Winnipeg Jets head coach Scott Arniel made it very clear last week in L.A. how he feels about “measuring stick games” for his league-leading hockey club.
But as “Arnie’s Army” continues its quest to be the best in the Central and the West, the Jets face an opponent Monday night playing better than any other NHL team at this point of the season.
The Jets held the distinction of owning this season’s longest winning streak at 11 games until Thursday night of last week, when St. Louis equalled that lofty achievement with an overtime victory against Pittsburgh — and then bettered it Saturday, edging Colorado 5-4 for their 12th win in a row.
The Jets have also occupied the top rung of the league standings right from opening night.
So if Winnipeg doesn’t want to surrender that position, it will certainly need to bring its A game, and not anything less, for Monday night’s battle with the white-hot Blues.
St. Louis is 19-2-2 in its last 23 outings — bringing back memories of that incredible run five years ago that took it past Winnipeg in Round 1 en route to the franchise’s first-ever Stanley Cup.
The Blues are also the only Central Division team to win at Canada Life Centre this season. A proud Jets squad certainly wants to avoid a repeat of that 4-1 loss to St. Louis on Dec. 3 heading into another supreme test Thursday in Dallas.
And of course there’s remaining in control of their first-place destiny.
With five games remaining, Winnipeg still needs eight points to clinch ahead of the Stars after Dallas finally blinked in losing 5-3 at home to Pittsburgh on Saturday but the Jets failed to take advantage, coming up well short at Utah.
The Stars’ OT loss Sunday in Minnesota provides another opportunity to widen the gap. But most important now is for the Jets to play the right way — missing two and possibly a trio of key players.
That ultimately will be the measure of a team the Jets see themselves as — especially the head coach.
