With a 1-0 victory over the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday night, the Winnipeg Jets became only the second team in history to begin the regular season with 13 wins in 14 games.
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By virtue of this remarkable record, the Jets sit at the top of the general standings in the National Hockey League (NHL) with a total of 26 points. For comparison, the Montreal Canadiens have only collected 10 points in as many games played.
What’s more, the team has an absolutely exceptional “goals for/goals against” rate after 14 games, having scored 63 goals against only 30 allowed for a differential of +33. The Carolina Hurricanes have the second best differential at +22.
Before the Manitoba team, only one other team had accomplished the feat of losing only one of its first 14 duels. This is the Ottawa Senators during the 2007-2008 season.
However, after this great start, the situation deteriorated in the national capital.
The team then led by John Paddock collapsed after the holiday season, ultimately winning only 30 of its last 68 games. This disarray ultimately led to the dismissal of Paddock and his deputy Ron Low at the end of February.
Darren Brown/Ottawa Sun/QMI Agency
Bryan Murray, who had led the Senators to the Stanley Cup Final the previous season, returned to his position behind the bench. He was promoted to general manager of the team during the off-season.
The Senators finally managed to qualify for the playoffs with difficulty and misery in seventh place in the Eastern Conference with 94 points, tied with the Boston Bruins. They beat the Hurricanes by just two points.
In the first round of the playoffs, however, they were outclassed by the Pittsburgh Penguins, suffering a four-game sweep.
During the summer, the team said goodbye to goaltender Ray Emery as well as veteran defenseman Wade Redden. Result: the team missed the playoffs the following season with Craig Hartsburg as driver, who ultimately was behind the bench for only one season in Ottawa.
