After historic season, Winnipeg Jets head into series vs. St. Louis looking to shake playoff blues
After historic season, Winnipeg Jets head into series vs. St. Louis looking to shake playoff blues
Winnipeg Jets center Mark Scheifele, left, and center Cole Perfetti (91) celebrate after Perfetti’s winning shootout goal against the Chicago Blackhawks in an NHL hockey game Saturday, April 12, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)
Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, left, catches a shot by Dallas Stars left wing Jason Robertson (21) during the first period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, April 10, 2025, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Winnipeg Jets left wing Kyle Connor reacts after scoring a goal against the Dallas Stars during the third period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, April 10, 2025, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Winnipeg Jets head coach Scott Arniel, top left, talks to his team during first-period NHL hockey game action against the St. Louis Blues in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Monday, April 7, 2025. (John Woods/The Canadian Press via AP)
Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck (37) stops a shot from Chicago Blackhawks right wing Ilya Mikheyev (95) during the second period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, April 12, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)
Winnipeg Jets’ Dylan Samberg (54) is helped off the ice by Dylan Demelo (2) and Morgan Barron (36) after blocking an Edmonton Oilers shot during second period NHL action in Winnipeg, Sunday April 13 2025. (Fred Greenslade/The Canadian Press via AP)
Winnipeg Jets left wing Nikolaj Ehlers (27) is helped off the ice by teammates during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Vegas Golden Knights, Thursday, April 3, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Winnipeg Jets center Mark Scheifele, left, and center Cole Perfetti (91) celebrate after Perfetti’s winning shootout goal against the Chicago Blackhawks in an NHL hockey game Saturday, April 12, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)
Winnipeg Jets center Mark Scheifele, left, and center Cole Perfetti (91) celebrate after Perfetti’s winning shootout goal against the Chicago Blackhawks in an NHL hockey game Saturday, April 12, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)
Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, left, catches a shot by Dallas Stars left wing Jason Robertson (21) during the first period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, April 10, 2025, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, left, catches a shot by Dallas Stars left wing Jason Robertson (21) during the first period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, April 10, 2025, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Winnipeg Jets left wing Kyle Connor reacts after scoring a goal against the Dallas Stars during the third period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, April 10, 2025, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Winnipeg Jets left wing Kyle Connor reacts after scoring a goal against the Dallas Stars during the third period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, April 10, 2025, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Winnipeg Jets head coach Scott Arniel, top left, talks to his team during first-period NHL hockey game action against the St. Louis Blues in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Monday, April 7, 2025. (John Woods/The Canadian Press via AP)
Winnipeg Jets head coach Scott Arniel, top left, talks to his team during first-period NHL hockey game action against the St. Louis Blues in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Monday, April 7, 2025. (John Woods/The Canadian Press via AP)
Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck (37) stops a shot from Chicago Blackhawks right wing Ilya Mikheyev (95) during the second period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, April 12, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)
Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck (37) stops a shot from Chicago Blackhawks right wing Ilya Mikheyev (95) during the second period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, April 12, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)
Winnipeg Jets’ Dylan Samberg (54) is helped off the ice by Dylan Demelo (2) and Morgan Barron (36) after blocking an Edmonton Oilers shot during second period NHL action in Winnipeg, Sunday April 13 2025. (Fred Greenslade/The Canadian Press via AP)
Winnipeg Jets’ Dylan Samberg (54) is helped off the ice by Dylan Demelo (2) and Morgan Barron (36) after blocking an Edmonton Oilers shot during second period NHL action in Winnipeg, Sunday April 13 2025. (Fred Greenslade/The Canadian Press via AP)
Winnipeg Jets left wing Nikolaj Ehlers (27) is helped off the ice by teammates during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Vegas Golden Knights, Thursday, April 3, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Winnipeg Jets left wing Nikolaj Ehlers (27) is helped off the ice by teammates during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Vegas Golden Knights, Thursday, April 3, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)
The Winnipeg Jets won the Central Division and the Presidents’ Trophy for the first time in franchise history. They set franchise records for points, wins, road wins and comeback victories. Connor Hellebuyck led the NHL with 47 wins and eight shutouts in net.
It has been a historic season for Winnipeg in a variety of ways — and that doesn’t matter very much at the moment.
“We know that, at the end of the day, we’re going to get judged by what happens from Game 83 on,” coach Scott Arniel said.
Game 83 is Saturday night, when Winnipeg hosts wild-card St. Louis in the opener of their Western Conference playoff series. The top-seeded Jets won three of four against the Blues during the regular season, and they went 30-7-4 at home.
Of course, they won a lot this year.
Winnipeg is the first team from Canada to finish with the NHL’s best regular-season record since Vancouver in 2012. Led by Hellebuyck, the Jets allowed a league-low 2.32 goals per game. They also ranked third in scoring with 3.35 goals a game, led by Kyle Connor with 41.
“I think we’ve shown all year we’ve done a good job of being able to win different ways,” said defenseman Josh Morrissey, who surpassed 60 points for the third straight year. “Our calling card has been solid ‘D’ and not giving up a lot of chances throughout the game.”
Now comes the tricky part: taking that regular-season success and turning it into a long playoff run. The Jets haven’t won a postseason series since they swept Edmonton in 2021 before being swept by Montreal in the second round.
Winnipeg lost in the first round in each of the previous two years. It went 52-24-6 last season, then was eliminated by Colorado in five games.
“We want to be the first Canadian team since ’93 to win the Cup,” Jets defenseman Dylan DeMelo said. “That’s what we’re here for.”
The last team to win the Stanley Cup and the Presidents’ Trophy was the Chicago Blackhawks in the lockout-shortened 2013 season.
Arniel, 62, a former NHL forward who was promoted to the top job after Rick Bowness retired in May, feels as if his team has been preparing for this moment all year long.
“Whether that’s getting in big games and big moments, going through difficult stretches, playing in situations that resemble playoff games, those are all the learning lessons,” he said, “those are the scars that you kind of get over the course of the year. I think this group is confident right now, and they should be. We know that if we play our game and get to our game we’re a tough out.”
Winnipeg’s depth has played a key role in its success. It had six players finish with at least 50 points this year.
That depth took a hit when Nikolaj Ehlers got hurt when he backed into an official during a 5-4 shootout win at Chicago on Saturday night. The 29-year-old Ehlers had 24 goals and 39 assists in 69 games this season.
Ehlers is week to week with a right foot injury, but fellow forward Gabe Vilardi is nearing a return after being sidelined since March 23 with an upper-body injury.
“It’s very hard to win in this league and obviously having a season like we had this year, it’s definitely a great feeling,” forward Nino Niederreiter said. “But you want to win the Cup at the end of the day.”
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