Jets are back and ready to roll Rested club prepares for intense homestretch of 30 games in 62 days By: Mike McIntyre Posted: 7:00 PM CST Thursday, Feb. 9, 2023

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This article was published 09/02/2023 (985 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Rested. Relaxed. And raring to go. The Winnipeg Jets returned to the ice Thursday for the first time in 10 days, with a much-needed break now in the rear-view mirror and what they hope will be a long stretch of meaningful games on the horizon.

“We’re ready to play some hockey again,” declared forward Nikolaj Ehlers following a high-energy practice at Canada Life Centre. “We had some days where you don’t think about hockey too much, and that’s nice. But now it’s back to it.”

They’ll get the chance on Saturday night when they host the Chicago Blackhawks. It’s the start of 30 games over the next 62 days that offers the opportunity to do something special. Winnipeg, at 32-19-1, is in the thick of the chase for first place in both the Central Division and Western Conference.

“Definitely coming back feeling recharged,” said centre Adam Lowry.

“Just to get the rest, physically, playing every other day and sometimes three-in-four (nights), you never really get the chance to get ahead of some bumps and bruises and kind of put some energy back into the tank. That’s huge. And then to get away from the game, mentally, you play so many games, they’re already so meaningful, sometimes it’s nice to take that mental break where not every thought in the day is hockey and where you are in the standings and where your game is, personally.”

When we last saw the Jets in action on Jan. 30, they were authoring a spirited 4-2 comeback victory over the St. Louis Blues which snapped a three-game losing streak. Despite the positive outcome, they looked like a squad that needed some time away from the rink, especially after a gruelling schedule in December and January.

They got it in spades, with both the all-star break and the mandatory player’s break stacked together to allow for plenty of tropical vacations. Lowry, for example, went to Mexico where he encountered plenty of Jets fans on the flights there and back.

“It was a lot fun. A lot of passionate fans. It’s always nice to have conversations with them,’ said Lowry. “Coming back, a lot of fans on the flight and they’re all excited for the second half. It’s nice to have the community behind you regardless of where you go.”

“You think about hockey every single day. To be able to get a break and kind of get your mind off it is pretty big.”–Nikolaj Ehlers

Ehlers travelled the furthest of his teammates, going back to Denmark for a weeklong visit with family and friends.

“You think about hockey every single day. To be able to get a break and kind of get your mind off it is pretty big,” he said, noting getting to feast on some of his mother’s cooking was the best part.

Bowness was perhaps the busiest traveller, with stops in Ottawa to see his son (assistant general manager with the Senators) and grandson, Nashville to visit with his daughter (who works for the Predators), and then some fun in the Florida sun along with his wife.

Not surprisingly, Thursday’s workout was a lengthy one, lasting approximately 75 minutes and including a bag skate near the end. After all, the only ice the players likely saw during this stretch was in the bottom of their glass.

“We pushed them hard. We scrimmaged. We tried to create some game situations out there with some of our drills and they worked hard,” said Bowness.

“Give the players a lot of credit, they were off of the ice and they came out and worked very, very hard, which is important. (Friday) it won’t be as long, but as I talked to them after the practice, tomorrow keep the pace. Keep the pace of the drills up, keep the pace of everything that we’re doing. That will help us going into Saturday night.”

Bowness said there was an important off-ice discussion about the difficult road ahead.

“You get into this point in the season and everything is elevated again. It is. Which means we have to elevate our team game,” he said.

“It gets harder and harder, which it should be… Each team gets better and better. Some teams start pushing a little more and raising their game.”–Nikolaj Ehlers

“I think the biggest thing for us would be the consistency of playing our game. Like there’s some lapses in the first 52 games, there’s no question. It happens to every team. But the team that is able to raise their level of play over the next 30 games and do it on a consistent basis are the teams that are going to keep pushing and make the playoffs and improve their standings. We know who we are. We know what we look like. It’s a matter of us doing that on more of a consistent basis.”

Indeed, Ehlers expects the intensity to pick up down the stretch. How the Jets handle that will be key.

“It gets harder and harder, which it should be,” he said. “Each team gets better and better. Some teams start pushing a little more and raising their game. You want to be a good team in this league, you’ve got to be prepared to get better and better every single day. So we’re ready for that.”

There was plenty of talk Thursday about the upcoming trade deadline, which is now just three weeks away. There’s already been a couple big moves in the NHL, with Vancouver sending Bo Horvat to the New York Islanders, and St. Louis shipping Vladimir Tarasenko to the New York Rangers.

Bowness said it’s important to block out any outside noise.

“I think at this point, man, as boring and as cliché as it is, it’s game to game,” he said. “We’re looking at the consistency, that we’re playing Winnipeg Jet hockey. That’s what we’re after. It’s not five or six games, let’s evaluate them. We’re not going to do that. It’s evaluation after every game and dealing with the good and the bad after every game. That’s what we’ve been doing and we’re going to continue to do that.”

Lowry was asked if the nine games between now and the March 3 deadline will play a role in how general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff approaches things.

“Obviously, the trade deadline is an exciting time for the fan and for the viewers, but as players, I think, that’s something that’s out of our control,” he said.

“Our job in here is to take who we have and put the best product on the ice and give ourselves the best chance to win. Let management handle the rest. It does seem like it’s a sprint to the finish, these last 30 games. We’re really excited about that.”

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @mikemcintyrewpg

Mike McIntyre
Reporter

Mike McIntyre is a sports reporter whose primary role is covering the Winnipeg Jets. After graduating from the Creative Communications program at Red River College in 1995, he spent two years gaining experience at the Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in 1997, where he served on the crime and justice beat until 2016. Read more about Mike.

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