The Jets don’t spend much time in the defensive zone – for a good reason
The Winnipeg Jets continue to win this season, and now they are the first team in NHL history to win 14 of their first 15 games of the season after a 4-1 win over the Dallas Stars. But while their offense and Connor Hellebuyck have gotten the headlines, their defense has gone under the radar.
Colby Cohen talked on Daily Faceoff Live about the Jets defense and how well it’s played this season.
Colby Cohen: I want to start by giving credit to Scott Arniel because this was a decision that I questioned when they made that hire. I just didn’t think it was enough, and I think the internet agreed. The internet’s always right, I think we know that.
When I look at the way that this team is playing, I look at the details, and there’s one area that just glaringly sticks out to me. Watch how hard they go back on pucks. Their breakout is so efficient. You watch, no matter what the circumstance is, no matter if the team they’re playing has an aggressive 2-1-2 or an aggressive 1-2-2 or if it’s a passive 1-2-2 forecheck that’s coming their way, you watch the way they retrieve the puck, their defensemen’s habits of getting hard back on the puck, not just first defensemen on the strong side, but the weak side, and that allows them to get their feet up ice and play north faster than any other team in the National Hockey League.
And we hear “play fast, play fast”. That is probably the biggest buzzword in the National Hockey League. You don’t hear everybody say, “Think fast, think fast, think fast”., right? Everybody can skate in the National Hockey League. You’ve got to have the mind to keep up with it, and the habits to keep up with it.
And you watch how they get back on pucks. I’m going to give all the credit in the world of their d-core for the success because they’re not having to defend. Their forwards are scoring a lot of goals. Their power play has been tremendous, the puck movement is absolutely tremendous. But to me, a lot of this credit goes to Scott Arniel and the details in which this team is playing early in the season.
You can watch the full episode here…