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FRED GREENSLADE \/ THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES<\/p>\n
The Winnipeg Jets 4-0-2 streak since the Olympic break has pulled the club within five points of the final wild-card berth. Defenceman Dylan DeMelo (right) says the break helped the group recharge.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve got to keep winning games,\u201d said Jets centre Jonathan Toews. \u201cIt just goes to show that anything can happen. It\u2019s a horse race. You never know who is going to come from the back and put on a real charge in the last stretch here.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot can change in the matter of a couple of days. Teams are playing every other day, so it\u2019s interesting to watch. But obviously, there\u2019s not much more we should be worrying about, other than our game.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Jets appear to be playing their best hockey of the entire season, just as things are ratcheting up another notch.<\/p>\n
Although there are still some areas to tidy up, the Jets seem to be settling into their structure and doing a better job defensively, while also finding a way to play faster \u2014 which is something that has plagued them at various points of the season.<\/p>\n
After the trade deadline, the Jets moved from having the oldest team in the NHL to being 25th of 32 teams (averaging 29.69 in age, compared to 30.45 for the Minnesota Wild, who are now the oldest).<\/p>\n
With a core group that is battle tested, the Jets figure to be able to lean on one another when times get tough.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur experience and the belief we\u2019ve had in the locker room all year is going to matter a lot,\u201d said Toews. \u201cThere are going to be moments where younger teams maybe ride that emotional roller-coaster.\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s the thing.<\/p>\n
Some of the teams the Jets are chasing \u2014 whether it\u2019s the Seattle Kraken or Utah Mammoth (who are above the playoff line) or the San Jose Sharks (who are just below it) \u2014 haven\u2019t been in this position often during the past several seasons.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s a different kind of pressure that comes with having to fend off the teams chasing you during the stretch run, when the margin for error is extremely slim.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like we\u2019re not putting as much pressure on ourselves. We\u2019re just going out there and playing,\u201d said Toews. \u201cOur energy is translating into results. Things are really starting to tilt in our favour.\u201d<\/p>\n
Given the hole the Jets dug for themselves, things aren\u2019t going to get any easier and they\u2019ll basically need to keep playing around a .700 winning percentage through the end of the regular season to have a chance to qualify for the second wild-card berth.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve been on the outside looking in all year,\u201d said Jets forward Morgan Barron. \u201cWe have a tough stretch of hockey. It\u2019s nice to have a good homestand here, but we\u2019ve got to keep stacking these games together and keep continuing to play the way that we know is going to make us successful.\u201d<\/p>\n
Of those 20 remaining games, 11 of them are against Central Division opponents while 11 will come against teams currently below the playoff line.<\/p>\n
However, four of those games will be played against the Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars, who are the top two teams in the NHL.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re just trying to accumulate as many points as possible and keep going until we can\u2019t anymore. We\u2019ll see what happens,\u201d said Jets defenceman Dylan DeMelo. \u201cThe schedule doesn\u2019t get any easier here with the games and even the opponents. So a huge stretch for us here to kind of finish off this homestand.\u201d<\/p>\n
Even in some of the recent games that required late rallies, the Jets have put together a much more consistent effort, often resembling the template they used to have success in each of the three previous seasons dating back to when Scott Arniel arrived on the scene as an associate coach on Rick Bowness\u2019 staff.<\/p>\n
They\u2019re also looking much more comfortable in one-goal games, which is an area that\u2019s brought more than its share of challenges this season \u2014 both in regulation time and those that went to overtime and shootouts.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s hard to say,\u201d said DeMelo. \u201cMaybe during that stretch where we weren\u2019t winning, we were kind of shooting ourselves in the foot. Maybe we\u2019ve just been staying with our game a little bit and executing at the right time.<\/p>\n
\n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\tThe Warm-Up<\/p>\n
Winnipeg Jets Game Days<\/p>\n
On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop.<\/p>\n
\t\t\tSign up for The Warm-Up<\/a><\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t \u201cIt\u2019s hard to say to really pinpoint one thing. But it just feels like we\u2019ve been on our toes \u2014 assertive. We haven\u2019t sat back, just going at teams. And maybe that\u2019s a reflection of why we\u2019re winning those one and two-goal games.\u201d<\/p>\n The other thing the Jets are doing well is playing with more pace, the best example coming in the 4-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning last week.<\/p>\n \u201cEverybody\u2019s been on the same wavelength,\u201d said DeMelo. \u201cThat first two-thirds of the year there was an absolute grind. It\u2019s more mental than physical. Your mind\u2019s going to tell you you can\u2019t do something before your body. So, being able to recharge was huge for this group.<\/p>\n \u201cWe came in with kind of that training camp mindset, where everybody is excited. You\u2019ve got that good feeling again. There were a few things we touched on with regards to playing faster. And I think also we saw where we were and we\u2019re like, \u2018We\u2019ve got nothing else to lose. Let\u2019s just go after it.\u2019 Maybe playing a little bit more loose. Not with regards to being careless, but just kind of that mentality that we weren\u2019t playing tight, where we were kind of gripping the stick. We\u2019re just going after it and just doing our best and just kind of seeing where everything falls.\u201d<\/p>\n winnipegfreepress.com\/kenwiebe<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t Ken Wiebe Ken Wiebe is a sports reporter for the Free Press, with an emphasis on the Winnipeg Jets. He has covered hockey and provided analysis in this market since 2000 for the Winnipeg Sun, The Athletic, Sportsnet.ca and TSN. Ken was a summer intern at the Free Press in 1999 and returned to the Free Press in a full-time capacity in September of 2023. Read more about Ken<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Ken produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber<\/a>.<\/p>\n Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.<\/p>\n \t\t<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Reporter
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