that the patient approach has worked, at least based on this year’s results. But with David Poile and Doug Armstrong both sounding like they’ll be aggressive buyers at the deadline, Cheveldayoff is going to be under big pressure to keep up. If there was ever a year to come out of his shell, this seems like the one, and he’d have plenty of ammo to work with.

That might be a scary thought for the rest of the division. The Jets are good right now, and they’ll get a lot better once Scheifele returns. If they bring in reinforcements on top of that, it’s hard to see where the limit for this team might be. With the Western Conference looking wide open this year, there may be no better time to take a swing.

Jets fans have been waiting six years to win so much as a playoff game, but now they’re thinking bigger. Right now, this team has to be a favourite to win a round, a division, and maybe a whole lot more.

TSN.ca https://www.tsn.ca/nhl/video/are-the-winnipeg-jets-stanley-cup-contenders~1298516 (VIDEO LINK)

Are the Winnipeg Jets Stanley Cup contenders?

The Winnipeg Jets have been rolling since Mark Scheifele, their number one centre, went down to injury. With players like Blake Wheeler stepping up in his absence, we ask TSN Hockey analyst Dave Poulin if this cements the Jets as Stanley Cup contenders. www.winnipegjets.com https://www.nhl.com/jets/news/jets-extend-point-streak-to-six-with-win-over-sharks/c-294762042

Jets continue home ice dominance with win over Sharks Perreault scores twice, Hellebuyck stops 31 to move Jets to 5-0-1 in last six by Mitchell Clinton @MitchellClinton / WinnipegJets.com

WINNIPEG - Bell MTS Place continues to be 'home, sweet home' for the Winnipeg Jets.

The latest example came Sunday afternoon, as the Jets skated to a 4-1 win over the San Jose Sharks, improving their record to 16-3-1 on home ice, and 25-11-7 this season.

"It shows how strong our game plan is. It doesn't matter who is in the line-up, we're sticking to it. We're playing a strong game," said Mathieu Perreault. "Right now it feels like we can play anybody and still win games, and it's a good feeling to have."

Perreault scored twice, while Matt Hendricks and Marko Dano added singles in the win.

Special teams - after arguably being one of the reasons the Jets lost the first meeting of the season against the Sharks back on Nov. 25 - played a big role in the win.

After going 0-for-3 on the power play in November's match-up against the Sharks, the Jets found twine on the man advantage once on three opportunities, and killed off three of four shorthanded situations.

"You almost have to have two pre-scout PK meetings for us when you deal with them, because each one has its own little identity and different style in how it moves the puck," said head coach Paul Maurice.

"Our power play really got going when the Little line got going in November. I don't know if it's competition, but it takes some pressure off the unit that's not going."

Matt Hendricks got the Jets on the board first, taking a bank pass in the neutral zone and with a burst of speed, got through a seam of three Sharks and beat Martin Jones with a backhand to the glove side.

It was an eventful first period for Hendricks, who also dropped the gloves with Brenden Dillon just over two minutes in.

"I think we came out and had a lot of momentum early. We were carrying the play for the first five or six minutes. I think Dillon just wanted to change the momentum a little bit," said Hendricks. "It feels good to help the team out in any way I can. I thought we played a good team game tonight. Power play was good, penalty kill was good, it was a good team win."

After picking up an assist on Hendricks' fourth of the season, Andrew Copp would get his second point of the night in the second period, when his pass was one-timed on net by fellow Michigan alum Jacob Trouba. Marko Dano tipped the Trouba blast between the legs of Jones, increasing the Jets lead to 2-0.

"I feel like I've been around the puck a little bit more. Taking some good routes, and I feel confident with the puck. I've been rewarded a bit the last couple games," said Copp, who also had an assist on Friday. "I feel like I was doing all the right things before, but now it's starting to come together, and I'm making a few more cleaner plays. I like where my game is headed."

The Sharks would take a bite out of that lead though. After the Jets killed off over a minute of a 5-on-3 San Jose power play, Logan Couture teed off on a Joe Pavelski pass and placed it just inside the post on Connor Hellebuyck's glove side.

Couture's 16th of the season was the first goal the Jets penalty kill had allowed since Dec. 23.

