A very different winnipeg jets club has shown up in the playoffs
The Stanley Cup Playoffs are a different animal from the National Hockey League’s 82-game regular season, and the Winnipeg Jets have looked more like prey than the predator this postseason.
The Jets are facing elimination as they arrive home to face the Colorado Avalanche in Game 5 of their first-round matchup Tuesday.
Winnipeg’s efforts in the series have been staggeringly different from their three-game regular season sweep of the Avalanche. These polarizing statistics highlight Winnipeg’s decline over the past four games.
A series of success
In three matchups with the Avs during the regular season, the Jets looked dominant, outscoring Colorado 17-to-4.
Connor Hellebuyck stopped 92-of-96 Avalanche shot attempts, posting a .958 save percentage, while earning one shutout in their April 13 matchup.
Winnipeg managed to hold Colorado superstar Nathan MacKinnon to just one goal and three assists over the three-game series.
A fading star
Winger Nikolaj Ehlers averaged nearly two points-per-game in three regular season meetings with Colorado this year, tallying a goal and four assists finishing with a plus-six rating.
Ehlers, who finished third on the team in regular season points with 61, has been noticeably quiet so far this series.
Ehlers has just one assist, no goals, and is minus-two against the very same Avalanche in four playoff games.
Not to be negative, but…
The Jets’ Danish star winger is not the only one who has struggled in the plus-minus column this series.
Defenceman Nate Schmidt – the Jets’ lone goal scorer in Game 4 – holds the team’s worst plus-minus rating at minus-five. He has played only two games in the series.
Mark Scheifele leads the team in scoring with five points in the series. Despite his team-leading offensive output, Scheifele shares a minus-four rating with Dylan Samberg—tied for second worst on the team.
Brenden Dillon, who missed game four with a lacerated hand, is one of only two Winnipeg Jets with a positive plus-minus rating in the series—he and Neal Pionk’s plus-one ratings lead the team.
The Connor Hellebuyck Blues
Connor Hellebuyck made an excellent case for a second Vezina Trophy throughout the regular season, being nominated for the award for the fourth time in his career.
Hellebuyck’s .921 save percentage led all starting goaltenders in the regular season. His 2.39 goals against average placed second among starters, while he posted another second-best 37 wins.
Despite facing a flurry of shots in his first four games, Hellebuyck’s save percentage has raised concerns at .870, fourth-worst among netminders who have played three or more playoff games.
His 5.22 goals against average more than doubles his regular season numbers, and is second worst among starters in the playoffs, trailing only Cam Talbot of the Kings.
A team effort
Regardless of individual struggles, the Winnipeg Jets have struggled as a team this postseason, failing to build on their momentum after riding an eight-game winning streak into the playoffs.
The Jets tied for the league-lead in fewest goals allowed in the regular season with 2.41 goals allowed.
In the postseason, the Jets have conceded a playoff-worst 5.50 goals allowed, a full goal worse per-game than the second-worst Los Angeles Kings.
Winnipeg finished middle of the pack in shots allowed throughout the regular season, conceding a modest 29.6 shots per game.
They have allowed a league-worst 38.3 shots per game to the Avalanche in round one, more than five shots greater than the second-worst New York Islanders, who have allowed 32.8 shots per game.
The Jets’ 30.3 shots per game average in the regular season has also declined, posting only 26 shots per game in the playoffs.
White-clad fans will flood the streets of downtown Winnipeg on Tuesday night, as their beloved Jets try to change the narrative of their first-round woes and force another do-or-die Game 6 in Denver on Thursday.
The puck drops at Canada Life Centre at 8:50 PM central time. The game can be viewed live on Sportsnet.
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