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The Winnipeg Jets are off to their best start in NHL history at 14-1-0 after defeating the Stars

by November 10, 2024

WINNIPEG – The Winnipeg Jets are off to the best 15-game start in NHL history, winning 14 of their first 15 games and posting a 14-1-0 record.

A sellout crowd at the Canada Life Center watched as Winnipeg defeated the Dallas Stars 4-1 to secure the record. Alex Iafallo and Nikolaj Ehlers scored power play goals, as did Rasmus Kupari and Vladislav Namestnikov at even strength.

The deciding game was a loss to Winnipeg’s division rivals – a party, a parade of goals. In the second period, with the Jets leading 3-0, the crowd quietly chanted “US backup” at Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger. When Ehlers made the final score 4-0, the Stars pulled Oettinger from the game and the chants grew louder.

After allowing a goal, Connor Hellebuyck also set a Jets record for longest shutout streak at 191:47, surpassing Ondrej Pavelec’s 187:05 in the 2014-15 season.

Here are the keys to how Winnipeg got off to the best start in NHL history.

That mythical 10 percent

Winnipeg ranked fourth in the NHL last season with 110 points and 52 wins, including eight straight wins to end the regular season. The Jets’ five-game loss to the Colorado Avalanche in the first round of the playoffs was stunning – not just the loss, but Colorado’s dominant play – and presented Winnipeg with an offseason challenge.

“Until you’re the team that’s at the bottom (of the playoffs), you haven’t done anything,” Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff said after the loss. “The responsibility lies with everyone within the organization to achieve these 10 percent better.”

It’s a message embraced by players, and Jets stars and executives like Josh Morrissey, Adam Lowry, Mark Scheifele and others share a version of the same message. It’s also something every non-championship team talks about, but our reading of the Jets locker room following last season showed there’s a higher level of accountability as the offseason begins.

Part of Winnipeg’s success this season is due to defensive line players like Lowry, Mason Appleton and Nino Niederreiter playing even more elite defensive games while increasing their offensive production. Part of this is due to Kyle Connor scoring nine goals and providing ten assists to start the season, coupled with better backchecking efforts in key moments. There’s a story I’ve told about the Jets – that their best offensive players don’t play defense and their best defensive players don’t run the offense – that Winnipeg has proven completely wrong.

There were difficult moments – no team or player is perfect – but only a few difficult periods of the game.

Revamped, league-leading power play at 43.9 percent

Both of Winnipeg’s power-play units scored in Saturday’s record-setting win over Dallas.

Iafallo’s perfectly timed cut into the slot to receive Namestnikov’s pass up the middle opened the scoring; it demonstrated this year’s increase in movement and pace in both power play units. It was also the second unit’s eighth goal of the season, including three from breakout player Cole Perfetti, who took advantage of the creative advantage of four left-handed forwards and Neal Pionk’s vision from the point.

Ehlers’ one-time goal from the slot showed why it was so important to add him to Winnipeg’s elite offensive player group of Scheifele, Connor, Vilardi and Morrissey. Part of the joy of Winnipeg’s first unit lies in the variety of lineups – they’ve scored goals on plays the Jets couldn’t have attempted last year – and the number of options available to each player with the puck. The players are almost constantly on the move, moving into increasingly dangerous positions with each pass of the puck, and Ehlers’ goal was the top unit’s 10th of the season.

Connor’s four goals lead all Jets power play scorers; his next result will be the same as his total points total for the entire last season.

Elite goalkeeper

No record series is possible without first-class goalkeeping performances. Hellebuyck’s performance in team win #13 was legendary.

Against the team that had beaten him by 24 goals in five playoff games, Hellebuyck was nothing short of spectacular, stopping 35 shots and earning his second straight shutout to give Winnipeg the win. He surpassed U.S. rival Oettinger’s 32-save performance against Dallas, prompting chants of “U.S. support” from the Canada Life Center audience.