But the Jets power play would answer back. Myers slap pass was deflected in the high slot by captain Blake Wheeler, and the tipped puck found its way on to the blade of Perreault, who slid it under Jones for his 11th of the campaign.

"I feel like we've been able to find lanes and get a lot of pucks on goal," said Perreault. "A lot of the goals we score, just like tonight's goal, it was just kind of a rebound, just bang pucks around the crease. That's what makes a good power play, when you can find those rebounds around the net.

"(The power play units) push each other. We do it in practice. It's always a challenge to see who will score more goals. When we come to games, it's the same thing. I think it makes the unit better."

The Jets then shut the door in the third, and are now 20-0-1 when leading after two periods, as Perreault's empty net goal with 3:12 left extended the lead to 4-1, where it would stay until the final buzzer.

"I feel like this year, better than in the past few years for sure, we've been really good at holding on to leads," said Perreault. "We did that again tonight, so it was a huge win, and we're happy."

The Jets now head on the road for a three-game road trip before the five-day player break. The trip starts Tuesday with a rematch against the Buffalo Sabres, who the Jets beat 4-3 back on Friday.

ICE CHIPS Adam Lowry took the warm-up, but didn't play against the Sharks. Head coach Paul Maurice listed the forward as day-to-day with an upper-body injury, but won't rule him out for the road trip opener in Buffalo.

Jack Roslovic stepped in and played 7:57 in Lowry's absence, including 1:21 on the power play.

"Jack at the right wing, really smart game. To the point he was on the ice at the end of the game when it was tight. I was real pleased with the way he played tonight," said Maurice. "There were three plays in the neutral zone where he had to make a read, and he made it perfectly, and he covered off a guy who had made a mistake that one time. We know he's a smart player." https://www.nhl.com/jets/video/postgame--matt-hendricks/t-277437442/c-56497803

POSTGAME | Matt Hendricks

Matt Hendricks talks about his two-point night that helped the Jets defeat the Sharks, 4-1 https://www.nhl.com/jets/video/postgame--jack-roslovic/t-277437442/c-56498203

POSTGAME | Jack Roslovic

Jack Roslovic talks about playing his first NHL game of the season, the second of his career, in a 4-1 win over the Sharks https://www.nhl.com/jets/video/postgame--andrew-copp/t-277437442/c-56498103

POSTGAME | Andrew Copp

Copp discusses his two-point night, Matt Hendricks' big effort, and how the work of the bottom six forwards helped push the Jets to victory

FanRag Sports https://www.fanragsports.com/patrik-laine-special-start-jets-career/

Patrik Laine off to special start in his Jets career

By Adam Gretz

After missing the playoffs in each of the past two seasons — and in five of their first six seasons in Winnipeg — the Jets are on top of the NHL’s Central Division and seem destined to not only get back to the postseason, but maybe do something they have never done in their entire existence (even going back to Atlanta): Win a playoff game.

Led by one of the NHL’s best offenses and a breakthrough season by goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, the Jets are in strong contention for a Central Division title.

Very quietly the Jets have assembled some of the best offensive talent in the league with Mark Scheifele (currently sidelined due to injury — a big loss) and Blake Wheeler among the league’s leading point scorers over the past three years, and a trio of young forwards in Patrik Laine, Nikolaj Ehlers and Kyle Connor all emerging as top-line talents.

For now, let’s focus on Laine — he is the one player out of that group who has a chance to be a truly special talent in the league for a long, long time.

We took a closer look at Laine earlier this season when he was coming off an early slump and concluded it was nothing to worry about. It was only a matter of time until he truly broke out and started to score like he did during his stunning rookie season.

That is exactly what he has done.

Entering play on Sunday Laine is leading the Jets with 18 goals and is third on the team (behind only Scheiefele and Wheeler) with 35 total points.

He still has not celebrated his 20th birthday.

It’s not just that Laine has been so productive at such a young age; it’s that he is scoring goals at a rate that is nearly unmatched for a player this young.

