Records were broken on Sunday night as the Penguins came to town. Certainly the Jets were expecting more from the champs, the ones they played to an OT loss last Thursday, but last night the Penguins played like anything but defending champs.
For Jets fans it was bonus that the Jets opened up the scoring with a bottom six f the roster goal from Andrew Copp. Then all bets were off when captain Blake Wheeler, scored, then again. It was almost too much when Joel Armia snuck one through traffic and past Murray but when Wheeler scored the 5th Jets goal and his third records fell.
It was the fastest hat trick in franchise history (including Thrashers) it was the captains first hat trick, and it was (this is unconfirmed as it was presented on social media) the first first period hat trick in the NHL. - will try to confirm this later.
Add in a power play goal and Brendan Lemieux's first and the 7-1 win from the Jets was the highlight of the year and perhaps the type of win to get the critics off their backs. More importantly it was a chance to feel the game as fun and have it come to them as opposed to chasing the play and forcing the flow.
As much as the Jets deserve credit the Penguins were awful and this season when they are bad they are very very bad. They have a 10-1 loss to Chicago a 7-1 loss to Tampa and now a 7-1 loss to Winnipeg. The Jets moved into 2nd in the Central Division with that win and took their goal differential from -6 to even.
With games in hand, a rarity for the team, the Jets sit in an unusual position where the opportunity to make hay when the sun shines as they visit the Wild on Halloween and then host Dallas before the reeling Canadiens come into town.
When opportunity knocks don't ever forget to open the door.
This is an rare spot for the Jets, they have come off a huge win, have space between games and their next three games present a good opportunity to earn 4-6 points but that requires work. The game came easy to the Jets last night. Pucks went in the net, passes went through and players made plays, but it hasn't always been that way this season.
Paul Maurice has stressed to media, and to his team the need, for speed with execution of the game plan. Lsat night it was on display and it worked, it worked very well. The Jets are a fast team but they require a cohesive approach from all player to execute their game with speed. This starts with the transition pass from the defence or breakout from the defensive zone. That happened.
What also helped the Jets was they were able to disrupt in the neutral zone and counter attack very well. This has been an area of concern for the team this season but not last night. Further more this was the third straight game the Jets received stellar goaltending this time courtesy of Connor Hellebuyck.
Hellebuyck stood tall when he had to stopping some point blank shots and allowing his team mates to feel the confidence from a goalie standing tall between the pipes, just as Mason did last game. Score effects certainly entered the game after the dominant first period but other than the lone power play marker from Malkin, Hellebuyck weathered the storm very well.
There's reason to feel good about last night's game and the Jets, all fans should relish a win like that. There's also reason to feel cautiously optimistic about the team as well. Since the Calgary game, the second of the season the Jets have not allowed more than 4 goals and are in the top half of the league for goals allowed. The Jets have the 13th best save percentage in the league a .910 and are not riding a PDO hot streak as they are basically even at 1018 on the season in all situations. At even strength it gets a bit better at .911 and 1011.
There's room to improve but after that win fans should be optimistic that the team is about to turn a corner- some more consistent hockey will go a long way to soothing fears and creating more believers in what this team is capable of doing.