Don't let the Winnipeg Jets' first period against the Flames in Calgary on Wednesday evening spoil how you feel about their first-quarter NHL performance.

Yes, the Jets surrendered five goals in the opening period after Brandon Tanev gave Winnipeg a lead 15 seconds in. Yes, brilliant netminder Connor Hellebuyck was yanked for the first time this fall after he surrendered three goals on nine shots in what turned out to be a 6-3 loss.

It wasn't the way Paul Maurice's side wanted to finish the first quarter, but they still can feel good about the way they have emerged out of the gate this season. There was no playoff hangover and instead they have been able to build on their impressive journey last spring.

They find themselves in a good spot with a 12-6-2 mark at the brief U.S. Thanksgiving Day break. The Jets were 12-5-3 after 20 games a year ago.

Winnipeg Jets' Brandon Tanev, right, celebrates his goal with teammate Adam Lowry, 15 seconds into the first period. (Jeff McIntosh/Canadian Press)

Unless you're Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins, who won back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2015-16 and 2016-17, it's not easy to follow up a good playoff run with another.

Of the final four teams that advanced to the conference finals six months ago, only the Tampa Bay Lightning at 15-6-1 has a better record than the Jets at this point. The Stanley Cup-champion Washington Capitals are at 11-7-3 and the Vegas Golden Knights, the team that defeated the Jets in the West final, have struggled at 10-12-1.

Plenty to like

There has been plenty to like about the Jets' first quarter. The young core of Mark Scheifele, Patrik Laine, Kyle Connor and Josh Morrissey continues to develop.

A capable backup has been found in Laurent Brossoit. Adam Lowry has become one of the top faceoff men in the league.

The Jets have strong leadership with captain Blake Wheeler. Their league-leading power play continues to hum.

They also are third in goals against at 2.47 per game, but a middling 14th in goals scored per game at 3.21 and 14th in penalty-killing efficiency.

Maurice would like to see his team's defensive play tighten up somewhat before the playoffs roll around and taking too many penalties continues to be a problem. But the Jets have time on their side to work out the kinks.

The pressing matter is whether general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff can make a move or two to improve his team's depth in the next few months.

Even though the Jets have a young team, the window to win is small in the NHL these days, especially with second contracts for young stars becoming so steep.

The Jets will have several players in this situation in the summer, including Laine, Connor, Jacob Trouba and Andrew Copp. Also slated to become unrestricted free agents are Tyler Myers, Ben Chiarot and Tanev.

U.S. Thanksgiving Day marks a time in the season when general managers take stock of their roster. With Finnish rookie Kristian Vesalainen on his way home to complete the season with Jokerit, the roster is close to the one that advanced to the West final last spring.

The key absentee is centre Paul Stastny, whom Cheveldayoff pulled off a trade for with the St. Louis Blues at the deadline last February. He gave up a first-round draft pick and 2020 conditional fourth-round selection as well as prospect Erik Foley, who suffered a concussion at the Blues rookie tournament and has yet to play this fall.

Even though Laine has found his groove on the second line alongside Bryan Little and Connor, presumably Cheveldayoff would like to add more depth down the middle.

The Jets have salary cap space to add another top-shelf centre. Like a lot of teams, they will touch base with the Ottawa Senators about the asking price for centre Matt Duchene, eligible to become an unrestricted free agent in the summer.

Duchene is having a bountiful season with Ottawa and the price will be high to pry him away.

But as Edmonton Oilers GM Peter Chiarelli stated earlier this week, when he decided to make a coaching change, there still is plenty "of runway left in this year."

There still is plenty of runway for the Jets to work on their game and plan potential moves for their roster.