After scoring 36 goals (in only 73 games) a season ago during his age-18 season, he is back this season and once again on a pace to top the 35-goal mark. If he is able to maintain that current pace he would be just the fifth player in league history to record two 35-goal seasons before his age-20 season, joining a list that currently only includes Sidney Crosby, Dale Hawerchuk, Jimmy Carson and Brian Bellows. As it stands now Laine is one of just 15 players to have even one such season in the league.

His 54 goals at the moment are already 13th in NHL history for most goals before a player’s age-20 season. It is a remarkable statistic when you realize he missed nine games a season ago and still has half of a season to play this year. If he maintains that goal scoring pace mentioned above he would be just the sixth player in league history to score at least 70 goals before age 20 (Steven Stamkos would be the fifth, along with the aforementioned quartet of Crosby, Hawerchuk, Carson, and Bellows — Stamkos scored 51 in his second season after scoring 23 in his rookie season).

He is clearly off to a special start to his career.

For the second time this season Laine has hit a goal-scoring slump, going six consecutive games without a goal. During that stretch he has still registered 22 shots on goal, an indication that that he is probably overdue to bust out with a couple of goals in the very near future. He has recorded six assists, all coming in the past four games. Four of those six assists have been the primary assist on the goals.

That is a change in Laine’s game this season.

While his primary weapon as an offensive player is always going to be his shot and his ability to score goals, he seems to have shown a lot of improvement in his skills as a playmaker. The more well-rounded he becomes as a player, the better news that is for the Jets.

A year ago Laine recorded 28 assists for the Jets with only 13 of them (46 percent) being the primary assist. Already this season at the halfway point he has 10 primary assists out of 17 total helpers (more than 58 percent). The overall number of assists isn’t on pace to change much, but the fact he is becoming more of the primary playmaker is an encouraging development simply because of how much more dangerous it can make him.

With Scheifele sidelined the Jets are going to be without one of the top offensive players in the league, and that is obviously going to leave a huge dent in their lineup. But if there is any team in the league that is equipped to deal with that loss, it just might be these Jets because of the other high-end young talents they have on the roster, with none of them being better than Laine.

The Athletic Winnipeg https://theathletic.com/203457/2018/01/06/tucker-poolmans-journey-from-the-nahl-to-the-jets-is- a-surprise-to-everyone-even-his-mom/

Tucker Poolman's journey from the NAHL to the Jets is a surprise to everyone, even his mom

By Murat Ates

When the NHL shut down over Christmas and its players were given the opportunity to spend time with their families, had a relatively easy commute. There are less than 300 kilometres between Winnipeg and his family home in East Grand Forks, MN.

Poolman’s road to the NHL took a lot longer than that.

In the summer of 2011, Poolman was so far off the NHL map that not even Tier II junior teams were calling him. Poolman drove himself to three NAHL tryouts, putting thousands of kilometres on his vehicles, and was cut from each one before the Wichita Falls Wildcats finally told him they’d give him a shot.

Six years after Poolman walked on to Wichita Falls team, he remains on the Winnipeg Jets’ roster even after Dustin Byfuglien’s return to full health. He has earned it, too – in the 10 games Winnipeg played with Byfuglien out, Poolman led all Jets defensemen with 65 per cent of on-ice high danger scoring chances and 70 per cent of on-ice goals for at 5-on-5.

How did such an unheralded player make the leap from Tier II junior tryouts all the way to NHL?

I asked his mom.

In a family full of athletes, LeAnne Poolman is the exception.

I asked Poolman about her eldest son’s journey to the NHL – from childhood to the Jets and everything in between

Note: Our conversation has been trimmed for length, and all photos are courtesy of LeAnne Poolman.

Ates: What was it like to raise an NHL athlete?

Poolman: When they say it takes a village to raise a child, it also takes a village to raise a hockey player. Mark (Tucker's dad) was on the road a lot [with the University of North Dakota where he works as a trainer] and my mom would actually move in on the weekends when it was my weekend to work. I had a lot of help from my mom getting them to practice and that was instrumental. Otherwise, I don’t know if hockey would have worked.

Ates: Mark had a tremendous football career. Did Tucker ever play football and if he did, did he ever have to choose between football and hockey?

