Winnipeg Jets’ Keys to Success in Games 3 and 4

That said, the first two games of this series weren’t exactly spotless. You can’t win games 7-6 and expect to be successful in the future, as we saw in their Game 2 loss, making clear that there are areas that need to be tidied up if they want to come back home with a series lead, or at the very least a split. If those aspects of the Jets’ game are addressed, they’ll be able to set themselves up for success in the remainder of this series.

Line Matches

A great deal was made of the Jets’ ability to control the matchups on home ice as they would have last change. This saw the hard matching of Adam Lowry‘s line against the Avalanche’ first line, and more specifically, Nathan MacKinnon. The rest of the lines also saw consistent matchups, with some fairing better than others.

One might wonder, however, if controlling the matchups did limit the Jets in a way. Obviously, the plan all along was to get Lowry on the ice as soon as he saw MacKinnon, but the rest of the lineup didn’t exactly succeed stylistically against their opponents.

The top line of Kyle Connor, Mark Scheifele, and Gabriel Vilardi has been producing while getting outshot, but despite that, this is the best they have looked in terms of all-around effort in months. Much can be said about the critiques of Connor and Scheifele’s effort in their own zone, and a lot of it is true, but they have absolutely stepped up the effort in the first two games.

The second line has struggled, and it might be worth a look at them without being matched up against the same line every shift. They have mainly seen the Avalanche third line and have found difficulty producing and finding lanes. If that isn’t a guarantee anymore, perhaps they find a way to break through against different competition.

Goaltending

The biggest talking point going into this series was the goaltending advantage the Jets had over the Avalanche. Now, two games in, it isn’t quite as clear. Game 1 was a nightmare in the crease, with Avalanche’ netminder Alexandar Georgiev giving up seven goals and Jets’ starter Connor Hellebuyck surrendering six.

Now, many of those goals that passed Hellebuyck were unseen or deflected, making that number a bit easier to swallow. That being said, with how the Avalanche can produce offense, there will likely come a time when the version of Hellebuyck that can steal games for the Jets needs to appear, and we haven’t seen that yet.

The numbers say he’s been subpar, but the context of each of those goals need to be addressed. Of the 10 goals he has given up, aside from the puck-handling gaffe in the 5-2 Game 2 loss and maybe two or three others, it is very hard to fault him. That said, anything going forward now is pivotal, and every save made is going to be a difference maker.

Second Line

While the focus hasn’t necessarily been on this group, the second line isn’t exactly providing people a reason to focus on them. Aside from some great skating by Nikolaj Ehlers in Game 1 that created chances, there hasn’t been any production or sustained pressure from that line.

The hard line matching can likely be a cause of this, as they’re facing a very speedy Avalanche third line, and neither Sean Monahan nor Tyler Toffoli is particularly fast. That being said, there also appears to be a disconnect in the game plan, as we saw several times when the line played a chip-and-chase style of game, which didn’t benefit them much.

Their best attribute is carrying the puck and establishing pressure. The speed of their opponent clearly stifled that, but in order to keep things in reach, the Jets need that line to start picking up some of the slack.

Jets Need to Get Back to What Made Them Successful

Right now, the Jets don’t exactly look like the same team that gathered 108 points in the regular season and finished on an eight-game win streak. That isn’t to write them off; in fact, it’s entirely the opposite.

We know precisely how good this team can be, and if they get back to that stingy defensive game and dynamic offensive attack, there’s nothing to say they can’t make their mark in these next two games. Combine all that with the fact that they have a soon-to-be multiple Vezina Trophy-winning goalie behind them, and it’s hard not to think about what this team can do if they just simply get back to the game that made them successful.

The Jets and Avalanche face off in Game 3 of their first-round series on Fri, Apr. 26 at 9:00 PM CT.