Red practice jersey, coach’s smile suggest Enstrom ready

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This article was published 24/04/2018 (2748 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Toby Enstrom is a man of few words, and so it’s no surprise the Winnipeg Jets defenceman was not among the players who spoke with the media following Tuesday’s practice. His scrums are few and far between, and rarely contain much in the way of substance. That’s just the way he is.

Enstrom would much prefer to let his play do the talking, and he’s been awfully silent on that front lately. The veteran hasn’t played for more than a month (March 23 against the Anaheim Ducks) and missed the first-round playoff series with the Minnesota Wild due to a nagging lower-body injury suffered when he blocked a shot during practice in February.

Enstrom was a full participant in Tuesday’s session, and he was in a regular red jersey instead of the no-contact yellow one he’d been wearing. Also, he was flying around the ice looking none the worse for wear.

The message appeared to be that he’s ready to return to the lineup when the Jets kick off their second-round series against the Nashville Predators. Game 1 will be played Friday night at Bridgestone Arena (7 p.m., CNC, SN360).

“He looked good,” Jets head coach Paul Maurice said with a smile when asked to assess what he saw from No. 39.

The oft-injured Enstrom is among the most divisive players for Jets fans. Many love his smooth skating and puck-moving abilities, while others decry his size disadvantage in his own end and rapidly declining offensive production.

But there’s no denying the 33-year-old pending unrestricted free agent can still have a big impact, especially when playing up-tempo opponents such as the Jets are about to face in the Predators. So could he end up being one of the big keys to success, provided he’s ready to go?

Winnipeg went 29-9-5 (.732 win percentage) in the 43 regular-season games Enstrom played this season, 23 of which were against teams that made the playoffs. The Jets were 23-11-5 (.654) in the 39 games he didn’t play due to injuries, 18 of which were against playoff teams.

It’s worth noting Enstrom missed all five regular-season games against Nashville this season; the Jets went 2-3-0.

“One of Toby’s great strengths is his ability to touch the puck first in heavy traffic and move it well. He gets to it early and he can make that inside play, that short pass under pressure, which is their forecheck game. So we’ve missed him in those games. We think he’s going to be a real good player for us,” Maurice said.

Ben Chiarot, Joe Morrow and Tucker Poolman have filled in admirably on the Jets’ back end as injuries kept Enstrom and Dmitry Kulikov out of the Minnesota series, in addition to a one-game injury absence for Tyler Myers and a one-game suspension to Josh Morrissey.

Assuming all but Kulikov are ready to start against Nashville, either Chiarot or Morrow would join rookie Poolman on the sidelines. Maurice was asked about how difficult it would be to park a productive player in the press box as a healthy scratch.

“The player that will end up coming out, we won’t be able to look at their hockey game and say, ‘You were deficient in these areas and that’s why you’re coming out,’” he said.

Of course, things can change in a hurry, especially in a series that is expected to be both fast and physical. So whoever comes out will have to stay ready, as their next opportunity could be just around the corner.

Maurice said he would likely put Enstrom back in his familiar spot with Dustin Byfuglien, while Morrissey and Jacob Trouba would remain the top shut-down pairing.

“We feel Dustin plays his best hockey with Toby, plays very well. There’s a real comfort level there,” Maurice said.

That would leave Myers to play with Chiarot or Morrow on the third pairing.

“Both those guys are viable and important players for us. Different styles of game. But it can change game to game,” said Maurice. “Ben is a physical finisher, grinder. Joe moves the puck quick, is a real good skater. So sometimes you just balance the rest of the group.”

Nashville has, perhaps, the most mobile defence in the league, with four bona fide stars on the back end in Roman Josi, P.K. Subban, Ryan Ellis and Mattias Ekholm.

“You have to be aware when they’re on the ice. Ultimately, don’t let them beat you up the ice. That’s our job as forwards,” Jets captain Blake Wheeler said. “A huge part of their offence is allowing their defenceman to jump up into the rush. You got to be smart with the puck. Make their best players come all the way down the ice and don’t let them beat you up the ice.”

Jets centre Paul Stastny said he sees plenty of similarities between the Jets and Predators in various categories, including how the defences stack up. Keeping Nashville’s in check will be a major challenge.

“They’re two-way defencemen. They’re good in the D-zone, they move the puck out and, as a forward, you’ve always got to watch them because there is always that third or fourth man jumping into the play. You can never kind of get too lazy and watch the puck. As a forward, if you’re forechecking, you’ve got to come back and watch the puck but also, watch where they’re at because they’re going to be jumping in,” he said.

“All teams with a good D corps, that’s what the game is now. They don’t hold onto the puck. Some guys do, maybe in the O-zone. But (with) a lot of teams, after the puck moves is the hardest to defend and you’re going to see that a lot in the series. There are little passes to move the puck and then they jump up in the play. We’re fortunate to have good D-men that do that and (the Predators) do the same thing. It’s kind of like the modern-day NHL now, where you see a lot more active defencemen who kind of jump into the play late and be part of the attack.”

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.caTwitter: @mikemcintyrewpg