The Winnipeg Jets are looking to steer its playoff ship back into the win column tomorrow night at Canada Life Centre before it completely blows off course.
After dropping two-straight blowouts to the St. Louis Blues at the Enterprise Center in Games 3 and 4, the Jets will be looking for a much better effort from everyone against its central division rival in Game 5.
Connor Hellebuyck, Winnipeg’s Vezina goaltender who was named a finalist for the prestigious award for a third consecutive season yesterday, is arguably the biggest piece in the Jets’ lineup that needs to turn up the urgency meter.
“I am going to be better,” Hellebuyck told reporters on Monday. “I know what to do and how to get my best game, so that’s what I’m looking forward to do.”
Allowing six goals in Game 3 and five goals in Game 4, Hellebuyck now sits with a 2-2 record and an alarming 4.24 goals-against average and .817 save percentage this postseason. It’s a polar opposite of the regular season numbers we saw from him this season, when he posted 47 wins in 63 games and led the league in wins, goals-against average (2.00) and shutouts (eight).
Photo Credit: Colby Spence (Illegal Curve)
The numbers don’t tell the entire story though. Winnipeg has not played well enough in front of their netminder to help him like they did in the regular season. The dangerous areas of the ice, like the front of the net and slot, aren’t being managed in the defensive zone and the Blues defencemen have all the time in the world at the top of the blueline to fire pucks on net.
Hellebuyck isn’t seeing the puck on many of the shots against him because he’s being screened by countless Blues players attacking the netfront and the Jets haven’t managed to adjust yet. It’s a similar issue Winnipeg faced against the Colorado Avalanche last year in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, where Cale Makar and Devon Toews would rip shot after shot from the top with a couple bodies disrupting the front of the net.
The reality is that if Hellebuyck sees the puck, more times than not he will make the save. That’s not happening now, which is why the Jets have struggled to keep the Blues off the board the last two games.
Regardless, Hellebuyck believes his club still has a great chance to come out on top in this remaining best of three series.
“At the end of the day we’re in a good spot,” he said. It’s a best of three, I like our odds, and we got home ice advantage, so that’s where our mindset is moving forward.”
In addition to the Jets being back on home ice for the whiteout in Game 5, they will also be getting back a massive offensive reinforcement in Gabriel Vilardi.
The 25-year-old is returning right back to his spot on the first line wing, where he hopes to rekindle his past success this season with teammates Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor.
“I’m hopeful to make a big impact,” Vilardi said after practice at the hockey for all centre on Tuesday. “I’m not gonna be superman or anybody like that, I’m just gonna go play, and hopefully I can help them two out and help the team out.”
In 71 games this year, Vilardi tallied 27 goals and 61 points for a career-best, but hasn’t been in the lineup since suffering an upper-body injury on March 23 against the Buffalo Sabres.
Photo Credit: Colby Spence (Illegal Curve)
Vilardi isn’t a stranger to playoff hockey, so he knows the pace will be a completely different animal when he takes his first shift Wednesday night.
“It’s going to be an adjustment and I’ve got to be prepared for that right away,” he said.
Jets head coach Scott Arniel said he is not worried in the slightest about managing Vilardi’s ice time more carefully because of his rust.
“It’s green light now, there’s no holding back,” he said. “This is playoff hockey…It’s going to be a heck of a lot faster than when he left us.”
Bringing a big boost to the Jets’ power play, which has struggled in this series, Vilardi’s presence also brings more balance to the other lines of attack.
Based on what we saw at practice Iafallo will now drop down to the second line, replacing Nino Niederreiter role of playing with Cole Perfetti and Vlad Namestnikov. The third line checking role of Adam Lowry, Mason Appleton and Niederreiter will be a reignited spark to the lineup which will look to defend better by spending more time in the attacking zone.
Now with a bounce back victory in the Jets’ sightline, they are looking to do something they haven’t done since 2019 against the Blues: win a postseason game after a loss.
