The Jackets are finally back in the win column, while one of the league’s top teams gets a contribution from an under-the-radar superstar. Here’s your mid-week heat check.
Alexander Wennberg
This season hasn’t gone quite as Alexander Wennberg probably expected it to, after missing a big chunk of time with an injury, losing his top center spot to Pierre-Luc Dubois and seeing his production slip off, but he’s still a lot closer to the player fans were expecting him to be than the one they think he is now.
Our own Paul Berthelot covered his advanced stats in a piece last night, talking about how he’s carried his linemates at 5-on-5, and he’s broken through a bit this past week in the traditional stats as well.
Wennberg lit the lamp against the Pittsburgh Penguins earlier this week, and had a two-assist game a week ago in Toronto. Despite being held scoreless in the other two games over the last week, he played at least 21:00 in each of them, showing that he’s earned back some of coach John Tortorella’s trust.
Blake Wheeler, Winnipeg Jets Forward
Wheeler’s name doesn’t often come up when talking about the league’s best players – perhaps because he plays in Winnipeg and took a while to develop into the player he is today – but his blend of size and skill is tantalizing, and his production this season has been incredible.
With 69 points in 60 games, Wheeler’s within spitting distance of a third consecutive 70-point season, and on pace to shatter his previous career high of 78 points. He’s turned it up a notch over the last three games as well, putting up eight points for the Jets.
The Jets look to be relatively safe in the playoff race, sitting in second place in the Central division, thanks in large part to Wheeler, their captain and points leader. There’s plenty of firepower around him, too, with players like Patrik Laine, Mark Scheifele and Nikolaj Ehlers putting up impressive point totals as well.
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