WINNIPEG — The patient, methodical building process undertaken by the Winnipeg Jets paid off this season with a return to the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The Jets (46-19-10, 102 points) secured their postseason berth with a 5-4 shootout win against the Nashville Predators at Bell MTS Place on Sunday. With seven games to play, Winnipeg is second in the Central Division, five points behind the Predators. The 102 points are a franchise record.
This will be the second playoff appearance for the Jets since the franchise relocated from Atlanta for the 2011-12 season. They qualified in 2015 but were swept by the Anaheim Ducks in the Western Conference First Round.
Here are five reasons the Jets clinched a playoff berth:
1. Connor Hellebuyck
The maturation of the 24-year-old goaltender has done wonders for the Jets. Winnipeg has played better team defense, but the native of Commerce, Michigan, a fifth-round pick (No. 130) in the 2012 NHL Draft, is the biggest reason the Jets are fourth in the NHL in goals allowed with 194 (Nashville is first with 185).
Hellebuyck is 39-11-9 with a 2.36 goals-against average, and a .924 save percentage. Last season, he was 26-19-4, with a 2.89 goals-against average, and a .907 save percentage. He’s a big reason the Jets are fifth in penalty-killing (82.8 percent, 43 power-play goals against with seven games remaining) after finishing 26th last season (77.4 percent, 62 power-play goals against).
“From last year to this year, there are so many fewer pucks going past him that we think he should have had,” coach Paul Maurice said. “So just on that alone … but what the eye tells you is that he’s bigger, stronger and moves less now in the net. He’s able to hold himself in a position, and when he’s going across the net, it’s so much more controlled in movement.
“We’ve also done a much better job in front of him. He worked hard [last] summer and we talked to him about it. A lot of No. 1 guys, when they were 23 years old … that was something we really showed him, that you’re not supposed to have a .950 save percentage yet, you’re supposed to learn and work.”
Video: ANA@WPG: Hellebuyck uses his glove to stuff Kesler
2. Patrik Laine‘s growth
Laine, the No. 2 pick in the 2016 NHL Draft, scored 36 goals in 73 games as a rookie in 2016-17. He’s been even better in his second season, scoring 43 goals in 75 games — one behind Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals in the race for the Maurice Richard Trophy.
Laine, owner of one of the quickest releases in the NHL, leads the League with 19 power-play goals, a big reason the Jets have the No. 3 power play (23.4 percent, 60 power-play goals), up from 18th last season (18.2 percent, 48 goals).
Video: DAL@WPG: Laine goes five-hole on Lehtonen
3. Home-ice success
A big part of the Jets’ record-setting season has been their play at Bell MTS Place, where they are 29-7-2. At 15,321, it’s the smallest arena in the League by capacity — but it might be the noisiest, given its compact setting.
“We’ve tried to make it a tough rink for other teams to play in,” defenseman Josh Morrissey said. “We’ve used our momentum from our fans and we have great fans in that sense.”
Winnipeg leads the NHL in home wins (29) and points (60), also franchise-best marks. The Jets have three home games remaining, beginning with the Boston Bruins on Tuesday (8 p.m. ET; TSN3, NESN, NHL.TV).
4. Playing fast and quick
Those are not always the same things, but the Jets increased their pace as well as their speed of execution, and it has paid off.
They have players who can get from A to B in a hurry — players like forwards Nikolaj Ehlers, Wheeler, Kyle Connor, Mathieu Perreault and Brandon Tanev. But just as important has been the quickness of decision-making, on-ice reads and small plays.
“It’s buying into a certain way we have to play,” defenseman Tyler Myers said. “A lot of it is keeping it simple, but we know one of the strengths of our team is how fast we play. We created that consistency all year.”
Video: WPG@EDM: Ehlers, Wheeler combine for great goal
5. Sticking with the plan
After missing the playoffs last season, the Jets got back to basics, taking things one game at a time.
“We started the season with a game plan and with a system and we’ve been playing and doing it and just doing our job,” defenseman Dustin Byfuglien said.
That constant message from Maurice was pushed by the leadership group, including Byfuglien and captain Blake Wheeler, and helped the Jets overcome a couple of significant obstacles during the season.
One was the 257 man-games lost to injury. A plug-and-play approach helped the Jets go 11-2-3 when center Mark Scheifele missed 16 games with an upper-body injury (Dec. 29 – Feb. 6). During that span, Wheeler, normally a right wing, played center.
The Jets also survived a road-heavy early schedule in which they played 17 of their first 30 games and 29 of 50 before the All-Star break away from home.
The other was Winnipeg’s road-heavy early schedule. The Jets played 17 of the first 30 games on the road and were 29-13-8 at the All-Star break despite playing 29 of their 50 games away from home.
The Jets’ longest losing streak this season was three games; they were 0-2-1 from Dec. 5-9 and again from March 10-13.
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