I’ve been praising Winnipeg Jets winger Nikolaj Ehlers at length for what may be his most impressive season to date, according to the underlying numbers. Since he was injured in the Jan. 4 game against the Pittsburgh Penguins, his absence has been noticeable.
Prior to Ehlers being sidelined, linemates Blake Wheeler and Mark Scheifele were combining for about 0.47 goals at 5-on-5 every 20 minutes; since he’s been gone, that number has dropped to 0.27.
An 11-game sample isn’t much when we’re talking about goal scoring, which can vary wildly over time, but it’s worthwhile to look at how things have changed for the Jets’ top two forwards.