Melnyk might as well tell his GM to trade Karlsson if this is the direction the Senators are going because if last night is any indication this team is done. Don't let a fun and exciting Stanley Cup run fool you into believing in false positives because you'll end up like Ottawa.
It's harsh to say but the numbers don't lie the Senators are a bad, bad team and when faced up against a team playing as well as the Jets things get ugly fast and they did last night in Winnipeg. It was Rogers hometown hockey night and it was an all-Canadian match up of one team leading the league and another wondering how to catch up to the top of it.
The Jets went to work fast last night once they got their first power play where it didn't take Wheeler long to find Scheifele for the one timer past Condon. Less than 4 minutes later recently promoted Mathieu Perreault deflected a Trouba blast from the point to make it 2-0 and the rout began.
You want Corsi well we've got it. After the first period it was 62% for the Jets and they outshot the Senators 13-3. Once the second period came the Jets were merciful to their guests and let up on the shot attempts a bit but kept the scoring going when Wheeler got his 7th of the year three minutes in. Back to the PP the Jets went and Laine, in his 100th game scored his 49th goal of his career and 13th of the season. The while still on the PP Myers scored to make it 5-0 and dashing all hopes for the Senators.
It was simply a game of shinny at that point as the Jets didn't let the Senators near the puck let alone having much of a challenge from them when the were close enough to battle for the puck. Ottawa was listless and against a team that his feeling the game they way Anakin Skywalker feels the Force, well it wasn't fair. You didn't need stats to know what was going on.
The Jets have scored 17 goals in their last three home games and in their last 10 games have a record of 7-2-1 and have scored 35 goals in that span. It's given them the second highest goal differential in the league and only two behind behind the Lightning who are tops in the league.
The Jets are a very dangerous team right now. Period. Dot. The end.
Is luck on their side- probably but so is resilience and confidence, both of which are going a long way to their success. Gone is the frail mindset that would have the team collapse after getting down in a game. Now they Jets are hungry, they attack and take control. Ask the Golden Knights, this year's wonder kids, how difficult it is compared to a few weeks ago.
Speaking of the past remember the game against San Jose, where from a statistical point the Jets did everything right but could not buy a goal? The result is this, what you say last night. Eventually all the good things happen because the team is doing the right things to have success.
Since that game the Jets have only been below the 50% CF mark once and that was against Vegas. What they are doing is what the naysayers have wanted- putting up positive possession numbers. It's not luck driven either really, as in their last ten games a 5 vs 5 strength the Jets have only shot over 10% twice with an average of 7.02%.
It's good times in Winnipeg. Will they last forvever? That's the biggest question for most fans but right now they don't really care. The team that followed the process, was never going to compete, had a coach that was a retread, a building that was too small, an owner that might be too cheap, and a GM who did nothing is now second in the NHL with 2 players in the top 10 for points, a top goalie and don't look too close because Ehlers and Laine are heating up.
The Sens didn't do anything to deserve the carnage last night but sadly they could not do anything to stop it. It's been a long time for anyone in Winnipeg to enjoy this kind of success with a hockey team and those folks will enjoy it while it lasts. Being on top is fun, that they know. Now the team has to learn what it takes to stay on top. That's the next phase of this process.