So far so good for the Winnipeg Jets penalty kill.
Winnipeg may be taking too many penalties to start the year, but Connor Hellebuyck, Eric Comrie and the rest of the penalty kill department have been really good, killing off 14 of 15 shorthanded situations. The Jets are now in year two with assistant coach Dean Chynoweth’s system and it looks like they are more comfortable.
“Well, we talked about it over the summer, not just as coaches, but with the players. In regard to the system, what they liked about it, what they didn't like about it, areas they thought we could get better,” said Chynoweth earlier this month.
“And one of the focuses was trying to be more aggressive when we can off it. When we are aggressive and everybody's on the same page, it looks fairly effective when we're one guy's off or two guys are off, it doesn't.”
Last season, the Jets power play helped them to their 15-1 start to the season, and it ended up on top of the league with 28.6%. Their penalty kill got off to slower start but ended up 13th and obviously the goal is to be in the top 10.
“I think in some ways, the PK maybe takes a little more time to develop. I thought it also won us some games last year when we needed it like the stats didn't necessarily reflect how it was, and we got off to, I think, a pretty slow start with it,” said Josh Morrissey at the end of the preseason.
“So, yeah, it's been progressively better. I think last preseason game I thought looked pretty good. And obviously we just want to keep making that a strength of our team, just like we want every part of our game to be a strength.”
Clearly since Chynoweth took over there have been structural and personnel changes to the penalty kill, Morrissey said because of that it takes time for everyone to get their reads down to perfection.
“The game is so fast, especially the power play and the skill level the guys that are usually on the power play. Those reads can't be, you can't be thinking about it,” said Morrissey.
“It just has to be instinct and second nature. And so, the faster those reads get, the quicker you are in a shot late, and the quicker you are to maybe get a stick on a pass. I mean, the difference between deflecting a pass or breaking up a play and not can be millimeters sometimes.”
Don’t forget the Jets are without two of their best penalty killers in Adam Lowry who is out until at least November and Dylan Samberg, their best shot blocker. But they’ve added Cole Koepke, Tanner Pearson and Jonathan Toews.
“Well, that's, that's just it. I mean, with Low being out, gives Toews the opportunity, obviously, he's extremely strong face-off circle, and has killed penalties in the past. You got Nyquist, you got Pearson also, who has killed as well,” said Chynoweth.
“And then you bring in a guy like Koepke, who also has killed in Boston. So, there's experience there. We got numbers like I said that we can try some different things and see who can fill in while he's out, and see what step they take with it.”
