There are people out there who see Evander Kane as expendable.
Yes.
Really.
The Jets are 9-2 and because this record has been achieved under Paul Maurice is largely without Evander Kane as the fast winger has only played 4 games under the Po-Mo regime. In those 4 games though he had a total of 4 points so let's be as silly as some fans and assume Kane would have 11 points through 11 games. Yes, he is expendable.
It's not that there is some sort of outcry against Kane but there are enough fans who believe that Kane is somehow connected to the results of the last 11 games, either by his presence or lack thereof. I'm suspect of that view to say the least.
I guess when Chris Thorburn is on the ice in the last minutes of a tie game and gets the eventual winner it's fair to say 'crazy thoughts' are happening everywhere. That's what this notion of Kane being expendable is- a crazy thought.
Chris Thorburn is not an answer as a 2nd line LW, nor is anyone else below him on the roster maybe Setoguchi could have been and possibly Byfuglien as on off-side option but...no. That player does not exist on the Winnipeg Jets unless it's Evander Kane.
In fact when Kane comes back what if he is moved up?
There is no real reason to rip apart a line that has had a fair amount of success, that being Frolik, Little and Ladd but what if Ladd and Kane were swapped out? The two lines would look like this:
Kane, Little Frolik Ladd Scheifele Wheeler
A person could have an interesting discussion about who is the straw stirring the drink on the Jets top two lines but that drink tastes better with Evander Kane in it. The point here is not to discount Kane's value and meaning to the Jets despite their recent success without him. Kane is the kind of player who can excel under a coach like Maurice, one that recognizes his advantages and will build the attack and system to capitalize on them. Which leads us to tonight against the Captials.
There has been enough said today on the Caps via local media and guests, specifically on their 4 defence who have a combined NHL game experience bank of around 60 games. It's the kind of situation which should be a good thing for the Jets and their speed, perhaps even better if Kane were in the line up.
The part that should make Jets fans nervous is the Caps despite all their depth struggles have two straws that stir a mighty strong drink- Ovechkin and Backstrom. These two studs are leading the league in powerplay scoring and making the Captials PP the fourth ranked unit clicking along at nearly 22.5% success. That's 47 goals.
If the Jets could even split the distance between the Capitals PP rate and theirs (14.4) for a 18.45% success rate the Jets would have 8 more goals this season. The Jets have been in a 1 goal game 57% of their 58 games so 8 extra goals could possible translate into 6-8 extra points if not more- that changes a lot of things in the standings.
However, it's the Caps that have the lethal powerplay, one where Ovechkin sits on the far left side of the 1-3-1 formation and gets a cross pass that he shoots with ferocity at a goalie moving left to right across the crease. Head's up Jets fans that's not Pavelec's strong suit.
If you haven't seen Chris Boyle's cool Shot Quality Project go click that link. It shows a graph of save percentage of 5 goalies and their save percentages on certain types of shots. You can click this LINK to learn about all the interesting details of the approach to shot quality.
Expect a shooting gallery tonight at Pavelec from the combo of Ovi-Backstrom.
For the Jets they have to attack the puck carrier, put pressure on this young and inexperienced Capitals defence and use their speed through the neutral zone. Simple right? It can be if the game plan is adhered to and some of the 'freewheeling' that appeared in the Carolina game does not appear tonight. More importantly, the quiet confidence that is building within this group has to take over and drive them to beat a weakened opponent.
That's the ticket here. If the Jets are a better team now than 11 games ago beating the peers and the next level of teams has to happen- they've done it three times in a row now and beating Washington would be another step towards consistent play and results. The problem for the Jets is historically speaking tonight's opposition has all the ingredients to make a mess for them- that's why this game means so much, even without Evander Kane.