One of the biggest stories in the National Hockey League at the moment are the red hot Winnipeg Jets. After 13 games, the Jets have simply been sensational, as they have a record of 12 wins and one loss for 24 points. The only team to beat the Jets so far are the Toronto Maple Leafs, who beat Winnipeg in the Manitoba capital on October 28 by a score of 6-4.
A major reason why the Jets are rolling is because of the health of left winger Nikolaj Ehlers of Aalborg, Denmark. In Ehlers’s decade as a member of the Jets’s organization, he has suffered significant injuries to his eye, wrist, hernia, ribs, labrum, and medial collateral ligament.
The Jets have stayed patient with Ehlers and it has paid dividends. So far this season, he has played in all 13 games, and has eight goals and nine assists for 17 points. Ehlers has been very effective in both ends of the ice as he is a +11 and has been very disciplined by only taking one minor penalty. He also has four power-play points, one game-winning goal, 34 shots on goal, three blocked shots and seven hits.
Ehlers is second on the Jets in goals and points. He only trails left winger Kyle Connor of Shelby Township, Michigan, who leads the Jets in goals (nine), and points (19).
Ehlers’s +11 is also noteworthy because he has the fourth best plus/minus in the entire NHL. The plus/minus leaders are Sam Reinhart of the Florida Panthers and Ehlers’s Jets teammate Adam Lowry, who are both at +13. Meanwhile, Washington Capitals centre Dylan Strome is third at +12.
The Jets will have a very challenging next six games. In this stretch, the Florida Panthers twice, and single games against the New York Rangers, Colorado Avalanche, Tampa Bay Lightning, and Dallas Stars. For them to remain having success, a healthy Ehlers is imperative.
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