The Winnipeg Jets have been one of the best teams in the NHL for the better part of the last two seasons. This year, many expected them to be legitimate Stanley Cup contenders, and they have been, but Thursday’s performance in Montreal left a lot to be desired.
“We don’t have it happen very often,” said head coach Paul Maurice said after the 5-2 loss. “It’s almost in some ways easier to process this and to get ready for Ottawa, because it’s not like a guy let you down or you played your a-- off and the goalie let you down. When I said we were no good, the coach is in on that too. We were all horse---t tonight. Big time.
“The coach was no good, the players were no good, the food was no good. We just hope that the plane works.”
That last line is especially terrific.
🎥 Paul Maurice on tonight's game, what needs to change heading into Ottawa, and more postgame. #WPGvsMTL pic.twitter.com/pN1noVWrN2
— Winnipeg Jets (@NHLJets) February 8, 2019
Maurice’s assessment of the game is very accurate. If netminder Connor Hellebuyck didn’t make five or six outstanding saves, the final score would have been way uglier than what it was. The Jets were simply the second best team on the ice all night.
The Jets bench boss didn’t single anyone out, but there’s two things that jump off the page if you’re a Winnipeg fan.
The top line of Mark Scheifele, Kyle Connor and Blake Wheeler was severely outplayed by the Canadiens’ first line, which consists of Phillip Danault, Brendan Gallagher and Jonathan Drouin. The Jets clearly have the more talented line, but they were outworked and hemmed into their own end from the start of the game until the very end.
Each member of the Scheifele line finished with a CF% between 39 percent and 42 percent. They were on the ice for one high-danger scoring chance for and seven against. Like we said, they were totally dominated from top to bottom. Connor managed to score the game’s first goal, but that was partly because of a terrible line changes from Montreal.
They should be able to bounce back in Ottawa on Saturday.
Anyway, moving on.
The other thing that is far too noticeable regarding the Jets, is how invisible Patrik Laine has been.
Here’s how Canadiens play-by-play voice Dan Robertson described Laine’s game last night:
He floated. Disengaged. Tried to go end to end the few times he got the puck. Strange.
— Dan Robertson (@DanRTSN) February 8, 2019
Robertson’s points are all accurate. Nothing Laine did worked and it appears as though this has been the case for a while now. Let’s be clear, nobody should be worried about the way he’s playing, but the Jets have to find a way to get his season back on the rails.
He’s on pace to score 38 goals, which is still awesome. They just need him to step up his production, especially when the first line has an off night.
Sure, the Jets can wait it out with Laine. That will probably work. But they might just have to go out and get him a new linemate via trade. Can they squeeze Matt Duchene or Mark Stone out of Ottawa? Would they be willing to land Artemi Panarin as a pure rental? We’ll find out before the end of the month.
Even though they’re 3-3-1 dating back to Jan. 19, no one in Winnipeg should be panicking about this team. They’re still in top spot in the Central Division and they have the assets to make a significant deal before Feb. 25. They’ll be fine, but they have to move passed Thursday night’s ugly performance as soon as possible.
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Joey Alfieri is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @joeyalfieri.