Are the Jets for real or are they going to crash and burn?

[Hobble]

Nah, the Jets are just here to install new WiFi routers in your villages. Nothing to see here.

 

[BKarchitect]

They were pretty great last year too. The shooting percentages are pretty high right but could be offset somewhat by the fact that a guy like Ehlers looks way more comfortable this year, as does an older, better Perfetti. Hellebuyck is the great equalizer as we saw last night when the offense isn’t scoring - not many teams have that.

They need to be smarter about the “fits” of their deadline acquisitions this year. Adding two, slow-paced, historically post-season underachieving guys like Monahan and Toffoli (good players, not great choices), I thought was symbolic of how their playoffs went. And Hellebuyck won’t truly win some over until he does it in the playoffs. It’s all about fit. They may not be glamorous at some positions like 2C or high-end blueline names after Morrissey but their depth plays with chemistry and energy. I think keeping those depth guys empowered is actually vital to how this team wins.

No question a team that should compete with Dallas for the Central title even if they cool off. Then all eyes will be on what they do in April.

 

[dgibb10]

Are they a good team? Yes

Will they come down to earth when they stop shooting 15%? yes.

Will they win the cup? Unlikely, but they have a guy in hellebuyuck who could easily carry them there.

 

[General Fanager]

If they rest Hellebuyck they will be hard to beat.

 

[HockeyVirus]

They are the one team who are eve Leafier than the Leafs with this stuff. They simply get dominated in the playoffs and don't put up much of a fight once the series is taken over by the opponent. Two years in a row of seeing that.

End of the day, these early season games are just entertainment. Outside of points for making the playoff, they have basically no impact to result of the season. We've seen in the past decade a lot of examples from the Blues being in last in Jan, to the Panthers just squeaking into the playoffs and going to the finals, to the Oilers being terrible their first 20 games and making the finals, etc.

Jets fans should enjoy it because that is the point of the sport, but in terms of relevance to the playoffs it means less than nothing.

 

[Hunter368]

No team is as good as 13-1, obviously they can't maintain that pace over a season, no one could. That being said they have responded extremely well to the new coaches and the new philosophy/manta. Plus the coaches have completely changed the PK & PP, Bones had it far to predictable. Huge credit goes to the coaches and players for the start, but of course the team will regress some of the course of a year thats a given bc no team could maintain this pace.

 

[Blasto]

They have to win 10 cups in a row to be the real deal. And never have any goals scored against them. As well as every Jets player win every possible award for every position. And cure blindness.

 

[RANDOMH3RO]

jets consistently have good teams and they have really set themselves up for a pretty easy path to the playoffs for the rest of the season. Only question for this group now is playoff success, I think they know being 13-1 doesn’t mean much in November if you’re eliminated by May.

 

[Fatass]

The Jets play fast, skilled, and determined hockey. Of course they’re not going to continue this pace. They’re not the Habs from the 70’s. But they are really good and have a great goalie. So when they aren’t at their best he keeps them in the game.
Looks like they will be a top playoff seed so get 7 or 8 in round one. In the West that could be the Oilers or Avs.

 

[57special]

I was calling for them to be the next great team years ago when they had Wheeler, Buff, Little, and the young Connor, Ehlers, Scheifele, Trouba, Hellebuyk, and a some good depth players. the kept finding ways to lose in the playoffs, and I was convinced that Maurice was the problem.

 

[BagHead]

I've watched the Jets play, and they're quite good. Super strong goaltending, good defense minus Stanley, good scoring punch and they're doing it both with their star players and their depth.

They're not going to keep this pace up all season, as that would destroy NHL records and they're far too polite (read: "unsustainable") to do that, but they are actually very good and I would be surprised if they don't at least win one round in the playoffs... Or the Cup! Jinx.

 

[GeeoffBrown]

Jets are usually a strong Regular Season team. I could see them being the top seed in the Western Conference for sure. PLD trade gave them a crazy amount of depth. The key is translating that to post-season success

 

[Buffdog]

I’ll preface by saying that I actually like the Jets and I hope they will succeed.


But holy crap is this not the same song and dance we’ve seen the past two seasons? IIRC in 22-23 they were first in the west until January, looked absolutely dominant and they ended up in the 2nd WC spot, clinching a spot in the last game or two of the regular season.

Then last year they were setting all kinds of defensive records, allowing 2 or less goals in god knows how many games in a row. Only for them to get their asses blasted (pardon my French) by the Colorado Avalanche in 5 (where they let in 5 or more goals each game, an NHL record).

Is that why no one is talking about their ridiculous 12-1 start to the season? How is the Jets fanbase feeling about them this year? What about fans of other central division teams? I thought Scott Arniel was an underwhelming hire, but they’re doing well.

Is something different about them this year? Or will it be the same song and dance come crunch time?

