Jets Look To Keep Streak Alive Against Lightning

Jets vs. Lightning, 7:00 ET

Jets vs. Lightning, 7:00 ET

We tend to measure success by streaks. How long can someone do something is indicative of just how good they actually are. Anyone can win a fluke game and a lot of teams can win a championship one time, but to have consistent dominance is something that is usually difficult to do. It is also interesting that we tend to start by rooting for a team to get a championship for one reason or another, but after the second or third time, we start to get sick of them winning and turn on them. While this may not be a championship game, we certainly have an impressive streak from one team, and arguably the most recent “dynasty” type team in the NHL squaring off as the Jets take on the Lightning.

This is not a typo: The Winnipeg Jets are off to a 15-1-0 start for their season with a perfect 7-0-0 record on the road. This is the best start in NHL history, and the team is distancing themselves from the last won after they officially captured that distinction at 14-1-0. If you recall, last season in the MLB, the Tampa Bay Rays ran off something like 13 straight wins to start their season. They still played well for the majority of the year, but ultimately they didn’t win the championship. My point is that just because you start well doesn’t mean the end is what you want. We have to see if this is just a ridiculous hot streak from the Jets or if they are truly this good. They are scoring over four-and-a-half goals per game to start the year while allowing only slightly more than two per game. Their offensive production has been outstanding and they are facing a team that allows three goals per game. It is likely they will put Connor Hellebuyck in the net tonight and he has been ridiculous to start the year. He is 12-1-0 for the season with three shutouts already. He has allowed under two goals per game on average and has a .934 save percentage. It is like teams are shooting at a wall with a moving hole. 

Nov 7, 2024; Tampa, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Emil Lilleberg (78) passes the puck against the Philadelphia Flyers during the second period at Amalie Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

The Lightning are just three years removed from when they won two straight Stanley Cup Finals, and are two years removed from what was three consecutive appearances in the Stanley Cup Finals. The team still knows how to win, and certainly will be ready to face this Jets squad. They haven’t had the hot start that Winnipeg has (no one in history has) but they are slightly above .500 at the moment with a 7-6-1 record. What they have done well is protect their home ice. For the season, they are 4-1-1 at home. Nikita Kucherov continues to be a presence for them and delivers in every aspect. He leads the team in points, goals, and assists. The Lightning offense has done well this year, scoring roughly 3.5 goals per game on fewer shot attempts than they are allowing. They have lost four consecutive games which gives me a bit of concern for them in this one. They have, however, a massive rest advantage. For whatever reason, the Lightning were off for a full week which is almost unheard of in professional sports. 

I’ll be up front here, I don’t know how rest impacts hockey players the way that I know it impacts basketball players. In hoops, the rest is good for legs late in the game, but it is bad up front because they need to adjust to game action again. With hockey, they try every game, so I can’t imagine there is too much “rust” that needs to be removed. I do think this game will have an added focus on defense. The Lightning gave up seven goals in their first game against the Jets, and the Jets allowed four goals to Tampa Bay. I’ll back the under 6.5 here as I think the adjustments the teams make will be on the defensive end. 

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