Poolman: Tucker played football through junior high. I think he did some quarterbacking but he was so small that he could never see over the [offensive] line that he was throwing. They wanted him at quarterback because he could throw but he was small. He couldn’t see and he didn’t care for that. He was such a late bloomer. That was the problem. That’s why nobody noticed him.

Ates: So when Tucker was trying out for all of those NAHL teams, had he gotten big yet? Had hockey teams started noticing him by then?

Poolman: No. Not at all, no. The boys were never noticed… [The tryouts] were all pursued by him. Nobody was asking him to come. And I do believe that was because he was such a late bloomer.

At the tryouts he had always gone to, they look for kids that are going to be offensive and stand out and be flashy but I think our boys are just solid players. Reliable. But I don’t think that they stood out until they developed into their bodies.

And if you don’t get noticed when you’re young, you don’t get noticed these days. I think that’s what happened with Tucker. If you saw Tucker when he was a senior in high school, you wouldn’t recognize him. In junior is where he really did that. The last tryout that he went to, in Texas, his coach Paul Baxter saw something and gave him a chance.

That’s the year that he flourished. It was one of those things where I really think it was meant to be. That was going to be his last tryout. I don’t know. He’s just determined, I guess. It worked out.

Ates: It’s easy to see Tucker play for the Winnipeg Jets and say that things worked out well for him. How did you feel back then – when he was trying out for all of those teams and getting cut by them?

Poolman: Not good! [Laughs.] Not good. I wanted him to go to college.

Out of my husband and I, I am the worry wart – the realist. I always wanted the boys to go to college first and get something to fall back on. Not that I didn’t want him to pursue his dream but it definitely made me worried.

I think the plan I was OK with was “I’m going to take a year and pursue this and give it one last solid effort” and I think was OK with that. But yeah, I was concerned. He was good kid and worked hard so it was OK… But yeah, I was concerned!

Ates: Now that you’ve been through it, is there anything you’d say to other parents whose children are chasing dreams that might not be a sure thing?

Poolman: Whether it be hockey or music or academics – whatever your God-given talents might be, if you can figure out what your passion is, go for it. Make sure you’ve done everything – work as hard as you can to try to fulfill that. Once you’ve given your all, that’s all you can do. Give it your all and once you have, you’ll be satisfied. If it works, it works. If it doesn’t, well then you’ve given your best. I think that is my husband’s philosophy with the boys and we’ve adopted that.

I think that’s what Tucker tried to do with his path. It worked. It might not work with everyone but at least you know there will be no regrets.

Ates: I want to ask you a different kind of question now – a bit of trivia, if you don’t mind. Do you remember what kind of car Tucker was driving to all of those NAHL tryouts?

Poolman: [Laughs.] This is comical. Poor Tucker.

Tucker has gone through so many vehicles since he’s gotten his license. He’s driven junkers forever. We bought him used cars and every one of them, I think, has been a lemon and hasn’t lasted more than six months. The last car that he drove at UND was some pickup and it wouldn’t go in reverse in the winter. I don’t know how he got it in reverse.

The big joke was he finally bought himself a new car when he got the job with the Jets. He was finally able to buy himself a new truck and that was fun for him.

I’m trying to think – what did he drive to those tryouts? He probably drove his dad’s truck. It was probably an old red pickup truck that didn’t work very well. I honestly don’t remember but none of the cars that he drove ever worked very well. He’s had bad luck. And he just got hit in Winnipeg, too!

Ates: Wichita Falls is a long way from Grand Forks. I know Tucker would have been about 18 when that happened, but was that tough for you as a mom when he moved out?

Poolman: That was very difficult. I was the one that drove him to Texas. An 18 hour drive. And I had to leave him with his billet family – it was awful because we are quite a close family and I had to say goodbye to him… It was awful. I cried my eyes out.

I cried all of the way to the airport and the taxi cab driver consoled me. Yes, I remember it very well. Mark couldn’t go with me because he was working – it was in the fall. It was a very hard time for us because we were so close and it was our first child leaving the house. It was tough.

Ates: After his season in Omaha in the USHL, Tucker was drafted by the Jets. Was that a shock or was that expected by that point?

