FROM THE PRESS BOX
MIKE SAYS: There hasn’t been much adversity for head coach Scott Arniel to deal with so far this season, but I was fascinated by how he dealt with what was arguably the team’s worst performance of the year the other night in Los Angeles. Rather than stand in front of reporters — or, in the case of road games, reporter — and rip his troops, Arniel pointed the finger of blame at himself in his chat with me outside the locker room at Crypto.com Arena.
“You know what, we were slow to get out again, and I’ll put that on me,” he said. “I’ve got to make sure that we push harder here.”
I suspect the first-year Jets bench boss may have been a bit more forceful behind closed doors with his group, who likely don’t need a ton of reminding.
“It was pretty cut and dry the message from (Arniel) on what we need to improve upon,” said captain Adam Lowry. “I think everyone recognizes that’s not how we expect to play and not the standard we’ve set for ourselves this year.”
One of the reasons I think many fans take a “here we go again” approach whenever some adversity hits the Jets in the regular season will be staring them directly in the face on Friday night. The Golden Knights have dashed their playoff hopes not once, but twice, and represent a painful reminder — and a significant obstacle — in their ongoing pursuit of a Stanley Cup.
I certainly got that sense when I wandered over to Mark Scheifele’s stall on Thursday for a chat about the past and the present.
“Obviously we have a sour taste in our mouths from losing to them twice in the playoffs,” he said.
Scheifele, by the way, was playing coy as I inquired about whatever injury he’s currently playing through that has limited him to just four faceoffs on this road trip — and none in the last two games — while winger Gabe Vilardi has taken a whopping 62. Scheifele’s offence has also dried up, with just two assists in the past four games, and only five shots on goal. The fact he practiced on Thursday was a good sign, but a return to recent form would be a welcome development for the Jets.
KEN SAYS: It’s true that the Jets are 3-4 since starting the season 15-1, but it’s not a matter of them crashing down to Earth, at least not from where I sit. This was always going to be a challenging portion of the schedule to power through, with nine of 10 games played on the road.
The Jets are nearing the end of this season-long six-game road while the Golden Knights are playing their first game at home after a long roadie of their own. But that doesn’t mean these teams will be sleepwalking through this one.
The intensity level always seems to be high when these two teams get together, which should make for a fun measuring stick affair for both of these Western Conference powerhouses — and division leaders.
Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Adin Hill has given up two goals or fewer in five consecutive starts. (David Zalubowski / The Associated Press)
On Thursday against the Avalanche, Hill looked like someone who wants to be Canada’s starter at the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off. He’ll be going head-to-head with the Team USA starter in Hellebuyck. Hill’s save percentage is just .895, but that number is a bit deceiving, as he’s given up two goals or fewer in five consecutive starts after giving up eight in a two-game stretch (Nov. 8 vs. the Seattle Kraken and Nov. 10 vs. the Carolina Hurricanes).
There are plenty of players in this game who should have an opportunity to be involved in the best-of-best tournament, including Jack Eichel, who leads the Golden Knights with eight goals and 34 points in 23 games and would find himself in the discussion for Hart Trophy candidates through the first quarter of the campaign.
My feelings on the style of game that Ivan Barbashev plays are well-documented and he’s already recorded 10 goals and 25 points in 23 games this season. He’s proven to be an excellent running mate for Eichel on the top line and has two goals and eight points during his past four games.
Forward Pavel Dorofeyev leads the Golden Knights in goals with 12 and he’s taken the next step in his development, while doing a nice job of supplying some of the offence that was required after the departure of Jonathan Marchessault in free agency.
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)
VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS
FORWARDS:
- Barbashev-Eichel-Burke
- Hertl-Roy-Kolesar
- Howden-Karlsson-Dorofeyev
- Pearson-Schwindt-Holtz
DEFENCE:
- McNabb-Theodore
- Hanifin-Pietrangelo
- Hague-Korczak
GOAL:
HEALTHY SCRATCHES: None
INJURED: D Whitecloud (upper body), D Hutton (upper body), RW Stone (lower body). F Olofsson (lower body)
NOTABLE QUOTABLE
Jets captain Adam Lowry on what he’s expecting from the Golden Knights:
“When I look at their team, they’re built a lot like us. They have tremendous depth and they get contributions up and down their line-up, a lot of guys chipping in and off to great starts. They have a real deep back end, they make it tough to get to the front of the net, their D block a ton of shots. They have some great goalies back there. Like every game this road trip, it’s felt like, we’re playing a great team and we’re going to need to be at our best in order to find some success here.”
WHAT WE’RE WORKING ON
It’s Friday, which means another edition of Dump & Chase, our weekly hockey column from Mike and Ken. This one leads off with a look at Kyle Connor reflecting on being snubbed nearly a decade ago by Team USA officials (for the World Juniors in 2015) and how things have come full circle now, both personally and professionally, with his expected inclusion next week on the American 4 Nations Face-Off squad.
Mike will also have the game analysis of Jets vs. Golden Knights from his press box perch at T-Mobile Arena. You can find both pieces online at winnipegfreepress.com.
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