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They’re No. 1, but only by the thickness of a strip of hockey tape.
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Going into Thursday night action, the Winnipeg Jets power play was hitting at 29.2 percent, 0.1 percent better than Vegas in the No. 2 slot.
It’s a step down from the 33-percent range they’ve flirted with most of the season, a drop at least partly attributable to the loss of Gabe Vilardi to injury for the last seven games.
During that time, the Jets are 3-for-16 with the extra man, a success rate of just 18.8 percent.
Another factor: Opponents are clamping down.
“This time of year you don’t get a lot of looks anymore,” forward Nino Niederreiter said before Thursday’s game in Dallas. “So you’ve got to make them count when they’re there.”
The Jets were facing the NHL’s second-best penalty-killing unit on Thursday, the Stars operating at 83.8 percent, bettered only by Carolina.
Winnipeg’s own penalty kill could boast an 85% score through its previous nine games, just the latest surge after a rough start this season.
It was ranked 15th.
“Guys are buying in, blocking shots,” defenceman Logan Stanley said.
That’s not all.
“It just seems like guys are a lot more comfortable,” head coach Scott Arniel said. “They’re not thinking. They’re reacting. It’s certainly a lot more aggressive than we were last year, so there has been lots of change for everybody. But guys have grasped it and been real good in the second half.
“It’s vital. As we move into the later parts of the year going into your playoffs, your specialty teams have to be good.”
As always, goaltending is a big part of the PK.
Stanley: “When you’ve got Helly (Connor Hellebuyck) and Coms (Eric Comrie) back there, that always helps, too.”
paul.friesen@kleinmedia.ca
X: @friesensunmedia
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