CALGARY – Any time a team in the National Hockey League goes on a winning streak, eventually they become a bit of a target for other teams.
That was the case for the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2016-17 when their streak of regular season wins hit 16, same for the Edmonton Oilers last season with their run of victories equalled that of Columbus.
So as the Winnipeg Jets roll into the final stop on a three-game road trip in Calgary at 7-0-0 and the lone team in the NHL without a loss of any kind, that target might be getting a little bit bigger by the day.
But Nikolaj Ehlers – who scored the overtime winner against the Seattle Kraken on Thursday – said the team’s focus isn’t so much on the streak as it is cleaning up some issues from the last couple of games.
“We’re seven games in. Yes, you always want to be the team that ends streaks, but we’re seven games in and we’re not playing our best hockey,” said Ehlers. “We’re working toward that. It’s a long season ahead.
“I don’t think they’re going to be playing any different than if they were playing a team that wasn’t unbeaten yet. We’re going to go out with the right mindset (Saturday) and hopefully come out the right way.”
Focusing on that mindset - or in a more macro sense, the process of preparing for each game in the NHL – is what the Jets continue to discuss as the October schedule rolls on.
“We’ll review defending, breakouts, forecheck, and stay on top of those things if we think they’re slipping,” said head coach Scott Arniel. “We’ve had to do different areas over these seven games where we kind of zoomed in and maybe showed more video on. You don’t go out to play these games worrying about the end score, you’re worrying about the process right in front of you. For us, that’s trying to be good shift to shift, period to period.”
Friday’s 30-minute skate at Scotiabank Saddledome was quick and efficient. There was five-on-five work and special teams, but the majority of the start of the session was on breakouts.
“We were a little bit sloppy in the last couple games coming out of our own zone,” said Cole Perfetti, who has eight points in his last four games. “Just working on breakouts and coming out as a unit together and making sure that we know our options. Hopefully we can clean that up for tomorrow.”
There were no changes to the Jets line rushes on Friday:
Connor-Scheifele-Vilardi
Perfetti-Namestnikov-Ehlers
Niederreiter-Lowry-Appleton
Barron-Kupari-Iafallo (Gustafsson rotating in)
Morrissey-DeMelo
Samberg-Pionk
Stanley-Miller
Fleury-Coghlan
With the 5 pm MT/6 pm CT puck drop on Saturday, it’s not expected that the Jets will hold a full morning skate. Arniel didn’t confirm Winnipeg’s starting goaltender for the tilt against the Flames – who dropped a 4-2 decision to Carolina on Thursday, Calgary’s first defeat in regulation this season.
“They have depth. Their four lines are coming at you,” said Arniel. “They’re a hard team, they don’t give you a lot of open ice. The transition side, they have people that can go the opposite way in a hurry. They have the ability to attack you. They’re playing a pretty solid all-around game right now that you have to be prepared for.”
Ehlers and the Jets know there is no secret when it comes to what makes the team successful and hard to play against. They’ll go over more video on the Flames (5-1-1) ahead of Saturday’s game, but after two meetings in the preseason and numerous Western Conference clashes over the last number of years, Ehlers knows what to expect.
“They play fast and they play heavy. We know the first 20 tomorrow is going to look a lot like last game. They’re going to come out humming like Seattle did and we have to find a way too shut that down early and counter that,” said Ehlers.
“They have a really good team and it’s not going to be an easy one on Saturday.”
