Due to their 4-1 win over the Dallas Stars on Saturday afternoon the Winnipeg Jets improved their file to 14-1-0 to open the 2024-25 NHL season.
That file not solely offers them the most effective file within the NHL via the primary month of the season, however it’s also the most effective begin any group has ever had via 15 video games within the historical past of the league.
The Jets did win 52 video games a 12 months in the past and had the most effective information within the league, however lots of that success was pushed by an MVP-caliber season from beginning goalie Connor Hellebuyck. He masked lots of flaws the group had defensively and possibly gained just a few extra video games than it in any other case would have gained with a extra peculiar goaltending efficiency.
The Jets have additionally been a somewhat peculiar group for the higher a part of the previous decade. They’re constantly adequate to make the playoffs however by no means actually adequate to make a severe run once they get there. They haven’t gained a playoff sequence since 2020-21, and going again to the 2017-18 season they’ve gained only a single playoff sequence throughout that stretch.
It was additionally a really quiet offseason for the Jets that noticed them deliver again largely the identical roster.
So the very fact they’ve stormed out of the gate and ripped off 14 wins in 15 video games is a bit shocking. There was an expectation they might — and would — be fairly good. No one anticipated them to be this good.
The driving power behind this begin, once more, is the play of Hellebuyck in aim. Although he allowed one aim on Saturday, he stopped 96 consecutive pictures between objectives and recorded back-to-back shutouts. He already has three shutouts in his first 12 begins and leads the NHL with a .936 save share.
He’s already a two-time Vezina Trophy winner and appears to be making a powerful early case to win a 3rd this season.
Together with Hellebuyck, the Jets even have some high-end gamers on the high of their lineup in forwards Mark Scheifele, Kyle Connor, Nikolaj Ehlers and defenseman Josh Morrissey. Depth is a bit little bit of a priority, particularly on protection, however some All-Star caliber forwards and the most effective goalie in hockey can take a group a good distance. Whether or not or not that’s far sufficient to win a Stanley Cup stays to be seen. No one in Winnipeg goes to argue with the outcomes thus far this season.
