FROM THE PRESS BOX
MIKE SAYS: I’m looking for Mark Scheifele to have a big night. The Jets No. 1 centre was clearly not himself in Nashville, and his frustration boiled over with three minor penalties against the Predators. It could have been more, too, as his repeated slashing of Gustav Nyquist late in the third period was given a free pass by the men in stripes.
To be fair, Scheifele was just coming to the defence of teammate Josh Morrissey in that situation, as Nyquist had levelled him with a questionable hit seconds earlier.
As I’ve speculated in this space recently, I think Scheifele is battling some kind of ailment that is preventing him from taking the majority of faceoffs lately. He’s otherwise continued to be effective on the ice — his hat trick last Tuesday against Florida was followed up by a strong game in Pittsburgh on Friday — but was clearly out of tune in Music City.
Now, with a day of rest behind him and a big game on tap, I’d expect Scheifele to step up and lead the way.
To be fair, Scheifele had plenty of company on Saturday night when it comes to sub-standard play. And if there’s one thing we’ve learned about these Jets so far this year, they are a motivated bunch who don’t seem willing to lower the high bar they’ve set for themselves.
Fatigue was clearly an issue against the rested Predators, who pulled away in the third period, but I’d expect the Jets to come out with lots of jump in this one.
Speaking with Heinola this morning, the emotion and excitement was evident. And, perhaps, infectious.
“Yeah, it is. The guys love to see Ville around. He’s got a great personality and he’s got a skillset, too, that can really help us,” said Arniel.
“He’s a really good puck mover, he’s got good vision. Offensively, he’s got a lot of instincts that way. He recognizes that he’s got to put his assets out there each and every shift and everything else will come along as he moves from each shift into the game.”
KEN SAYS: The Jets collectively stubbed their toe in their first of eight back-to-backs on the schedule, so they won’t be lacking motivation as they face the Wild for the second time this season.
Goalie Eric Comrie was clearly the best Jets player on Saturday night, so there will be plenty of hungry folks looking to regroup.
There’s still plenty to like about a Jets team that remains at the top of the NHL standings, but the loss of Samberg provides a unique challenge given his style of play and effectiveness on the penalty kill.
Opportunity is definitely knocking for Heinola, and you can be sure he’s eager to show that he’s ready to become an NHL regular.
Personally, bumping Fleury to the second pairing while easing in Heinola with Miller makes the most sense. Heinola’s puck-moving ability should help the Jets on zone exits and his offensive game has never been in question. As long as he can show his ability to defend consistently, Heinola should be given a fairly lengthy runway here.
Cole Perfetti deserves credit for putting up 14 points in 21 games to date (which leaves him seventh in team scoring), but he’s gone a bit quiet on the offensive side of late, with no goals during the past nine games (and three assists in that stretch).
Perfetti showed his unselfish side by dishing to Kyle Connor for the empty-net goal on Friday against the Pittsburgh Penguins and he hasn’t been on the ice for a lot of goals against, which is a testament to his smarts and commitment. However, with Perfetti in the midst of moving from a complementary piece to a primary scorer, he needs to generate a bit more offence after recording 14 shots on goal during the nine-game drought.
As for the Wild, they’re one of the biggest surprises — and best stories — in the NHL this season. Kaprizov has 13 goals and 34 points in 19 games while averaging more than 22 minutes per game and is garnering plenty of discussion for Hart Trophy consideration through the opening quarter of the campaign.
One of the keys to the turnaround for the Wild is the play of Gustavsson, who is rocking a 2.13 goals-against average and .924 save percentage in 15 starts. That’s a stark contrast from the 3.06 GAA and .899 save percentage he posted in 45 games last season.
PROJECTED LINES
WINNIPEG JETS
FORWARDS:
- Connor-Scheifele-Vilardi
- Perfetti-Namestnikov-Ehlers
- Niederreiter-Lowry-Appleton
- Barron-Kupari-Iafallo
DEFENCE:
- Morrissey-DeMelo
- Fleury-Pionk
- Heinola-Miller
GOAL:
HEALTHY SCRATCHES: D Coghlan, F Gustafsson
INJURED: D Samberg (broken foot), D Stanley (mid-body)
MINNESOTA WILD
FORWARDS:
- Kaprizov-Eriksson Ek-Boldy
- Johansson-Rossi-Hartman
- Foligno-Gaudreau-Trenin
- Lauko-Jones-Shore
DEFENCE:
- Middleton-Faber
- Brodin-Spurgeon
- Chisholm-Bogosian
GOAL:
HEALTHY SCRATCHES: D Merril, F Boyd
INJURED: F Zuccarello (lower body), F Khusnutdinov (lower body)
NOTABLE QUOTABLE
Jets defenceman Neal Pionk on seeing blue-line partner Dylan Samberg suffer a broken foot while blocking a Steven Stamkos shot, yet still remain in the play and even attempt another block seconds later.
“That’s how tough he is. Not only that, but he skated off the ice on his own power. With a broken bone in his foot. That’s no joke. It says a lot about him. He’s willing to do the little things for the team. He always has. That’s one of his specialties, shot blocking, he’s a warrior.”
WHAT WE’RE WORKING ON
Mike has an early story coming today on the return of Ville Heinola, who was quite emotional in speaking this morning about not playing an NHL game for the past 23 months. “It kills you inside,” he said.
Mike will also have analysis of Jets vs Wild, including post-game reaction from the locker room. You can find both pieces on our website today and in tomorrow’s print edition.
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