What To Watch For: Jets Back On The Road For Date With Winless Blackhawks

After a four game road trip to open up the season, the Winnipeg Jets got one little pit-stop at home to say hello to the home faithful and put a beatdown on the Minnesota Wild for funsies. Now they go back on the road for a game – and maybe given the weather it’s a bit of a blessing that they got to skip town for the first part of the holiday weekend – and test the winless Chicago Blackhawks who have gone 0-2-0 to start their season.

Here are a few things to keep an eye out for as you watch the game tonight…

The Jets gave up 59 even strength (5v5) shot attempts against the Wild on Thursday night and 40 of them made their way to @Connor Hellebuyck who thankfully stopped 38 of them enroute to the 5-2 victory over Minnesota. While score effects in the third period did have a part to play in that huge number, the defense still remains a main concern for the Jets and against a stronger offensive club it would have been an uglier scene. Tonight the Jets do face a team that while not overly deep on offense has some high end talent with the likes of @Patrick Kane, @Andrew Shaw and @Alex DeBrincat in their lineup. The Jets have been prone to being pinned down in their own end at times and unable to execute proper zone exits which of course not just falls on the six defensemen, but on the forwards coming back better as well. Paul Maurice needs to find a way to get his club to commit a little more to cleaner zone exits or else it could be another long night for Hellebuyck.

A .950 save percentage against the Wild and a .974 save percentage against the Penguins the game before has us all believing in @Connor Hellebuyck yet again. The Jets will continue to rely on him as they try and figure out the defense and as mentioned just a paragraph earlier, he’s likely to have a busy night one way or another regardless if the Jets are able to get out to a lead through the first two periods, or if the Blackhawks come out inspired looking for that first W of the season.

After taking a couple of games to settle into the season, @Patrik Laine has been on fire in the last two games played with a total of seven points (two goals, five assists, three of those being primary) and displayed a physical bordering on outright mean side of his game on Thursday night with seven hits and a couple of post-whistle scrums which he was in the middle of. All of this while playing on the top line of the Jets with @Mark Scheifele and @Blake Wheeler who also have seen strong starts to their season as well. Chicago’s defense isn’t exactly as good as it was back in their Cup glory years with 36 year old @Duncan Keith working the top pair with @Erik Gustafsson who is a strong offensive defenseman but still prone to turnovers and isn’t known as a top level defender in his own end. Laine and the Jets top line could have themselves a bit of a feast tonight.

Originally I was going to point out how poor @Adam Lowry seems to be dragged down this season by the combo of him, @Gabriel Bourque and @Mark Letestu, but after looking at some season numbers and charts – which granted it’s a small sample size at the moment – from the fantastic HockeyViz website I think it’s a little more accurate to point out that the biggest issue seems to be Letestu who quite simply has been an anchor.

34 year old Mark Letestu played all of 2 games last season for the Columbus Blue Jackets and 22 games over the last two seasons, yet somehow Paul Maurice has him as an every day player it would seem and while Maurice has had a few head-scratching decisions as he always seems to have, this may be the biggest. Letestu has traditionally not been the strongest player defensively and doesn’t really add anything speed or physical wise which makes the decision to play him a strange one.

So while you watch the game, say a little silent prayer for Adam Lowry while you wonder what exactly Paul Maurice sees in Letestu.

The Blackhawks fall in that “teams the Jets should beat regularly” category this season but it could prove to be a challenge with @Robin Lehner making his debut for the Hawks tonight. This could be a high event hockey game with the goalies stealing the show, but it’s one that should see Hellebuyck prevail in the end. Jets win 3-1