Jets head into Pittsburgh with their deepest roster of season

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 05/02/2024 (609 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

PITTSBURGH — Glorious goaltending? Check. Dominating defence? Check again. Mighty up the middle? To borrow one of Winnipeg Jets coach Rick Bowness’ favourite phrases, “We’ll see.”

If we’re basing it on what we saw prior in a handful of games prior to the all-star break, his team didn’t have the appearance of a bonafide hockey heavyweight, considering what they were forced to field at the crucial position of centre.

No offence to any of the players, but running Adam Lowry, Vlad Namestnikov, Dominic Toninato and Rasmus Kupari in some semblance of 1C, 2C, 3C and 4C doesn’t scream Stanley Cup contender. Nor does the 2-3-1 record the Jets racked up with that configuration.

With Mark Scheifele returning from injury and Sean Monahan about to make his debut, the prognosis is suddenly more positive. In addition to beefing up the top six, the bottom six should benefit as well. Lowry can resume his shutdown role on the third line, while the versatile Namestnikov will anchor an intriguing fourth line.

Add it all up and the Jets just might just be able to check off another important box when it comes to traditional tools championship contenders possess.

With that in mind, let’s take a detailed look at what Bowness has to work with heading into action in Pittsburgh Tuesday night as the 30-12-5 Jets face the 22-17-7 Penguins.

1. Kyle Connor-Mark Scheifele-Gabe Vilardi

Hard to believe we’re 47 games into the season and this talented trio has barely seen the ice together, with three full games as a unit so far and parts of two others.

A serious knee injury to Vilardi in October, a similar ailment to Connor in December and Scheifele’s pulled groin in mid-January have all combined to make this potentially potent line on paper a bit of a pipe dream up until this point.

“It seems like we’ve practised together a ton and we have very little game experience,” Connor said before the team flew to Pennsylvania.

“Hopefully, we can develop some chemistry. I know what to expect from Mark and I feel I do with Gabe as well. Working with him and being on the power play and watching the game and skating with him in practice. It’s going to be fun. Hopefully, the rest of the season everybody can stay healthy and we can continue to grow and see where it takes us.”

They’ll line up together against Sidney Crosby and company, looking to jump-start a struggling offence that scored just nine goals in Scheifele’s six-game absence. Bowness can finally roll them out together on the power play, which is mired in a miserable two-for-32 funk over a nine-game stretch.

Connor leads the Jets with 19 goals despite missing five weeks of action, while Scheifele is the points leader with 41. However, after scoring an empty-netter on Jan. 16 in his return to action — that was Scheifele’s second game out of the lineup — Connor hasn’t found the net in the past four.

“First game he came back he got the empty netter and it’s like, ‘Oh he’s back.’ But it’s never that easy, It’s not,” said Bowness.

“You miss that much time, it takes a while. Sometimes it takes five to 10 games. Like Gabe missed a lot of time, Mark missed those games. We’ve got to temper our expectations and give them a chance to get their legs going and get their timing back and get their reads back and get their chemistry back on the line.”

Once they get up to speed, there’s no doubt this line can do some major damage. Given Winnipeg’s league-leading defensive numbers, the Jets don’t usually need to score four or five goals per game to win. A little more offence, however, could go a long way.

2. Cole Perfetti-Sean Monahan-Nikolaj Ehlers

One of the biggest impacts of the Monahan addition may be the boost experienced by Perfetti and Ehlers.

Whether they were skating with Namestnikov, Kupari or Toninato, the two dynamic wingers saw their ice time diminish. For a squad struggling to score, that’s sub-optimal.

“The shift totals are what’s important to me, and they’re going to… they have to play as many shifts depending on speciality teams with the other two lines (Scheifele and Lowry’s),” Bowness said Monday.

“The minutes may vary but the shift totals have to be very, very close.”

Perfetti has no goals in his last seven games, while Ehlers has scored just once in the past six. If those guys can get going, then look out. Monahan will join Scheifele, Connor, Vilardi on the top power play unit, while Ehlers and Perfetti will be with Nino Niederreiter, Neal Pionk and Nate Schmidt on PP2.

Considering they gave up a first-round draft pick to land him from the Montreal Canadiens, along with the fact he’s having a strong year and joins the Jets on a bit of a heater (11 points in the last seven games), you’d expect Monahan and his new linemates to get a long look together.

Bowness has liked what he’s seen through two practices.

“You just watch players — we did as many line rushes as we could for two days — do they know when and where to put the puck when they’re making a play. And if you watch Sean in these drills he’s hanging on to it,” said Bowness.

“I was talking to Nik about this, he just knows where to put the puck, where the defender can’t get it. And the receiver has the best opportunity to get it. Now there’s pace involved with the pass, and there’s placement involved in the pass, how hard you want to pass it, how soft. Where you want to put it so he can get it. I was very impressed with his ability to pass the puck.”

3. Nino Niederreiter-Adam Lowry-Mason Appleton

Although the captain filled in admirably for Scheifele, this is where Lowry is most effective.

In reality, this line is essentially a 2B instead of a true third line. Given that they’re often matched against the other team’s best, Winnipeg’s natural order has been restored.

Preventing goals is the main job — and one they do exceptionally well — but they are more than a one-trick pony. The hope is getting the checking gang back together might spark Niederreiter, who had 12 goals in his first 34 games but none in his last 13.

4. Morgan Barron-Vlad Namestnikov-Alex Iafallo

Could this be the best fourth line the Jets have ever had? Time will tell, but it sure has the potential.

Namestnikov and Iafallo have both spent considerable time this year in elevated roles, so there’s no reason to think they can’t flourish in this situation. Barron is a hard-nosed, straight-line player who always gives an honest effort.

There’s also the potential for some mixing and matching here. Maybe Iafallo switches spots with Appleton at some point. Even Namestnikov could be an option to play the wing with Lowry and Niederreiter, although that would leave the fourth line without a true centre.

However, the Jets still have Kupari and Toninato on the roster, and centre David Gustafsson is very close to being ready to be activated from injured reserve. In other words, there’s no shortage of potential options, especially if the injury bug bites again. It’s worth noting a move will have to be made on Tuesday to clear room for Scheifele coming off IR to face Pittsburgh. Toninato or winger Axel Jonsson-Fjallby is likely to be placed on waivers to be sent to the Manitoba Moose if no other NHL club makes a claim.

“The big thing I’m looking for is for the puck to go into the net,” Bowness said of trying to snap an 0-2-1 skid.

“And obviously with getting Mark back and getting Sean into the lineup… you go through these spells where sometimes you’re losing and you’re playing poorly. We lost because we didn’t score many goals.”

Tuesday will provide the first look at what is the healthiest, deepest roster all season. No doubt the centres will be the focus of much attention.

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

X: @mikemcintyrewpg