FROM THE PRESS BOX
MIKE SAYS: I wrote about it in today’s newspaper, but I can’t help but repeat in this space just how much of a heist Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff pulled on the Los Angeles Kings in the Pierre-Luc Dubois trade 17 months ago.
All three of Gabe Vilardi, Alex Iafallo and Rasmus Kupari are making valuable contributions to what is arguably the deepest roster in the NHL right now, one that sits on top of the league standings.
That trio, which represents 25 per cent of the 12 regular forwards, is a big reason the Jets can come at you with four balanced, attacking lines.
No doubt All The Kings’ Men — who were terrific in the win over Minnesota — will look to continue that by having big nights in their former hockey home.
The Jets were originally set to practise in Los Angeles on Tuesday, but Arniel opted to cancel the skate in exchange for some bonus rest and recovery.
That’s a smart move in my eyes, especially after playing three games in four nights (in two different time zones) to start this six-game road trip, then taking a four-hour flight in the middle of the night following Monday’s victory in Minnesota.
Being around the room this morning, you get the sense the players appreciated the unexpected day away from the rink, especially as they dealt with another time change.
I’m personally exhausted — and I haven’t skated a single second!
“We knew we were kind of covering the country on this road trip,” Arniel said. “I think the biggest thing is everybody got a day off and maybe got a bit of the clock in their heads set towards being in the west.
“They got to relax, some off-ice stuff to look after themselves. But sometimes you have to have those resets.”
I’m curious to see how the Kings come out after imploding the other night against the sad-sad Sharks. You’d think they’d be an ornery bunch, especially since giving up a converted touchdown was a real affront to their identity as a stingy, defensively-stalwart team that has allowed the fewest shots against so far this season.
Goaltender David Rittich and the Los Angeles Kings are coming off an ugly 7-2 loss on Monday against the San Jose Sharks. (Godofredo A. Vásquez / The Associated Press)
KEN SAYS: Monday was an important building block for Jets defenceman Ville Heinola, as he played his first NHL game in nearly 23 months.
Heinola moved the puck efficiently, drew an offensive-zone minor on Marcus Foligno and finished with two shots on goal and four shot attempts in just over 12 minutes of work.
A subtle box out on Marcus Johansson was an early sign that he’s been working hard on the defensive side of the game. His ice time and impact should increase as he works his way back up to game speed here, but there was plenty to like about his season debut with Colin Miller.
Fleury had a strong showing in an enhanced role and he must continue to use his mobility as he settles in on a pairing with Neal Pionk. Fleury had five blocked shots as he played north of 18 minutes (his season-high).
The Jets enter the contest second in goals per game (4.05) and first in the NHL in goals against per game (2.46). That’s a big part of why the team is off to the best start in franchise history and remains at the top of the NHL standings as they head into the second half of this road trip.
For the Kings, Kopitar continues to lead the way and he’s been a menace for the Jets to deal with over the course of his career.
Kopitar, who starred for Slovenia as a teenager at the 1999 World Junior Hockey Championship in Winnipeg, has racked up 16 goals and 36 points in 34 career games.
Kings left-winger Kevin Fiala is riding a five-game point streak going into this contest and one of the most memorable goals of his career was the overtime winner from Game 2 of the epic battle with the Nashville Predators back in 2018.
Rittich deserves credit for his ability to work his way back to the NHL after his time with the Jets fizzled out back in 2023. Rittich battled with the Ontario Reign of the American Hockey League and put up great numbers last season when the chance came with the Kings.
This season, his save percentage is down to .883 but his goals-against average of 2.67 shows that he’s giving his team a chance to win on most nights he gets the tap on the shoulder.
Rittich is sitting on 99 career NHL wins and you know he’d love to hit the century mark against his former team.
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)
LOS ANGELES KINGS
FORWARDS
- Foegle-Kopitar-Kempe
- Moore-Byfield-Jeannot
- Fiala-Helenius-Laferriere
- Turcotte-Danault-Lewis
DEFENCE
- Anderson — Gavrikov
- Edmundson — Clarke
- Moverare — Spence
GOAL
Healthy scratches: F Thomas, D Burroughs, D Englund
Injured: G Kuemper (undisclosed), D Doughty (ankle), D Jones (upper body), F Kaliyev (fractured clavicle)
NOTABLE QUOTABLE
Jets forward Vladislav Namestnikov on what he’s expecting from Los Angeles:
“They’re always well-structured and they’re tough to play in this building. Very defensive, I’d say, based on past years.
“Nothing changes in our game. (With) our mentality, we’re confident in what we can do and we’ve just got to go out there and execute with the way we play.”
WHAT WE’RE WORKING ON
Mike had a revealing one-on-one chat this morning with slumping forward Cole Perfetti, who talked about valuable lessons he’s learned from a lengthy offensive outage last year. Look for that piece on our website tonight and in Thursday’s print edition.
With the late puck drop tonight, Mike’s game analysis of Jets vs. Kings will appear exclusively on our website.
|
