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Greetings from the finish line of the NHL regular season. We made it, folks!
The teams set to meet tonight at Canada Life Centre are certainly in great shape as they gear up for the start of the Stanley Cup playoffs this weekend.
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The Winnipeg Jets have won seven consecutive games to lock up second place in the Central Division and home-ice advantage against the Colorado Avalanche in a series we expect to begin Sunday evening. And the Vancouver Canucks are the Pacific Division champs and will open their first-round series in their own backyard against the Nashville Predators.
As a result, Game 82 has a bit of an exhibition-type feel to it, with both clubs sitting out several regulars.
Winnipeg’s lineup will include eight new faces from the squad we saw in Tuesday’s 4-3 win over the Seattle Kraken. The five healthy scratches that night — forwards David Gustafsson, Cole Perfetti and Rasmus Kupari, and defencemen Nate Schmidt and Colin Miller — will all suit up.
And a trio of players recalled this morning from the Manitoba Moose — rookie forwards Brad Lambert and Nikita Chibrikov, along with goaltender Collin Delia will as well. It will be the NHL debuts for Lambert and Chibrikov, while Delia will serve as the backup to Laurent Brossoit, who makes his 22nd (and, perhaps, final) start with Winnipeg, as he’s a pending unrestricted free agent this summer.
Rookie forward Parker Ford was also summoned from the AHL this morning, but he’s only here as insurance and isn’t expected to play.
Winnipeg Jets goaltender Laurent Brossoit is a pending unrestricted free agent this summer. (Tony Gutierrez / The Associated Press files)
Connor Hellebuyck, Josh Morrissey, Brenden Dillon, Mark Scheifele, Kyle Connor, Adam Lowry and Vlad Namestnikov will all be healthy scratches, while Morgan Barron sits out with a lower-body injury he suffered last game.
“Some of those guys, we asked them, ‘Do you want to play?’ And they said, ‘Definitely.’ Then, some of the other guys didn’t want to play. So, if they don’t want to play, there’s no sense putting them in because it’s not going to work, they’re not going to be engaged in the game,” said coach Rick Bowness of figuring out his lineup.
“But the guys that want to play, you know they’re going to be engaged in the game. So, they want to play 82 games, we’re fine with that. We’re trying to keep the big picture in mind, making sure that we’re ready to go when the playoffs start. And I know we’re walking a fine line because we want the two points, we want to take a run at the Jennings. But the bigger picture is what do we have to do to get ready for the playoffs? So, we made some tough decisions.”
Vancouver will sit a few top players, too, including J.T. Miller, Brock Boeser, Filip Hronek and Ian Cole. Thatcher Demko, who just returned from injury in Tuesday’s 4-1 win over the Calgary Flames, will get the start in goal.
There are still a few things at stake tonight. The winner can lay claim to being the best 2023-24 regular-season Canadian team. A Jets victory would also push them into second place in the Western Conference, just ahead of the Canucks, ensuring they’d have home-ice advantage through the first three rounds of the playoffs (should they advance that far) against any opponent other than the Dallas Stars. A win would also tie a franchise mark for a season (52, set in 2017-18) and for consecutive triumphs (eight, set earlier this year).
Winnipeg can also win its first-ever William M. Jennings Trophy if they can hold Vancouver to three goals or less tonight. Anything more and the Florida Panthers take the prize for stingiest squad in the league.
“It’s more just staying intact and staying sharp for the playoffs,” said Jets defenceman Neal Pionk. “That’s the bottom line.”
Here’s some other information to get you set:
FROM THE PRESS BOX
MIKE SAYS: Don’t try telling Kupari this is a meaningless game. Or Perfetti. I spoke with both this morning, and they realize this is a final chance to make the kind of impression they hope will put them at the front of the line should the need arise during the playoffs.
“There’s definitely been a bit of bad luck this year. I got hurt, missed a couple months. Then we got a couple new guys at the trade deadline,” Kupari said of only playing 27 games, and none since March 13, with just one assist to show for his Winnipeg tenure so far. “I’ll just try to enjoy tonight and be here for the team and do whatever I can to help them tonight and for the playoffs. And just be a good teammate around here.”
It was a similar tune sung by Perfetti, who has 17 goals and 19 assists in 70 games but has been healthy-scratched 10 times over the last couple of months, including the past three games.
“I was happy with my game. I thought it was really good,” Perfetti said of playing well but then getting squeezed out. “Taking a week off or whatever it was, now just trying get that back, bring that same confidence, that same intensity and same attitude I had.”
Fact is, things can change in a hurry and all hands will need to be on deck should the Jets go on the sort of lengthy playoff run they envision this spring.
“You never know what happens. Just try to work on my game every single game, and stay ready for when the time is right,” said Kupari.
With the lineup a bit of an egg scramble tonight, the Jets will try to prevent any bad habits from creeping into their collective game. If nothing else, the energy levels should be off the charts with the infusion of so many hungry, eager players.
Another notable storyline is that Winnipeg will play in front of another sellout crowd, their ninth of the season. All of those have come in the past 23 games, which is a positive sign for an organization that put out an emergency SOS midway through the year when it comes to attendance.
KEN SAYS: This game might not count for much in the standings, other than the potential of which team has home ice in case they meet in the Western Conference final, but there’s an element of excitement attached for Lambert and Chibrikov. This isn’t an audition, but it’s a reward for solid seasons produced by the two forward prospects.
Having covered the American Hockey League for a decade, when debuts like this happen it’s a big deal — especially when players such as Lambert and Chibrikov are early in their pro journeys. Lambert was named to the AHL All-rookie team on Wednesday and has 20 goals and 54 points in 63 games this season, while Chibrikov is fourth in team scoring with 17 goals and 46 points.
Lambert is known for having blazing speed, while Chibrikov has a nose for the net and isn’t afraid to go to the dirty areas. Both are being put in a situation to succeed, surrounded by experienced linemates. There will certainly be nerves, but this is the opportunity all players dream of, so expect them to soak it all in before returning for a Calder Cup playoff series against the Texas Stars.
“Go out and enjoy it. You’ve worked your whole life to get here. Just enjoy the game,” Bowness said of his message to Lambert and Chibrikov. “And we know they’ll be excited. We know they’ll be nervous. And again, when they’re playing that well down there, they deserve a shot. But the most important thing is it’s a game they’re going to remember for the rest of their lives, and we want them to enjoy it.”
Jets winger Nino Niederreiter shook some of the rust off after returning to the lineup on Tuesday and he needs to score twice to secure his eighth 20-goal campaign.
Canucks captain Quinn Hughes is having an exceptional season and is the front-runner to win the Norris Trophy this season, as he’s up to 91 points and is also delivering strong defensive performances.
“You can tell that he’s got a gear that not many others have,” said Canucks forward Dakota Joshua. “This year, I feel like every day he’s made it a point of showing off the gap between him and everybody else. To follow that up, his stats are there to back it up. You know what you’re getting from him — and that’s greatness every day.
“Maybe he’s heard that noise in previous years of the defensive side not being as tight as an overall great defenceman would be, but once again he’s taken it upon himself to work on that side of his game.”
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