Poolman: Oh we were shocked! We were sitting in the basement all together. I don’t even know why. I think I had just got home from work and the guys were in the basement watching the draft. Of course they were very interested… And his name came up. And we just went crazy.

It was a shock, it was exciting – I think we were screaming. It was a shock for us, yeah. It was exciting. We saw it on the TV. Very shocked. And then the calls started coming in.

Ates: Did you believe at that point that he would make it all the way to the NHL?

Poolman: I don’t think I did. I didn’t know what that even meant. Maybe my husband did. I’m pretty naïve about this stuff. I don’t know much. But I was pretty excited when it was explained to me.

I still need things explained to me by my boys and my husband. They know how ignorant I am. I still watch the game and just watch my own son – I don’t necessarily watch the whole game. [Laughs.] Typical mom!

Ates: Did you have a “Welcome to the NHL” moment as a parent? Players will get asked this a lot but was there a moment where you thought, “Wow, my son is in the NHL?”

Poolman: We’ve driven up there about four or five times to see him play. He scored his first goal a couple of games ago and maybe that was it. I think the first game he got to play and we got to see him on TV – that was incredible. That was the kind of “aha” moment, when he got announced on TV. I mean that was crazy. It’s still kind of hard to believe. You don’t think of these little babies running around one day are going to ever fulfill that little dream. You know, every little kid thinks they’re going to play in the NHL but to actually see him out there is just a miracle for him. Everything else after that is gravy. It’s still kind of hard to believe. I don’t how to describe it.

We were at his brother’s game last night at UND and at the little gift shop, they have Tucker Poolman Lego by all the other Legos and a t-shirt with his name on it and I started to cry again. So I bought his Lego and his t-shirt and who would ever think that you, as a mother, would get to do that?

It’s crazy. Crazy little things like that. He has a little Lego – he played with Lego when he was a kid! Just dumb things that only a mom would think are cool, right? (Top photo credit: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports) https://theathletic.com/201386/2018/01/04/dellow-after-41-games-winnipeg-jets/

Dellow: After 41 games — Winnipeg Jets

By Tyler Dellow

As the Canadian teams cross the 41-game threshold, we'll be taking a look at how things have gone so far. Up first: one of the few positives in this bleak Canadian winter of discontent, the Winnipeg Jets.

Record/goal difference: 23-11-7, +23

Regulation record/goal difference: 22-11-8, +29

OT: 0-6

SO: 1-1

Winnipeg not only has a fantastic record in regulation, they've got the goal difference to support it. My quick and dirty rule of thumb for estimating how many points a team should have in regulation, given its goal difference, is regulation goal difference divided by three plus games played. In the Jets' case, that number is 50.7. They've earned 52 points in regulation, so the regulation record has been bought and paid for with goal difference. If anything, you'd expect them to have another couple of points, given their 0-6 record in overtime.

How have they done it? I've pulled together net goal difference by game state, which looks at a team's goal difference in a given game state as compared to the league average. A positive number means that they've been better than the average team in that situation, a negative number means that they've been worse.

The Jets' goal difference is a little lower than their +29 in regulation because of the 0-6 in overtime. The positive goal difference has basically been built on two pillars: 5-on-5 (+10 relative to league) and 5-on-4 (+8.5). So let's look a little more closely at that.

At 5-on-5, the Jets have been a slightly better than average possession team (50.9 per cent) that's a little bit better than that in terms of goals (53.2 per cent). The Jets are riding shooting percentage a little bit but not so much that it's unreasonable — they're shooting 8.4 per cent this year, which is exactly what they shot last year. The possession is up a bit from last year, when the Jets were a 49.3 per cent possession team but the real improvement has been in save percentage. Last year's Jets had a .915 save percentage at 5-on-5; this it's .922.

This all seems very reasonable. What's particularly interesting for the Jets is that the possession numbers have been creeping up lately, as a rolling five-game look at their Corsi% and GF% shows. Early in the season, I kind of looked at the Jets and went “Uh, this isn't real.” Since then, they've quietly turned into a really good possession team.

