By The Numbers: Jets established as NHL's top team
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Through 13 games, the Winnipeg Jets have established themselves at the NHL's best team this season.
The Jets improved to 12-1-0 with a 3-0 win over the Utah Hockey Club Tuesday night, claiming afterwards the victory came despite not playing their best hockey.
“The game wasn’t very pretty,” forward Nino Niederreiter said. per NHL.com. “There wasn’t a whole lot of flow out there. I think that is something that we knew and just had to stick with and do the little things right. Eventually we would create our own luck, and that’s what happened there.”
“It was a grind,” head coach Scott Arniel added. “We had talked this morning about Utah, they were making it difficult on us in letting us get into the interior and letting us get second chances. But I like the way we kind of hung with it. … Our PK was really good against a dangerous looking group that they have.”
While Connor Hellebuyck has long been established among the NHL's best goaltenders, the Jets offence has established itself as the league's most prolific this season.
Hellebuyck made 21 saves for his 39th career shutout on Tuesday, while the three goals improved Winnipeg's league-leading total to 62. The team is averaging an NHL-best 4.77 goals per game while conceding 2.31 goals per game, the second-best mark in the NHL behind only the New York Rangers (2.18). Put the two together and the Jets own the league's best goal differential at plus-32.
Power play propels Jets
The Jets shut down Utah's power play on Tuesday, keeping them goalless over four opportunities. The penalty kill has been one of the few weaknesses for Winnipeg this season, with the unit improving to a middle-of-the-league 79.3 per cent success rate after the win.
The power play, on the other hand, has been dominant and a key reason for the Jets red-hot start. Currently operating at 44.4 per cent rate, Winnipeg has punished opponents this season when given a man advantage, with Gabriel Vilardi opening the scoring Tuesday on the power play as the unit went 1-for-2.
The Colorado Avalanche own the league's second-best power play this season, converting on 37 per cent of opportunities and just five teams have a success rate above 30 per cent.
It's been a balanced attack for the Jets power play, with no player recording more than seven power-play points over the 16 goals the team has scored. A total of 10 players have picked up power-play points this season, with all of them owning at least three. Mark Scheifele and Josh Morrissey are tied for the team lead with seven power-play points each, while Kyle Connor has scored four of his nine goals with the man advantage.
Not counted among power play success is the Jets ability to score with their own goalie pulled late in games or on delayed calls. Winnipeg has scored five goals in six-on-five situations, tied with the often-trailing San Jose Sharks for the league lead.
Winnipeg finds scoring throughout lineup
Connor leads the Jets with 19 points this season, followed by Scheifele and Nikolaj Ehlers, who have 17 points each. Ten players have at least 10 points this season through 13 games as balance has propelled the team to the top of the league standings.
It was Niederreiter who drove the offence on Tuesday with two third-period goals, bringing his season totals to seven goals and 12 points after posting 18 goals and 34 points in 77 games last season.
“The best part about it right now is that we keep finding ways to win hockey games, and in all situations” Niederreiter said. “The power play steps up when it needs to. The PK has been great. We are finding the back of the net right now, which is great.
"It is something that we work very hard for it. We know we can’t take anything for granted."
The Jets hold a five-point cushion over the Florida Panthers in the Presidents’ Trophy race atop the league standings with the two teams equal in games played. Winnipeg has two more games in their current four-game homestand before putting their 6-0-0 road record on the line next week with games against the Rangers, Tampa Bay Lightning and Panthers.