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The Winnipeg Jets will be looking to snap a season-high five-game losing streak (0-4-1) in a rematch against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The two teams met Tuesday in the first game back from the break for both clubs and the Penguins earned a 3-0 victory at PPG Paints Arena, scoring twice on the power play after Jets defenceman Brenden Dillon was assessed with a five-minute major and game misconduct for his check to the head of Noel Acciari.
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Dillon received a three-game suspension for the hit that left Acciari with a concussion, which means neither player will be suiting up in the rematch.
The Jets also lost 4-1 to the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday when they fell behind early and never really got going.
The Penguins are coming off a 3-2 loss to Marc-Andre Fleury and the Minnesota Wild on Friday, but their urgency level remains high as they continue to try to make up ground and get back over the playoff line in the Eastern Conference.
“Stick together. Go out to eat with everybody. Try to keep some laughs going. That’s one of the things where we’re fortunate,” said Jets defenceman Neal Pionk, asked what a team needs to do when adversity arrives at its doorstep. “We come to the rink every day and yeah, it’s a little down, it’s a little depressing at times. But you’ve got to keep those spirits up and look at what we did. Look at the positives we did (earlier in) the year. That’s important. (When) we lose a few in a row, we’ve got to remember what we do well and get back to that.”
The Jets had enjoyed an inordinate amount of success against Eastern Conference teams before this five-game skid (0-4-1, all against East clubs).
“I keep saying this: our team game at five-on-five game is really good. When we get frustrated, we do get a little bit away from it,” said Jets head coach Rick Bowness. “The other thing I notice, when we get frustrated, we start to stand around a little bit. We’re not playing as fast. Those are the things that when they happen, we have to handle (them) a little bit better.”
Bowness has reunited Nikolaj Ehlers with Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor in an effort to spark the offence.
“That line looked really good when we got them together, finally,” said Bowness, noting that he understands that Ehlers, Scheifele and Gabriel Vilardi also have good numbers and strong analytics together this season. “We’re still trying to figure out the chemistry that will help us create more offence.”
Scheifele is hopeful the trio can find a spark quickly.
“We played together for a couple of games before KC got hurt there and we were playing pretty well,” said Scheifele, referring to the 16 games that Connor missed with a knee injury suffered in the Dec. 10 game against the Anaheim Ducks. “Obviously, you want to keep it going and just get into the rhythm early and get on top of these guys early and that’s about it.
“(Ehlers’) speed is one thing that creates a lot of entries, creates a lot of plays. His speed pushes teams back a little bit, which helps as a centreman. At the end of the day, he’s a skilled player that makes some good plays and uses his speed to his advantage. We’re going to need him to do that tonight.”
After Laurent Brossoit started in Thursday’s 4-1 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers, Connor Hellebuyck is back between the pipes and is making his 37th start of the season.
The Penguins counter with Tristan Jarry, who leads the NHL with six shutouts in 33 appearances (and 32 starts).
Here’s some other information to get you set for the rematch:
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KEN SAYS: Given the well-documented goal-scoring woes, putting Scheifele and Ehlers with Connor (who snapped a five-game drought on Thursday) makes sense. There’s also potential with the corresponding move, as Vilardi has a great opportunity to mesh with Sean Monahan and Cole Perfetti.
The Jets power-play woes (2-for-37 during the past 11 games) continue to be an area of concern, and they are making a minor tweak to the second unit, going back to a four-forward and one D-man formation, as Nate Schmidt is replaced by Vladislav Namestnikov.
“This might just be a different look, if you will. We’ve got to do our job,” said Pionk. “Well, it changes a little bit. I’m playing a different position. I’m not at the half wall. I’m up top. Mentality changes a little bit. But as far as the work ethic, it can’t change. Like I said, I’m looking to shoot. If I can’t shoot, I slide it to (Ehlers), he goes downhill and shoots. That’s kind of the mentality that we’ll have.”
The Jets did move the puck better and create some more dangerous scoring chances in Thursday’s 4-1 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers, but they gave up a shorthanded goal.
Breaking through on the power play is one way the Jets could alleviate some of the stress of the five-on-five goals drying up of late.
“Well, we haven’t really liked anything about the power play, so we’re trying different things,” said Bowness.
Whenever Penguins captain Sidney Crosby plays in Winnipeg, it’s impossible not to think of the 2005 Canadian world junior team that held training camp here and in Gimli in December of 2004 before going to Grand Forks, N.D. and winning a gold medal with what was a dominant performance at that event. Seeing how the 17-year-old handled all the attention around him for that month-long period was so impressive. That Crosby is still playing at an elite level in the NHL and leading the Penguins in goals (28) and points (52) in 48 games is a testament to his ability and commitment to his craft. He’s going to go down as one of the best players to ever play the game.
Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck (37) reaches to stop a shot by Pittsburgh Penguins Sidney Crosby (87) during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Tuesday in Pittsburgh. (Matt Freed / The Associated Press)
MIKE SAYS: First off, I’m happy to report I made it back from the City of Brotherly Love without the use of crutches. This, after visiting the Philadelphia Museum of Art earlier in the day and running up the 72 steps made famous by one Rocky Balboa. Given my clumsy nature, plus the fact I was videotaping while ascending, a full-blown yard sale wasn’t entirely out of the question.
The Jets have been tripping all over themselves lately, especially in Thursday’s 4-1 loss to the Flyers in which they looked like a shell of their former selves.
No question this is now a fragile bunch that desperately needs something — anything — to go right.
That became crystal clear to me the other day in Philly when I spoke to Nino Niederreiter after practice and he candidly admitted just how much a personal 14 game scoring drought (now 15) has taken on him. There’s a lot of players feeling a similar way right now.
I found it interesting that Bowness cancelled Friday’s practice, despite a lacklustre effort and the fact the Jets are already off Sunday.
An old school approach would have been to skate the heck out of his team. Instead, Bowness is opting to kill them with kindness. Let’s see if he gets the desired result. There will be no excuse for the Jets to not come out with tons of early jump, especially against an opponent that just played last night and travelled.
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