Magical moments

Even a team with the league’s best power play, a defending goaltender who won the Vezina Trophy at the peak of his powers, and a defensive corps that produced a ton of offense but only conceded 30 goals in 15 games needs time at time help.

There were individual performances and moments that kept the series alive and uniquely surpassed Winnipeg’s team quality.

Whether it was Scheifele’s diving goal that forced overtime against the Chicago Blackhawks or his game-winning goal in overtime, the Jets’ star center pulled a win out of nowhere in the final minutes of Game 2. In Game 3 against the Minnesota Wild, Scheifele scored Winnipeg’s only goal of regulation time right after a faceoff with two seconds left in the first period.

Connor won the game in overtime with a great shot off the crossbar and into the goal, contributing in part to Winnipeg’s perfect 3-0-0 record in overtime. There was Ehlers’ hat trick against the Columbus Blue Jackets or his game-winner in overtime against the Seattle Kraken, which narrowly missed Joey Daccord when Hellebuyck called a delayed penalty. The Jets’ team-wide resilience was on display after a controversial goaltending call put Winnipeg behind 2-0 early against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Time and time again, Winnipeg’s players came out on top in the biggest and most defining moments of games. Their defensemen protected the goal crease, all four lines contributed to the attack and Hellebuyck set the stage for an encore to the Vezina Trophy.

Historical context/comparisons

The Jets are in a class of their own at 14-1.

Previously, they were one of only two teams to start the season 13-1.

And before that, they were one of just six teams to win 12 of their first 13 games. Here’s what happened to the other teams in this elite group.

Playoff results for the best 15GP starts

team Year Record after 15GP Playoff seed Playoff fate

Winnipeg Jets

2024-25

14-1-0

Still open

Still open

Ottawa Senators

2007-08

13-2-0

7. in the east

R1 lost: 4 games against PIT

Colorado avalanche

2013-14

13-2-0

1. in the center

R1 lost: 7 games vs. MIN

Quebec Nordiques

1994-95

13-2-0

1. in the east

R1 lost: 6 games against NYR

Detroit Red Wings

2005-06

12-2-1

1. in the west

R1 lost: 6 games against EDM

Pittsburgh Penguins

1994-95

12-1-2

3. in the east

R2 lost: 5 games against NJD

It’s obvious that greatness surrounds all of these teams.

It’s unclear how immediately this greatness began – particularly in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

It may be sobering to learn that none of the other five teams won the Stanley Cup this season. Four of the five were eliminated in the first round, and the 1995 Pittsburgh Penguins made it to the second round, losing to the New Jersey Devils, the eventual champions.

The 1994–95 Quebec Nordiques lost in the first round but won the Cup in Colorado the next season after acquiring Patrick Roy in a trade with the Montreal Canadiens. The Detroit Red Wings won the Presidents’ Trophy before their first-round loss in 2006 and the Cup in 2008. The Penguins were on the decline after back-to-back championships in 1991 and 1992, and the Ottawa Senators had won the Stanley Cup -Finale of the year.

The only thing that remains clear? Fourteen wins in 15 games is a spectacular, history-making achievement, but 16 playoff wins are not promised to anyone.

How this came about, says coach Scott Arniel

“For me it’s very simple. It’s such a team effort. It’s such a team effort. That doesn’t mean that Helle wins every game. That’s not Scheifele’s line that wins us every game. For me that’s 23 people. That was incredible considering how everyone contributed. Whether it’s blocking shots or making small, detailed plays, defending, but of course scoring goals. At the beginning of the year we had to score points late in games to get to overtime and win. Just different ways to find ways to stay in the games and then get the 2 points. The best answer I can give you is that this was truly a team run for us.”

Required reading

• NHL Power Rankings: A new No. 1 and a reason to be optimistic about every team
• Connor Hellebuyck steals ‘revenge game’, Winnipeg continues historic start: 3 takeaways
• Is the Winnipeg Jets’ hot start real? Adam Lowry for Team Canada? mailbag

(Photo by Alex Iafallo and Vladislav Namestnikov: Darcy Finley / NHLI via Getty Images)

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