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BOSTON — To borrow a phrase from the Dropkick Murphys, the Winnipeg Jets have shipped up to Boston and are ready for a showdown with the Bruins.
This is the second and final meeting of the 2023-24 NHL regular season between the two teams and you can be sure the Bruins are going to want to show better than they did in the 5-1 loss to the Jets last month in Winnipeg.
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“We played fast against them last time and you have to do that, because this is a very, very good hockey club and we’ve got to move the puck north,” said Jets head coach Rick Bowness. “You have to play fast against Boston because they put a lot of back pressure on you and they go after your sticks, they’re always lifting sticks and trying to strip you from pucks.”
After a run of games against teams that are mostly below the playoff line, the Jets are preparing for a tougher test against the team that leads the Eastern Conference.
“The past couple of years they’ve had a really good record and they’re a hard, heavy team, kind of just like us,” said Jets defenceman Dylan Samberg. “It was a good battle last time in Winnipeg, even though the score was 5-1. I felt like it was closer. We just buried our scoring chances.”
Bruins forward James van Riemsdyk was impressed by how the Jets played against them last month.
“Of all the teams we’ve played so far – and I’m not sure we’ve played every team, but certainly they were a team that stands out toward the top for me as far as how well they played and how balanced they were,” said van Riemsdyk. “They basically skated us up and down the ice the last time we played them in Winnipeg. We have to have a much better showing.”
It’s another great goalie matchup, with Connor Hellebuyck going head to head with Jeremy Swayman.
Both players were selected to represent their respective teams in the NHL All-Star showcase, and there’s an additional layer to the battle as Swayman was often linked to the Jets in the summer rumour mill, when speculation was rampant that Hellebuyck might be moved to the New Jersey Devils.
Hellebuyck played his NCAA college hockey at UMass-Lowell, so you can expect him to have some supporters in the stands at TD Garden.
Mark Scheifele is going to miss a fourth consecutive game with a suspected groin injury, though he joined the team for the on-ice workout Monday and is making progress.
The Jets do have one important lineup question mark on the horizon, as forward Gabriel Vilardi is officially a game-time decision according to Bowness.
If Vilardi (undisclosed) is unavailable, Axel Jonsson-Fjallby will draw into the lineup for the first time since Jan. 13 and Alex Iafallo would be bumped up to the top line with Adam Lowry and Kyle Connor.
Here’s some other information to get you set:
FROM THE PRESS BOX
MIKE SAYS: Is it too early to call this a possible Stanley Cup Final preview? Regardless, I’m looking forward to this battle of the NHL’s top two teams based on win percentage, with a combined record of 58-18-3. It should be a dandy.
Winnipeg has its work cut out trying to match the modern-day NHL record of 35 consecutive games giving up three goals or fewer, as they’ll need to contain a Bruins team coming off an offensive explosion in a 9-4 victory over the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night.
Far be it from me to tell Bowness how to coach, but I wouldn’t mind seeing an experimental change to the forward lines. With Scheifele still sidelined, why not see what Gabe Vilardi looks like up the middle between Kyle Connor and Nikolaj Ehlers? That would allow Adam Lowry to return to his usual shutdown role between Nino Niederreiter and Mason Appleton. Vilardi has played centre at the NHL level, and wouldn’t it be useful information to get a sense of how comfortable (or not) he is right now in that position, especially heading toward the March 8 trade deadline where another centre could be on Kevin Cheveldayoff’s shopping list?
If you had told me at the beginning of the year the Jets would be facing the Bruins in late January with their top three centres being Adam Lowry, Vlad Namestnikov and Dominic Toninato, I’d likely have predicted they were battling for the first-overall NHL draft pick — and not the Presidents Trophy. But here we are. That really speaks to Winnipeg’s depth and how so many players have stepped up in key situations.
Nikolaj Ehlers is up to 16 goals this season, and five of those are game-winners which is two shy of his career best in that department. (Jeff Roberson / The Associated Press files)
KEN SAYS: Although he’s seen a reduction in ice time since Connor returned from a knee injury, Ehlers continues to deliver offensively. Ehlers used his electrifying speed to blow past Jakob Chychrun to score the game-winning goal with 45.8 seconds remaining in overtime in Saturday’s victory over the Ottawa Senators. Ehlers is up to 16 goals this season — second behind Connor — and five of those are game-winners (which is two shy of his career best in that department).
Connor didn’t seem to have quite as much jump Saturday as he did in his return after missing 16 games with a knee injury, but that’s normal for someone who missed as much time as he did. The more game reps Connor gets, the more comfortable he’s going to be. Even without the same level of jump, Connor still managed a team-high six shots on goal in Ottawa.
As part of the Bruins’ nine-goal outburst, forward Danton Heinen contributed a hat-trick, a feat made all the more impressive based on the fact he went to training camp on a pro tryout offer and earned a job. Heinen is someone who was on the Jets’ radar in the summer of 2023 as a candidate to be the fourth-line centre, but he ultimately decided to re-up with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Signing a lucrative deal hasn’t brought any complacency into David Pastrnak’s game, as he leads the Bruins in goals (30), assists (36) and points (66) through 44 games this season. He’s a treat to watch and the Jets will be paying attention to him when he’s on the ice.
There’s some Manitoba flavour on the Bruins roster in Strathclair’s Morgan Geekie, a versatile forward who has eight goals and 22 points in 39 games this season, which leaves him ninth in team scoring.
I had a great chat during the Bruins’ visit to Winnipeg last month and he’s thoroughly enjoying his time with the Original Six franchise after signing a two-year deal as a UFA last summer.
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