Comparing the Winnipeg Jets six game winless streak and their six game winning streak

Be sure to check Betway to check out the latest Jets game day odds and bet on the NHL!  The Winnipeg Jets have taken us through a roller coaster ride in 2024. The last 12 games for the Jets have ranged from a soul-crushing low to a high that only Aaron Rodgers could understand.

The soul-crushing six-game winless streak began after a monster 4-2 win over the New York Rangers, a team that, at the time, sat atop the Eastern Conference. Following a day off in New York, during which they were feeling really good about themselves and may have celebrated in the city that never sleeps a little too hard, following that things fell apart in New Jersey.

The game against the Devils was arguably the worst 60-minute effort in the Jets’ six-game winless streak. The first period was slow and sloppy for both teams, but in the latter half of the game, the Jets gave up 35 shots. In five of the six games, the Jets managed five or fewer shots against their opposition in at least one period.

During the six-game winning streak, the Jets were held to four shots in a period twice. The first instance was against the Nashville Predators, when the Jets won 4-3 in overtime. That game was one the Jets should have lost, but Connor Hellebuyck’s stellar performance secured the win.

The second occurrence of being held to fewer than five shots in a period during the winning streak came in the third period against the Colorado Avalanche when the Jets were already up 7-0. When the Jets consistently fire pucks on the net and avoid a snooze fest period, they generally win games. As the saying goes, the best defense is a good offense.

While faceoffs may not solely determine the outcome of games, when the Jets win faceoffs, they tend to win games. During the winless streak, the Jets only won 43 percent of their faceoffs. In their worst games in the faceoff dot (a 4-1 loss to New Jersey and a 4-1 loss to Las Vegas), the Jets won less than 40 percent of their faceoffs.

During the six-game winning streak, the Jets won the faceoff battle on three occasions. In the game against the Avalanche, the Jets only won 28.8% of their faceoffs, but with a 7-0 lead, faceoffs were likely not a top concern. While faceoffs alone won’t secure victories, neglecting them can lead to more losses.

The Jets managed to score two power-play goals in six winless games, converting 2 out of 23 opportunities, a lowly 8 percent success rate. During this winning streak, they went 5 for 15 with the extra man, a 33.3 percent success rate. While scoring on the power play every night isn’t going to happen, capitalizing on those opportunities significantly enhances their chances of success.

The Jets would have lost the game against the Predators without a power-play goal. They could have seen a different result if they had managed to score on one of their five attempts against the Golden Knights.

I don’t want to take anything away from Connor Hellebuyck and Laurent Brossoit they didn’t see a ton of success during the six game skid. Brossoit would start the losing streak off right stopping all 5-on-5 shots from the Devils but the team wasn’t giving their everything and he would leave New Jersey with a .925 save percentage.

Overall during the end of March Hellebuyck and Brossoit would only have a save percentage of .889, we hadn’t seen poor numbers like that since the first four games of the season for the Jets. While feeling the dizzying highs of winning six straight the goalies have a .949 save percentage. Brossoit had the only game with a save percentage below .900 and that was against the LA Kings.

The team also performs at its best when everyone is healthy and pulling in the same direction. The flu that swept through the locker room took a toll on the Winnipeg Jets for a solid two weeks, and Gabriel Vilardi’s absence was felt deeply. However, once the team was healthy, they began to resemble the team we know and love.

As the roller coaster of the regular season nears its end, we’re gearing up for the postseason, where the Jets will face the Avalanche in the first round. It’s all about getting hot at the right time and now might have been the right time to get hot.