You can see that after an uncomfortably bad start, from a possession perspective (even if the goals were going in and staying out), the Jets started to string together better possession hockey. From game 20 forward, the Jets have put up a 54.6 per cent Corsi% with a +3 at 5-on- 5. Prior to that, they'd posted a 46.1 per cent Corsi% with a +7. Astute observers will note that the goal difference has actually declined despite the possession getting much better. In those first 19 games, the Jets were running at a 102.9 PDO. It's not the sort of thing that continues, ever. From the 20th game forward, the Jets are shooting 7.3 per cent with a .918 save percentage.

Teams that experience big turnarounds in possession in-season are always interesting to look closely at. The big change for the Jets has been that they're attempting more shots. Through their first 19 games, they were attempting 49.3 CF/60. Since game 20, they've attempted 64.5 CF/60. Their CA/60 have decreased, but not nearly as dramatically — it's fallen from 57.7 CA/60 to 53.6 CA/60 since game 20.

When you see a big increase in shot attempts paired with a decrease in shooting percentage, which has taken place here, it's always worth doing a bit of a sanity check to see if the team has just started gunning it from anywhere. You can look at this a couple of different ways. First, you can ask if the defencemen are attempting a greater percentage of the shots. They've been up ever so slightly since game 20, but it's hardly worth mentioning: an increase from 34.7 per cent of shot attempts to 35.1 per cent.

You can also look and see whether the shot distance has changed. The Jets' unblocked shot distance hasn't really changed either. The defencemen are up 0.8 feet since game 20; the forwards are down 2.6 feet. I'd actually take this tradeoff if I ran a team and was offered it and would look at this as an improvement. I also looked to see if the defencemen or forwards are struggling to get shot attempts through, which might suggest that they're taking worse ones. The defencemen have put 47.8 per cent of their shot attempts on goal since game 20, up from 41.5 per cent. The forwards are down from 60.8 per cent to 57.2 per cent but that doesn't seem like a particularly big deal to me — league average for forwards is 57.7 per cent.

Another thing about this possession increase: it's pretty broad based, in that it's not particularly driven by a specific shift type or line or pair. Everyone just seems to have taken a quantum leap forward. I have a process for classifying ice time by line and pair. Here's what the various lines and pairs have done in games 1-19 versus games 20-41 from a Corsi% perspective.

Line 1: Improved from 43.7 per cent to 52.6 per cent. Line 2: Improved from 49.8 per cent to 52.8 per cent. Line 3: Improved from 46.9 per cent to 59.o per cent. Line 4: Improved from 42.9 per cent to 55.4 per cent.

Pair 1: Improved from 46.9 per cent to 52.9 per cent. Pair 2: Improved from 48.0 per cent to 54.1 per cent. Pair 3: Improved from 42.4 per cent to 58.0 per cent.

You, uh, don't see this particularly often. It's a crazy improvement. Nineteen games into the season, the Jets had a 46.1 per cent Corsi%. That's generally a sign that you can safely ignore a team for the rest of the year. Yes, if the percentage gods bless them, they might sneak into the playoffs but they aren't going to do anything there.

My process identifies Kyle Connor, Blake Wheeler and Mark Scheifele as the most common members of the first line. The second line has tended to involve Nik Ehlers, Bryan Little and Patrik Laine. The third line is a little murkier. In games 1-19, the most common members were Brandon Tanev, Andrew Copp and Shawn Matthias, with Adam Lowry a close fourth. Lowry's rather decisively beaten out Matthias for that spot since then. The fourth line has been fairly consistent in including Joel Armia and Matt Hendricks. Mathieu Perreault has kind of taken the final spot on that line since game 20.

The first pair has tended to be Jacob Trouba and Josh Morrissey. The second and third pairs have been a bit more muddled due to injury. Dustin Byfuglien and Toby Enstrom were the cornerstones there in the first 19 games. Enstrom hasn't played since games 19-20 and Byfuglien missed some time too, so four guys have filled those slots: Byfuglien, Tyler Myers, Dmitry Kulikov and Ben Chiarot. Myers and Kulikov were the third pair early; they've spent time there since game 20 as well, with Tucker Poolman and Chiarot also seeing minutes.

