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COLUMBUS – Brenden Dillon didn’t sugarcoat it as he spoke inside the Winnipeg Jets room following morning skate.
“It’s a huge week,” the veteran defenceman said.
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Indeed it is, with five road games over the next eight days that will likely play a significant factor in where the hockey club ultimately finishes in the standings and what the first round of the playoffs look like.
“We’re not trying to get too ahead of ourselves, but looking at this month of March, this was going to be a tough one,” Dillon continued. “A lot of games in a short period of time, travel, we’ve got some teams fighting for their playoff lives, and some teams like tonight, these are tough ones, teams are playing loose. I think this is going to be a good test for us to play some different styles of hockey.”
Tonight’s game looks to be the easiest, at least on paper, given the opponent. But don’t take the Columbus Blue Jackets for granted. Despite a rash of injuries, they still have plenty of young speed and skill and a bit of veteran savvy. They’re also coming off a 4-2 win Saturday night over the San Jose Sharks to kick off a weekend back-to-back at home.
“Give these guys a lot of credit. It seems like they all want to be part of the solution here,” said Jets coach Rick Bowness. “They know it’s been a couple of up-and-down years for them here. But watching the game (Saturday) night, you got the feeling that, OK, it’s a very committed group to help turn this thing around and they all want to be here when this team gets winning on a consistent basis.”
The Jets are coming off a solid 6-0 victory over the Anaheim Ducks on Friday night and will be looking to get out of a “win one, lose one” rotation that now spans the past seven games.
They’ll also want to keep up with the Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars, who both won their games (Saturday) night to move to 91 points. Winnipeg is at 89, albeit with three games in hand on Dallas and two in hand on Colorado.
The only lineup change from Friday is Connor Hellebuyck in goal. That means defencemen Dylan Samberg and Colin Miller, and forwards Cole Perfetti and Rasmus Kupari will all be healthy scratches for a second straight outing.
“That wasn’t the original plan, but we were pleased with everyone in a 6-0 win,” said Bowness. “The shutout was important to us, the defensive play was important to us, the structure was much better all over the ice. So we’re going to give it another go with the same lineup.”
Bowness said with so many games this week, everyone on the roster will get a taste of action. The only exception is forward Gabe Vilardi, who remains back in Winnipeg being treated for an enlarged spleen.
The Jets took the only meeting with Columbus this season by a 5-0 score back on Jan. 9 in Winnipeg.
Here’s some other information to get you set:
FROM THE PRESS BOX
MIKE SAYS: One thing I’ve learned about Bowness: He’s a straight shooter who knows the importance of communication.
I saw it first-hand this morning during the skate, when he came over to Cole Perfetti, crouched down beside him and had a lengthy chat that looked entirely motivational in nature, complete with several pats on the back for the struggling young forward who will be a healthy scratch again tonight. That’s important.
So, what kind of conversations did Bowness have with Samberg, a healthy scratch for the first time all year on Friday against Anaheim, and Miller, who was just acquired in a trade and found himself parked in the press box as well for that game?
“Listen, everyone wants to play. There’s no question about it. But they do understand,” Bowness told me. “For Dylan Samberg, he hasn’t sat out a game, but sometimes it’s good to give him a little breather. Colin, he kind of knew coming in he was coming to a good team and so chances are he would be put in that position. His attitude has been outstanding. All the guys that have sat out, give them credit, because they all want to play and they’re all competitive guys. They’ve taken it and said, ‘OK, just let me know and I’ll be ready to go.’”
Jets defenceman Neal Pionk said nobody is pouting about the situation, as everyone has their eye on the big picture.
“It shows our depth in the organization,” he said. “All eight guys (defencemen) are capable of playing in a lot of different situations and that’s a good thing. We’re going to need that come playoffs.”
It’s too bad we won’t be able to see Patrik Laine tonight — I’ve got a story coming on his situation later today, including a very candid chat I had with good buddy Nikolaj Ehlers — but another player I’m eager to watch is Alex Nylander.
The 26-year-old is now with his fourth organization and finally appears to be figuring things out. He’s got 11 points (eight goals, three assists) in 11 games with the Blue Jackets since being acquired in a trade with the Pittsburgh Penguins (Emil Bemstrom went the other way).
To put that in perspective, the younger brother of Toronto Maple Leafs star Willian Nylander had just 34 points (14 goals, 20 assists) in 98 previous NHL games.
FRED GREENSLADE / THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES Jets defenceman Dylan Samberg will be a healthy scratch again in Columbus tonight.
KEN SAYS: The game was already out of reach at the time, but the roar from the crowd when Tyler Toffoli scored his first goal as a member of the Jets was a moment that stands out from the 6-0 win.
Toffoli’s second goal — on a power play that finished the contest three-for-three — was an example of Toffoli getting to the right and making himself big, opening up the space for Mark Scheifele to bank a pass in off his right skate. With Vilradi out indefinitely, Toffoli could prove to be a weapon on the top unit, given his willingness to get to the net and his wicked shot.
Toffoli, who clearly appreciated the ovation, is looking more and more comfortable, and that process should continue during this road trip. The chemistry with Sean Monahan and Ehlers (who had two helpers on Friday) is growing and that’s an important development as the Jets search for the optimal deployment of the top-six during the final 16 games of the campaign.
The Jets’ defence corps was heavily involved in the offensive outburst on Friday, with two goals and eight points produced — led by three assists from Josh Morrissey, who continued an outstanding stretch of hockey.
Dylan DeMelo scored on a slapper from the point, and Nate Schmidt was looking for the blade of Nino Niederreiter but his pass caromed off a pair of Ducks’ skates before sneaking in. It was the second goal of the season for both DeMelo and Schmidt, while Morrissey is up to 56 points in 65 games this season. That leaves him second on the team in points behind Scheifele’s 58.
For those who are wondering, Jets top forward prospect Rutger McGroarty had an assist on the game-winning goal as the University of Michigan Wolverines earned a 2-1 victory over the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers to advance to the final of the Big10 tournament.
The Wolverines face the Michigan State Spartans next weekend and will advance to the NCAA tournament the following weekend, regardless of the result with the Spartans.
The Blue Jackets are having a tough season under first-year head coach Pascal Vincent. Johnny Gaudreau leads the team in scoring with 11 goals and 50 points in 67 games this season, and he’s racked up 11 goals and 31 points in 30 games against the Jets during his career. Gaudreau figures to be feeling good after producing a goal and three points in Saturday’s win over the Sharks.
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