Jets’ Secondary Scorers Finally Showing Up

Jonathan Toews also scored his first since Nov. 11, a span of 24 games, in that contest. The 37 year old, who is on a three-game goal streak after also lighting the lamp in the 4-3 Jan. 11 victory over the New Jersey Devils and in the 5-2 Jan. 13 victory over the New York Islanders, is looking much more dangerous lately after a rotten first half that was frustrating to watch considering all the hype his signing came with.

Versus the Devils, Iafallo scored the game’s opening salvo, while Pearson notched the game winner in the third period for just his fourth goal since the start of November. Versus the Islanders, Dylan DeMelo and Lowry both scored their third and fourth of the season, respectively, with Lowry’s late-second-period deflection marker standing up as the game winner.

A few other forwards haven’t got the monkey off their backs yet when it comes to goal scoring but have also chipped in points in the winning streak. Perfetti has five assists (two of them came on shots that hit the crossbar or post that a teammate banged in from the goal line) and is looking much more confident after his prolonged slump, while Nino Niederreiter has two assists for his first two points since the end of November.

Jets Can’t Rely On Only Four Players to Do Everything

One of the reasons the Jets were so dangerous last season, when they won a franchise-high 56 games and the Presidents’ Trophy, is that they had three or four lines contributing regularly. This season, Connor, Morrissey, Scheifele, and Vilardi are all playing well, but they have been relied on too often to do it all every night. They’ve accounted for 70 of the team’s 134 goals (52.2 per cent).

However, it seems head coach Scott Arniel has finally found some lines that work after juggling them in every conceivable way over the past two months to no avail as his team tumbled down the standings.

“It means a lot,” Arniel said postgame Tuesday of getting secondary scoring. “Now, every line is dangerous and it makes it tough for the opposition, as they just can’t zero in on Scheifele’s line. You can see guys making plays now, feeling more confident with the puck and when you do that you play more of a puck possession game.”

Does It Matter?

Three consecutive wins does not erase 11 consecutive losses, nor has the modest streak gotten the Jets back in the playoff picture. They are still last in the Central Division and currently sit eight points out of the second Western Conference wild-card spot at 18-22-5.

It’s not easy to make up ground in the NHL with the number of three-point games that happen on any given night, and there are six teams between the Jets and the playoff cutoff. MoneyPuck gives Winnipeg just an 8.6 per cent chance of making the playoffs.

However, the only way the Jets have any chance of getting out of the massive hole they’ve dug for themselves is by winning one game at a time. They’ll look to extend their winning streak to four — and look to continue to get contributions from outside their top stars — Thursday in Minnesota versus the Wild.