Winnipeg's Cole Perfetti, Vladislav Namestnikov and Nikolaj Ehlers have no goals for the Jets' second forward line this season
The Winnipeg Jets have been rolling with wins in all three of their opening games but have faced a lengthy five-day layoff that may challenge the team to stay loose and continue playing its game.
One of the subtle things the team will be looking to improve on in the meantime is its second line. Winger Nikolaj Ehlers has played decent so far with a pair of assists through the first three games while playing less than 15 minutes on average per game.
His linemates Cole Perfetti and Vladislav Namestnikov haven't done as much, with the pair combining for no points and both averaging less than 14 minutes on the ice per game.
The line has been more of the third line for the team, as they are playing more minutes than the team's fourth line but less than the Jets deadly third line of Nino Niederreiter, Mason Appleton and captain Adam Lowry. That trio has singlehandedly helped the Jets win games so far this season like when they combined for seven points in the season opener versus the Oilers.
Perfetti should eventually breakthrough for some points, as he's been able to put pucks on net with five shots this season, which is tied for fourth-most on the team. With the help of NHL Edge, we can see that he needs to generate more meaningful chances as he has just one shot this season in mid-to-high danger areas of the ice.
Perfetti has spent more time in the defensive zone (42.7%) and less in the offensive zone (39.5%) this season, placing him below the 50th percentile in both categories. Last season, he was the opposite as he finished in the 83rd and 85th percentiles, respectively.
Namestnikov also needs to improve his zone times as he finished in the 83rd percentile for even-strength offensive zone (42.7) last season but ranks below 50th (39.1) this season. He'll need to find his legs on the ice, as he finished with eight speed bursts over 35 kph and 89 bursts between 32-35 kph last season, placing him in the 86th and 65th percentiles, respectively.
Namestnikov's top skating speed was 36.84 kph, ranking in the 81st percentile. However, this season, he has yet to exceed 33.62 kph, ranking below the 50th percentile with only two bursts in the 32-35 kph range and no bursts over 35 kph.
They need to get better breakout opportunities so that they spend more time in the neutral and offensive zones while getting better at maintaining offensive zone time so they can get those mid-to-high danger opportunities that the other lines are finding.
Last season, the second line logged just over 194 minutes together, allowing the fewest unblocked shots against—120—of any Jets line that played more than 155 minutes. They ranked 21st in the league for this category and their strong defensive play should help mitigate the impact of their current scoring inconsistencies.
As long as they can eventually figure out how to find more scoring chances while still pushing play out of their own end and forcing poor shots from opponents, the team should still find value out of this line.