The big difference that I see this season is that the regular season success the Jets saw the past two seasons was largely due to playing "Bowness Hockey" which involves high puck pressure in all 3 zones. It's very effective at causing turnovers but also very taxing. Dallas Stars players who played under him described it something like "it's a good way to win games, but it ins't any fun" (paraphrasing)

I think that led to burnout in both last years team and the year before. Nino Nittereitter mentioned that they pushed too hard down the stretch last year and were gassed in the playoffs

This year, Arniel has them peeling off after an O - zone turnover and falling back into a 1-2-2 in thr neutral zone, looking to force a dump in my the other team. He also has them focused on last more controlled zone exits and entries, which leads to less puck chasing (and therefore less exertion).

Hopefully that, plus changes on special teams, means that this year looks different in April from previous years. Banking points now also means more rest for Helle down the stretch so he's sharper in the playoffs also. We battled right down to the 2nd last game for home ice advantage in the 1st round last year

 

[Uncle Scrooge]

Unfortunately what you do in October/November doesn't matter much. Vegas won 11 out of 12 games last year, ended up as the last WC team and lost in the first round. You could pull up these examples on and on. It's a long season and a lot can happen. You want the wins when they're there, but it can also be a bit of a curse later in the season.

Every year there's teams that just start better than others. Jets have a healthy team that was together last year and in terms of wins was one of the most consistent teams in the League. No B2B's and they've got into a good rhythm.

But yeah it's not the regular season wins that's the issue, issue is they haven't been able to handle an elite team playing their A game in the playoffs and you just can't find the answers for that at this point. Especially as I'd argue there hasn't been a single elite team so far that they've played that's been at the top of their game. The season's kind of been right in their alley so far.

They basically ran it back with the same team, so just like the Leafs in years past I wouldn't expect miracles in the playoffs. For me it's probably going to come down to what they can do at the TDL. If there's an opportunity to go big or go home, I think they got to take it this year.

 

[Royale With Cheese]

As a Jets fan, I'm enjoying the ride but not super hyped about it. As others have said, and all other Jets fans know, regular season victories are nice, but we need to see this when it counts in April - June.

 

[Romang67]

I don't know why people keep talking about the last two seasons for the Jets as if they were similar. The team two years ago had a super hot start, then crashed around New Years, barely made the playoffs, and got killed by a much better Vegas team that proceeded to easily win the Cup. For all the talk about Hellebuyck's choking in the playoffs, his .886 was easily the best save percentage any goalie had against Vegas that year (.875, .877, and .844 for Skinner, Oettinger, and Bobrovsky respectively). They were, as the kids say, a wagon. They painted it red.

Last year the team was great to start the season. It didn't really stop during the regular season. They finished 4 points out of first place in the league. Last year's playoffs Hellebuyck did choke. The Avs came out firing on all cylinders, Hellebuyck played poorly, and the team collapsed.

Last year was a disappointment. The year before was inevitable.

This year? Who knows. We're 14 games in. We'll probably keep this pace up and win around 76 games.

 

[StumpyTown]

Jets are playing some great hockey right now, no doubt. Their record is probably a little bit flattering because of the competition level and difficulty in October. It will even out again. They will at some point lose multiple games in a row, but as a regular season team these guys seem to have the game figured out pretty well. I'd expect the Jets to be between 105 and 110 points again come game 82. The only caveat to that is injuries, which it is for every team.

As pretty much ever poster here has said, it is showing up and performing in the playoffs that matter.

 

[hangman005]

 

[oconnor9sean]

They've had a charmin soft start to their schedule, but that's not their fault. The rest of November is much more daunting and will be a solid indicator of where they are at.

 

[ForsbergForever]

a 38 year old Aaron Rodgers can only do so much.

He's actually 40....

 

[Panteras]

I feel like they’ve been a solid team for a while. They’re starting really strong, but it’s a long season and putting it together in the playoffs is what ultimately matters. If they keep this up and get through Vegas or something, I’d consider them contenders.

 

[NVious]

They're for real, they're gonna go 12-4 in the playoffs ultimately losing to their Kryptonite the Toronto Maple Leafs in the finals.

 

[1specter]

They will still be near the top of their division I think, but they will come back down to earth a bit, I mean I don't think anyone expects them to go 81-1. It's also worth noting that their schedule has been quite soft so far, of their 14 games the only playoff calibre teams from last season that they've faced have been Edmonton (who is having another poor early season start), Toronto, Tampa, and Colorado. They also beat Minnesota who is off to a strong start this season, in OT.

Their underlying numbers also don't paint the picture of a dominant amazing team, they are middle of the pack in most metrics, except for goaltending where they are top 5. Their PP has also been converting at a crazy rate, with an on-ice sh% of almost 28%, despite having average PP numbers otherwise.

They will definitely regress at some point, I'm just not sure how much.

 

[Mrfenn92]

Keep it going

 

[Bender Duster]

We’ll slump from December to April so we figured we’d lock up the playoff spot before that happens.