If you want to avoid any sort of confrontation with a New York sports fan, you probably shouldn’t mention the Jets. After a momentary diversion on Halloween night which my Chicago colleague saw as potentially a ray of hope (given his own city’s woes, it’s almost understandable), their absolutely horrendous showing in Glendale, Arizona on Sunday has all assured that their NFL championship drought will now reach 56 seasons and their playoff drought 14. Coupled with the Giants’ loss in Germany earlier in the day, most New Yorkers have already turned the page on the fall and are focusing on winter sports.
A goodly number of them are hockey lovers, and the Rangers continue to be among the upper tier of NHL teams. But last night, those that turned out either physically or as viewers at/to MSG came face-to-face with another team called the Jets that is no longer capable of being ignored.
As GLOBAL MEDIA’s & Russ Hobson excitedly told their readers late yesterday:
It’s almost like the Winnipeg Jets don’t know how to lose anymore.
The Jets went into Madison Square Garden and took down one of the NHL’s best in the the New York Rangers 6-3 Tuesday night for their seventh win in a row and 15th in 16 games to start the season.
The Jets were once again led by their top line as they combined for six points. Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor each scored twice, while their other linemate Gabriel Vilardi also found the net. Vladislav Namestnikov notched their other marker as the team continued their record-breaking start.
Scheifele and Vilardi are both now riding eight-game point streaks which is a career-best for Vilardi.
With the victory, the Jets became the fastest team in NHL history to reach the 15-win mark.
To be sure, these Jets are a good team. Six of the seven playoff appearances of this iteration of the franchise (transplanted in 2011 from Atlanta; the previous version left for Arizona 15 years earlier and has subsequently reinvented themselves as the Salt Lake City-based Utah Hockey Club this fall) have occurred in six of the last seven seasons. But this level of success is something else entirely.
And unless you are a true hockey fan, you might not have known about much of this. The Jets play in the NHL’s smallest market in the smallest capacity arena (the recently renamed Canada Life Center, which at 15,321 trails the just-introduced Delta Center in Utah by nearly 1000). The original Jets’ best days by far were limited to the WHA; as an NHL franchise, they won only two playoff series in 11 appearance over their 17 seasons, never advancing to even a conference final). Their home games tend to have later starts and let’s just say they’re not exactly turning up on ESPN or TNT–at least for now.
But now that they’ve reinforced themselves in front of discerning tastemakers like Rangers fans, and numbers like this are now getting to truly serious levels, expect that to change. Their goalie may be a far less well-known Connor than namesakes McDavid or Bedard, but he’s darn good in his own right, already winning accolades before this as THE CANADIAN PRESS reported on Monday:
Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, Colorado Avalanche centre Nathan MacKinnon and Buffalo Sabres goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen have been named the NHL’s three stars of the week.
Hellebuyck was named first star after stopping 88 of the 89 shots he faced over three appearances as the Jets extended their winning streak to six games.
Hellebuyck’s goaltending helped the Jets become the first team in NHL history to win 14 of its first 15 games of a season.
The 31-year-old Hellebuyck, the reigning Vezina Trophy winner as top goaltender, leads the league (minimum six games played) with 11 wins, a 1.83 goals-against average, a .935 save percentage and three shutouts.
I discovered his prowess during last year’s Stanley Cup playoffs, so I’m a bit less surprised than I’m sure many watching on MSG may have been. And I’m pretty sure he converted more than a few New Yorkers who showed up in person last night.
After all, you can see Jets more clearly when you’re not wearing a bag over your head.
Courage…