It's usually Bryan Little who gets the fanfare for being one of the most underrated players on the Jets and perhaps the NHL when looking at his contract, but Blake Wheeler deserves some mention. Last night he had 2 goals and an assist but what should stand out to fans is that in the dying minutes of a sure win with San Jose pressing he was unafraid to get in front of a heavy shot from the point and make a key block. It was a stinger for sure but that didn't matter to Wheeler.
No you won't get a Gregory Campbell 'hero narrative' here. Wheeler took a risk, one some may call stupid given that there was approximately 2 minutes left and the Jets having a 5-2 lead. But this is the kind of play Wheeler brings down the stretch for the Jets and it's largely going unnoticed.
A breakdown of points and game by season
Season/Points Games/Played Points/Before Feb 1 Points/After Feb 1
11-12 64 80 33 .66/gm 31 1.03/gm
12-13 41 48 23 .79/gm 19 .904/gm (Mar 16 date sep)
13-14 69 82 44 .78/gm 25 .96/gm
14-15 55 68 38 .74/gm 18 1.5/gm (to date)
While I won't try to convince you that pts/gm is the most tell-tale of statistics it is interesting to see that down the 'stretch' Wheeler's production takes a noticeable jump. The eye-test, at least the one from this beholder, says the same thing- Wheeler's game is better down the stretch.
For Right Wings in the NHL Wheeler sits 5th in scoring, 2 pts behind Kucherov with 3 less games played and he is ahead of such notables as Bobby Ryan, Maria Hossa, TJ Oshie, and Wayne Simmonds.
But let's look at some other interesting stats courtesy of War on Ice
In all situations
14-15 Pts/60 before Feb 1= 2.3 After=3.2 Corsi For % before Feb 1= 58.9 After 59.8 PDO before Feb 1= 102 After= 105
13-14
Pts/60 before Feb 1= 2.6 After 2.9 Corsi For % before Feb 1= 55.5 After= 54.4 PDO before Feb 1= 100 After 102.2
12-13 Pts/60 Before Feb 1= 2.8 After 2.7 Corsi For % before Feb 1= 53.8 After= 56.9 PDO Before Feb 1= 97.5 After 101.2
11-12 Pts/60 Before Feb 1= 2.3 After= 2.6 Corsi For% Before Feb 1= 56.3 After 57.6 PDO Before Feb 1= 100.4 After= 98.4
Other than points rate and some movement in possession Wheeler either gets really lucky late in the season or he amps it up and helps make his own luck. It might be the latter but hard to say with certainty unless you combine the eye-test.
As the inaugural season wound down in 2012 many fans and media would have said that Pavelec was the MVP of the team but in my opinion it was Wheeler and I said so HERE.
Side note (I had Stuart as a team Norris candidate- LOL what idiot thought that?)
Aside from Wheeler, and his often criticized slow starts to the season, the rest of the group needs to see this rise in play down the stretch. It's the kind of intangible entity that many veteran media and former players talk about- real or imagined. With the toughest schedule of the bubble playoff teams the Jets have a tough road and have to start making things happen for themselves and less hoping for good news from the "out of town scoreboard".
It was their play, or lack of it that allowed them to slip into this dangerous position and it will have to be their play that gets them out. It appears Wheeler sees this reality and wants to do something about it, will others follow his lead?