FROM THE PRESS BOX
MIKE SAYS: If I was making a list of pleasant surprises for the Jets so far this season, there’s no question who the top two names would be. I’m just not sure the exact order I’d have forward Rasmus Kupari and defenceman Haydn Fleury.
To be honest, I wasn’t expecting much from either player. In fact, I figured Fleury was destined for the waiver wire and the Manitoba Moose, assuming everyone came out of training camp healthy, and Kupari was likely going to be in a battle just to hold on to the 12th or 13th forward spot, competing with the likes of Gustafsson, Jaret Anderson-Dolan, Axel Jonsson-Fjallby, Dominic Toninato, Mason Shaw and others.
Kupari has been a breath of fresh air, showing off the type of skill that made him a first-round draft pick and making it impossible for Arniel to take him out of the lineup. He’s a key part of one of the best fourth lines in the NHL, and if he only had a bit more offensive finish, he could easily be playing in the top six.
As for Fleury, he’s stepped into the hole created by Dylan Samberg’s broken foot and hasn’t missed a beat. The 28-year-old, who was selected seventh-overall in the 2014 draft and has never realized his full potential, has done everything the Jets could have asked for, and then some.
The Jets laid a bit of an egg in their last home game on Tuesday against St. Louis, the result of coming off that gruelling six-game road trip. And while the energy levels are likely still running low as they play for the third time in four days with plenty more travel mixed in, no doubt the group wants to come out with a better performance in front of their fans.
I suspect they’d also like to give Comrie a bit of help. After winning his first three stars, he’s now dropped the last three with the Jets not playing particularly well in front of him.
KEN SAYS: One would suspect Saturday’s empty-netter for Mason Appleton provided a bit more satisfaction and probably relief than usual. After going 16 games without finding the back of the net and rattling a shot off the iron when the game was still tied 2-2 in the third period, providing the insurance marker, was a reward for a job well done by the Jets’ right-winger. Appleton also set up the tying goal by Niederreiter in the second period with a nice pass.
With Niederreiter becoming the fourth Jets’ forward to hit double digits in goals with his 10th, Appleton reaching five and captain Adam Lowry supplying his seventh of the season with his OT winner on Thursday, the best third line in the NHL is up to 22 goals. What’s even more impressive is that all but one of those has come at even strength (Niederreiter has one power-play marker).The trio was dominant in Saturday’s game, with Arniel telling me in the post-game interview he thought the line created enough in the contest to score five goals.
It was also a step forward for Brad Lambert, who missed an open net but used his speed effectively and seems to be gaining confidence with each game he plays.
“It’s a hard game out there,” said Niederreiter. “It’s fast, obviously, which helps him a lot, because he’s a fast player. He’s highly skilled, and obviously still very young, and I think it takes some time, but you can see that he has some great high-end talent.”
The Jets’ top line was on the ice for the goal against with 13 seconds to go in the first period when nobody picked up Alec Martinez as the trailer, but they came out ahead by getting goals by Gabe Vilardi on another nifty deflection and the game-winner from Mark Scheifele.
That goal was a prime example of what Arniel had been asking his team to do, get back to the attack mentality that made them successful and spend some time around the blue paint.
With Kyle Connor taking a hard, low shot from a sharp angle, Vilardi drove the net and created some chaos and Scheifele was first to the rebound and was quick to deposit it. Connor and Scheifele are tied for the team lead in goals with 14, while Vilardi is up to 11 for the season. My prediction of Vilardi reaching 35 goals is still very much alive.
As for the Blue Jackets, defenceman Zach Werenski is having a sensational season and he’s leading his team in scoring with 27 points in 26 games: impressive totals that helped him get named to the United States roster for the 4 Nations Face-Off.
Former Jets centre Sean Monahan is doing an outstanding job after signing a five-year deal with the Blue Jackets as an unrestricted free agent. Despite the emotional toll of losing his best friend Johnny Gaudreau in a tragic accident during the off-season, Monahan has brought incredible leadership to go along with his strong play (eight goals, 22 points in 26 games).
PROJECTED LINES
WINNIPEG JETS
FORWARDS:
- Connor-Scheifele-Vilardi
- Perfetti-Lambert-Namestnikov
- Niederreiter-Lowry-Appleton
- Barron-Kupari-Iafallo
DEFENCE:
- Morrissey-DeMelo
- Fleury-Pionk
- Stanley-Heinola
GOAL:
HEALTHY SCRATCHES: D Miller, D Coghlan, F Gustafsson
INJURED: D Samberg (broken foot), F Ehlers (lower-body)
COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS
FORWARDS:
- Van Riemsdyk-Monahan-K Johnson
- Voronkov-Fantilli-Marchenko
- Aston Reese-Sillinger-Olivier
- Kuraly-Danforth-Labanc
DEFENCE:
- Werenski-Fabbro
- Provorov-Severson
- Christiansen-Harris
GOAL:
HEALTHY SCRATCHES: F Pyyhtia, D J Johnson
INJURED: F Jenner (upper-body), F Chinakhov (upper-body), F Brindley (broken finger), D Gudbranson (shoulder), D Provorov (upper-body)
NOTABLE QUOTABLE
Jets forward Nino Niederreiter on one notable difference for his group in Saturday’s win in Chicago compared to other recent games:
“I think we just stuck with it and stuck with our game plan. I feel like there were times where we weren’t at our best, but we knew we just got to make sure we outwork them. And I think that’s the first time in a while where I feel like we outworked the other team.”
WHAT WE’RE WORKING ON
Mike has a pair of stories coming today from Canada Life Centre while Ken makes his way back to town from the road trip. He’ll have his monthly Jets prospect report, which checks in on two dozen drafted and developing players currently in the system. And he’ll have game analysis of Jets versus Blue Jackets. You can find both pieces online at winnipegfreepress.com and in Monday’s print edition.
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