The key point though is this: Winnipeg's pulled it out of the ditch like nothing we've seen this decade. Comparing games 1-19 with games 20-41, the Jets improved by 8.5 points worth of Corsi%, from 46.1 per cent to 54.6 per cent. That's the biggest improvement we've seen this decade.

It's not all sunshine and roses. In addition to the shooting percentage dip, which I wouldn't particularly worry about, the Jets' save percentage has kind of fallen off. Connor Hellebuyck has been much more of a league average goalie at 5-on-5 since game 20 (.921) than he was before (.942). In The Game, Ken Dryden talks about creating a reputation with the media and how easy it is — if you want to be perceived as an intellectual who enjoys the opera, just mention it once and it'll stick forever. Starting hot is sort of the same thing — they'll talk about how well you trained in the summer all season even as if you're fairly average the rest of the way.

What we're left with, at this point in the season, is a Winnipeg team that looks like a real handful at 5-on-5. Even if the goaltending is just league average — that's what the Jets have had so far — Winnipeg's put together a possession run that raises the eyebrows. If the Jets really are a 54 per cent Corsi% team with league average goaltending and the ability to shoot 8+ per cent at 5- on-5, they're the sort of team that can play late into the spring.

I'm somewhat less bullish on the Jets at 5-on-4, the other cornerstone of their first-half success. The Jets are fourth in the league in power-play goal difference per 60 minutes. They're reasonably good at getting shots on net — 57.1 SF/60, which is tenth in the NHL.

They don't attempt very many shots though — their 98.6 CF/60 at 5-on-4 is just 21st in the NHL. You can reasonably infer from this that the Jets have been very good at getting their shots through on net at 5-on-4. They have — 57.9 per cent of their shot attempts have become shots on goal. Winnipeg's also third in the league at shooting percentage at 5-on-4, with 15.1 per cent. They are, I think, somewhat vulnerable to luck or coaches figuring them out resulting in a decline in their performance at 5-on-4.

The two most commonly used Jets' power play groups have been particularly dependent on shooting percentage. Neither group has cracked 100 shot attempts per 60. The Wheeler unit has shot 17.9 per cent. The Little unit has shot 30.3 per cent.

Realistically, the Jets are probably due for a bit of a slowdown. The Scheifele injury certainly doesn't help. This is worth keeping an eye on as the season rolls along. I'm a little skeptical that the results are as likely to continue as the 5-on-5 results.

A word about 4-on-5 is probably warranted too, although it hasn't been a great positive or negative driver of results for the Jets so far this year. Winnipeg is awfully reliant on save percentage. Against 3F2D, they've posted a .915, which is outrageously good. Against 4F1D, they've posted an .893, which is still very good. If the save percentage slides — it almost certainly will — Winnipeg's penalty kill is going to become a drag on results unless the underlying numbers change and they stop giving up so many shots.

It does bear mentioning that there are already some signs of improvement at 4-on-5. If we look at it again through that lens of the first 19 games and since game 20, things look different. Against 4F1D, the Jets allowed 9.4 GA/60 on 146.6 CA/60 with an .892 save percentage in their first 19 games. Since then, they've allowed 5.4 GA/60 on 109.8 CA/60 with an .895 save percentage. It's still not great shot suppression but it's into the muddy middle where there's really not a ton of difference between, say, 20th place and tenth.

Against 3F2D, they've unfortunately gone backwards a little bit. Since game 20, they've allowed 110.9 CA/60 and 7.1 GA/60 on an .881 save percentage. Before that, they'd allowed 91.8 CA/60 and 1.7 GA/60 on a .966 save percentage. The save percentage was always going to go down but the big bump in shot attempts allowed is kind of disconcerting.

In the big picture though, this season's shaping up to be a real opportunity for the Jets in a Western Conference that's wide open. Barring an outrageous collapse, they're going to be a playoff team. Their underlying numbers at 5-on-5 have really come together in the second quarter of the season. They've got time to address some of the special teams issues, whether by working with the players who they have or, in the case of the penalty kill, by adding a player or two as they move towards the playoffs if needed. In the case of the penalty kill, there's some evidence that they've already started to trend the right way.

Given the state of the Western Conference, it's not at all unreasonable to think that this could be the year the Jets finally do something in the playoffs.