WINNIPEG – Local lads are faring well on the ice this spring. Sadly, they’re doing it for faraway places.
Jonathan Toews is doing his usual Captain Serious act in Chicago for the Blackhawks, and Dale Weise took a star turn for the Montreal Canadiens last night. Down the highway in Brandon, the junior Wheat Kings are enjoying a terrific playoff season, and Michael Ferland from Swan River is sure making an impact for the Calgary Flames.
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Oh, if only they were all Manitobans playing for the Jets. This is a team, it almost goes without saying, that could certainly use a hero, wherever he might hail from.
It wouldn’t matter if it were Mark Scheifele of Kitchener, Ont., or Michael Frolik of Kladno, Czech Republic. Either Minnesotan, Blake Wheeler from Plymouth or Dustin Byfuglien from Roseau, would do nicely. Adam Pardy from Bonavista, Nfld., gave it a try on Saturday, and perhaps cheesehead Drew Stafford is ready to make his presence felt.
Doesn’t matter where the hero hails from. Just have him arrive soon. Winnipeggers are grateful for the mild winter that was and weather that was so warm last week the local gardening centres opened for business, but like the rain that arrived last night with flecks of snow, they’re distressed at the way in which this city’s hockey team has gone cold again.
Surely it’s time to turn up the heat before it’s too late.
The Jets trail Anaheim two games to none, with the much-anticipated Game 3 Monday night, in a series that has been bruising but without the intensity/hatred of Calgary/Vancouver or Montreal/Ottawa. Winnipeg and Anaheim aren’t natural rivals, of course, in the same way those cities are, and with the NHL back here only since 2011, the absence of a playoff berth until this spring has made it hard to build a rivalry with anyone.
You can’t manufacture such things. They have to happen organically, and it’s tougher when two cities basically have nothing in common. But the Jets require a significant change in narrative here, something other than the script from Games 1 and 2 which saw them build a one goal lead over two periods, take a few ill-advised penalties and end up losing both games in the third.
Kind of repetitive, at least so far.
Some of the answer lies in shutting down Anaheim stars Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry, although they really weren’t the problem in Game 2 when Pat Maroon and Jakob Silfverberg delivered the necessary offence in a 2-1 Ducks win. Some of the answer lies in better discipline, although the timing of the Winnipeg penalties seems more the issue than the number, as seven Ducks power plays in two games isn’t outrageous and matches the number the Jets have had.
More than anything, the Jets need to get their offensive game in gear. For much of Game 2, it seemed they either couldn’t complete two passes in a row, or were so focused on matching the Ducks body blow for body blow they lost focus on creating offensive opportunities.
Winnipeg’s best attackers – Bryan Little, Scheifele, Andrew Ladd, Wheeler, Byfuglien – haven’t made a dent in Frederik Andersen, and only one Jet, Adam Lowry, has more than one point so far. The Jets power play has been blanked.
All this could change dramatically, and it could change tonight in Game 3. The Jets need it to against an Anaheim team that was No. 1 in the West this season, but has needed to come back in both games on home ice this series.
The challenge for the Jets will at least partly be to not let the enormity of tonight, the first home game for an NHL team in Winnipeg in 19 years, to become such an overwhelming factor that they neglect to improve those parts of their game that require attention. This is a series in which Game 3 has been held aloft as the key game before hostilities even commenced because it’s the first of its kind since Detroit eliminated the original Jets from the Stanley Cup playoffs back in 1996.
Weeks later, the Jets were off to Phoenix. The barn that was home that night has been replaced by the spiffy MTS Centre, but the context is what matters here, not the location. This is expected to be a night to remember for Manitoba, not just Winnipeg.
Calgary, Ottawa and the Islanders all came out roaring on home ice last night with big physical efforts, and likely the Jets will too, given the long buildup to this historic “White Out” game. The Ducks, however, have already absorbed a few haymakers from the big Winnipeg lineup, and served notice that brawn and bodychecks alone aren’t likely to be enough to deter them.
A hero is what the Jets need, even just for one night.