TORONTO – Streaks can be a weird thing.
They’re a stat that many around the sport can latch onto, and sometimes they’re almost inexplicable.
Consider the fact that the Winnipeg Jets (24-10-1) earned their eighth straight win over the Minnesota Wild with Saturday’s 5-0 triumph at Canada Life Centre. Given how close all those match-ups have been, and how the two teams have been battling in the Central Division standings for years, it’s just as much of a surprise to the players as anyone.
Mark Scheifele just looked at it as accomplishing a goal for that particular day.
“Obviously, it’s tough for Minnesota, coming in on a back-to-back.,” said Scheifele after Sunday’s 30-minute skate. “They’ve had a tough schedule lately, so we did the right things and all in all, we got a big win against a divisional opponent, so good.”
On the flip side, the Jets have had their struggles with today’s opponent – the Toronto Maple Leafs. Not only was Toronto the team that ended Winnipeg’s season-opening eight-game win streak, but the Jets overall haven’t defeated the Maple Leafs since December 5, 2021.
Since then, Winnipeg is 0-5-1 against Toronto.
But Gabriel Vilardi isn’t concerned. He knows the match-ups have been close – including a 1-0 overtime decision last year at Scotiabank Arena – and like his linemate in Scheifele, he’s focused on what’s ahead.
“This year they kind of came in and stomped us in the first period and then we rebounded in the second and third, but it was a little too late,” said Vilardi, who had a goal and an assist against Toronto earlier this season. “I think we got another win streak after we lost to them anyways, right? So hopefully we can get another one of those going.”
So that’s the focus. It’s solely on trying to go into the holiday break on a winning note – no matter the opponent.
“In this league, you play teams so often and I’ve been in the league for 12 years,” said Scheifele. “Every game, you just take it day by day and you just focus on the game at hand and not worry about what’s happened in the past or what’s in the future, just focus on that next game and get ready for the next game and as soon as its over, you focus on the next one.”
Toronto (21-11-2) may be coming off a loss to the New York Islanders, but they’ll get all of Winnipeg’s attention. The Maple Leafs built a 4-0 lead on Winnipeg through the first 23:25 of regulation time back in October. The Jets then rallied back with a combination of two power play goals and another pair of six-on-five tallies, but ultimately fell short 6-4.
Winnipeg’s power play went two-for-four against the Maple Leafs, and comes into Toronto on a tear. In the last four games, the Jets have converted seven times on 17 opportunities with the man advantage (41 percent).
“It’s been humming along really well right now,” said Scheifele, who compared it to the 2018 Jets power play that finished eighth in the National Hockey League. “We kind of went through a lull a couple of weeks ago and we’ve gotten back on track. Same as our five-on-five game, you have to look towards the next game and not worry about what you’ve done or what’s in the future and just focus on what our game plan is, what we need to do to execute and go from there.”
Nikolaj Ehlers, who scored one of Winnipeg’s two power play goals against Minnesota, didn’t participate in Sunday’s practice for maintenance reasons. The same goes for captain Adam Lowry, who left the game midway through the third period.
With the early puck drop in Toronto (1 pm CT), the Jets won’t hold a morning skate. Head coach Scott Arniel will meet the media at 10:30 am CT, so expect any line-up decisions to be announced at that time.
Regardless of the line-up, the Jets will be looking to earn their 25th victory of the season by splitting the season series with the Maple Leafs.
It’s fitting that Winnipeg finishes the pre-holiday schedule in Toronto, as a number of the team’s players have family connections in the area.
That list includes Scheifele (a product of Kitchener, Ontario), who scored his first NHL goal in Toronto way back in 2011.
“I do remember it very vividly,” said Scheifele. “Obviously, there's a lot of connections to Toronto, scoring my first goal against them too. Again, very, very excited to go play against the Leafs in Toronto -- close to home, before Christmas makes it even better."
