WINNIPEG - There was more than a hint of defiance detected in the tone of Winnipeg Jets captain Blake Wheeler's answer to a question about how his season has quickly turned around.
It was not thinly veiled, nor was it accidental.
One of the many things Wheeler has shown over his 11 seasons with the Jets is that he often wears his emotions on his sleeve.
On occasion, he also takes criticism – or even perceived criticism – personally.
It’s one of the many places Wheeler looks for fuel to stoke his competitive fire.
When a reporter was clearly looking for a nugget about how Wheeler has been able to put together three multi-point games in his past four, piling up 11 points in the process, he views it instead as an attack on his slow start.
This is part of what makes Wheeler tick and part of what allows him to continue to wage his battle against Father Time.
No, he’s not trying to convince himself he’s still got it or making a case to perhaps change the opinion of detractors.
It’s not false bravado, either.
It’s a surefire belief that he can still be an important contributor on a team with playoff aspirations.
“I mean, is this anything new?” Wheeler asked rhetorically after scoring a goal and adding an assist in a 5-3 victory over the Seattle Kraken on Thursday night. “I don’t mean that arrogantly, I just mean that ... I just have a lot of confidence in the guys I play with. I play a lot of minutes and I just feel like, in time, it’s going to come.
“I haven’t really gotten off to good starts the last couple of years and just stuck with it. Those things really don’t mean a whole lot to me and I said those things at the beginning of the year, too. It’s about contributing to wins and that’s what feels good. Ultimately, if you’re productive and you’re losing, what does it matter? It’s nice to play well when the team’s playing well.”
And there’s the rub.
When Wheeler isn’t as productive as we’ve come to expect, the Jets haven’t done a great job of picking up the slack.
There have been plenty of moments of frustration for Wheeler this season, whether that was a bout with COVID-19 in the early stages or a knee injury that kept him sidelined for nine games between Dec. 10 and Jan. 19.
For whatever reason, it was tough for Wheeler to find the back of the net, as his first goal came in the 22nd game of the season.
On the night he snapped the drought, just three games after celebrating his 1,000th NHL game, Wheeler got hurt on a strange play in front of the Jets net – getting tangled up with teammate Nathan Beaulieu and Vancouver Canucks forward Vasili Podkolzin.
Although he felt fortunate the injury wasn’t worse, the setback put Wheeler in a position of trying to make up for lost time as he was out of the lineup for the longest span of his career.
That he’s back to producing at nearly a point-per-game pace (32 points in 34 games, at the age of 35) is a testament to his work ethic.
“I see the same thing I see from him every single day. True leadership, true commitment to the game, every single day he brings it,” said Jets backup goalie Eric Comrie, who was sporting a Team Canada jersey with the name and number of Ann-Renee Desbiens on the back as a nod to the gold-medal winning performance of the women’s Olympic hockey team. “Whether it’s practice or in the gym, he’s truly the best captain I’ve had. He means so much to this group. I don’t think people see what he does behind the scenes as much as they can. I wish you guys had 24-hour access to us to see what he does for us behind the scenes.
“Just picking up guys, making sure they’re working hard. And he’s always the first guy in that gym and really working hard on the ice and just driving. Just driving and a great role model for everyone on the team.”
Speaking of Comrie, playing for just the second time since Dec. 10, he did his part, steadying the ship after the Jets fell behind 2-0 in the first period and finishing with 20 saves while improving to 5-2-1 overall.
“We're comfortable with Eric in the net. And what goalies understand is the schedule sometimes determines how often they get in the net, and our schedule is set up with days in between and we've had long stretches where we didn't play games and you could ride your starter, and that's what we did,” said Jets interim head coach Dave Lowry. “(Thursday) was an opportunity for Eric to come back in. He played great when he was in St. Louis. He played another solid game for us.”
Much of the recent discussion surrounding the Jets of late revolved around a sputtering offence that was held to two goals or fewer 21 times over 46 games.
But after scoring just once in a 3-1 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks, the Jets have exploded for 13 goals over the past two games to move from the bottom third of the NHL in goals per game (22nd) to the middle third (17th).
Those goals included a shorthanded marker from fourth-liner Dominic Toninato, one each at even strength from Pierre-Luc Dubois and Wheeler, an empty-netter from Kyle Connor and the game-winner from defenceman Josh Morrissey.
Now that’s a prime example of a balanced attack.
The Jets also showed impressive restraint and discipline in this game at a time when emotions revved high.
Jets centre Mark Scheifele was on the receiving end of a dangerous check from behind by Kraken forward Yanni Gourde at 15:24 of the second period.
Scheifele was fortunate to not be injured on the play, since he was in a vulnerable position and driven awkwardly into the boards from a considerable distance away.
A melee ensued, with Scheifele immediately dropping his gloves and trying to get at Gourde. When the scrum eventually settled down, the Jets came away with a two-minute power play.
“Scheifele was definitely in a bad spot and those are the ones you don’t particularly like to see and the ones we’re trying to get rid of,” said Wheeler. “But they still happen and it is what it is and they made the call. Too bad we couldn’t capitalize on the power play.”
Scheifele was understandably livid, believing Gourde should have been given a major penalty instead of a boarding minor, but his plea to the officials was dismissed.
The conversation wasn’t over when the two players reached the penalty box and an animated Scheifele wasn’t shy about voicing his opinion.
Given the changes to the rules, it was surprising a major penalty wasn’t handed out to Gourde, considering the referees have the ability to review the play in question.
As far as injuries go, the Jets were without Andrew Copp, who missed the game with a suspected head injury after taking a hit from Minnesota Wild forward Jordan Greenway on Wednesday night and lost fellow forward Cole Perfetti to a suspected upper-body injury after being hit (cleanly) by Kraken blue-liner Jamie Oleksiak in the third period on Thursday.
A more detailed update on the status of both Copp and Perfetti is expected on Friday.
With the victory, the Jets won consecutive games for the first time since early January and pulled within three points of the Los Angeles Kings in the chase for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
More stiff tests are on the horizon, but for a team that was recently nine points out, progress is being made – a claim backed up by a 4-1-1 record coming out of the All-Star break and a 5-2-1 mark over the past eight games.
“Obviously, we know where we’re at in the standings, and we need points and wins right now,” said Morrissey. “I’ve liked where our game has been at since we’ve come back from the break, for the most part.”
Narrowing the focus seems to have helped put the Jets in the proper frame of mind for this steep climb up the mountain.
“I think the big thing that we have to do is we can’t wait and wake up in the morning and see if we got any help,” said Lowry. “If we can stay in the moment and play the way we are playing, we will give ourselves an opportunity.”
That next opportunity comes on Saturday afternoon when the Jets host Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers in what will be the third and final meeting of the season series.
