FROM THE PRESS BOX
MIKE SAYS: Don’t look now, but the first-place Jets (56 points through 41 games) are only seven points away from falling into a Western Conference wildcard spot. That’s a result of the Minnesota Wild (54 points with a game in hand), Colorado Avalanche (51 points, no games in hand) and Dallas Stars (49 points, with three games in hand) all continuing to play well.
In other words, they may want to start taking advantage of this eight-game homestand which is off to a 0-1-1 start.
It’s safe to say the penalty kill has become a problem for the Jets. After giving up two more goals on Saturday against Detroit (in three opportunities), Winnipeg has fallen all the way to 22nd in the league with just a 77.6 per cent efficiency rate after a promising start to the season when it was in the Top 10. To put that in perspective, the Dallas Stars and Carolina Hurricanes lead the NHL at 85.4 per cent.
Captain Adam Lowry, asked this morning what he’d like to see improve for his first-place club in the second half, immediately singled out the PK.
“There’s been stretches where it’s been really good, and there’s been stretches where we’ve given up goals at key times,” he said. “You look at the Detroit game last game, that’s the difference. We give up two. I think that’s an area we’re going to want to continue improving. There’s been signs where it looks like it’s on the right track, and then we regress.”
No doubt the loss of shutdown defenceman Dylan Samberg to a broken foot on Nov. 23 has played a big factor, but the good news is he was in a regular jersey during Tuesday’s morning skate and there’s a strong chance he could return to the lineup as early as Winnipeg’s next game on Friday against Los Angeles.
“That’s his first day with the white jersey. He had a conditioning skate (Tuesday), he got another one today, so he’s getting close,” said Arniel.
With left-shot defenceman Haydn Fleury also sidelined, the door has been opened for Logan Stanley and Ville Heinola to show what they can do. Both players have underwhelmed. Once everybody is healthy, I don’t see either being in the top six, and I suspect there could be some added urgency for general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff to beef up the back end by the March 7 trade deadline.
KEN SAYS: The pairing of Coghlan and Heinola should be interesting to watch since both players have the ability to move the puck and jump up in the rush if an opportunity presents itself. Coghlan has shown well in his four NHL games this season and with another strong showing, there might be a temptation for the coaching staff to give him a longer runway on the right side, since Miller is going to be out for at least two weeks. Heinola mentioned to me in a conversation last week he needs to do more to stay in the lineup. The urgency to make that happen is only going to rise with Samberg getting closer to making his return.
Winnipeg Jets’ Morgan Barron (36) and Anaheim Ducks’ Radko Gudas (7) jostle for a loose puck during the Jan. 2 game. The Barron brothers will face off tonight. (John Woods/The Canadian Press files)
This is the most recent battle of the Barrons, as Morgan and Justin face off for the first time as Central Division rivals. Justin was a healthy scratch for the game last Monday but has recently found himself skating on the top pairing with captain Roman Josi. The trade with the Montreal Canadiens should provide Justin with an opportunity to showcase the skills that made him a first-round pick of the Colorado Avalanche in 2020. Morgan had Justin over for dinner on Monday night and the brothers had a great opportunity to catch up.
Speaking of the Predators, veteran center Ryan O’Reilly had a hat trick against the Flames on Saturday and he’s someone who has all of the tools and intangibles that the Jets could be looking for if they’re going to seek an upgrade for the second-line prior to the NHL trade deadline. Not only is he a Stanley Cup champion, O’Reilly won the Conn Smythe Trophy in 2019 as a member of the St. Louis Blues and is a dependable two-way pivot with excellent offensive instincts. He’s also fantastic in the faceoff circle and a very good penalty killer. O’Reilly, 33, has 12 goals and 25 points in 37 games this season. He’s got two more seasons with an AAV of $4.5 million on his current deal and doesn’t have any trade protection.
PROJECTED LINES
WINNIPEG JETS
FORWARDS:
- Connor-Scheifele-Vilardi
- Ehlers-Namestnikov-Perfetti
- Niederreiter-Lowry-Iafallo
- Barron-Gustafsson-Kupari
DEFENCE:
- Morrissey-DeMelo
- Stanley-Pionk
- Heinola-Coghlan
GOAL:
HEALTHY SCRATCHES: F Toninato
INJURED: D Miller (fractured larynx), D Samberg (broken foot), D Fleury (lower body), F Appleton (lower body)
NASHVILLE PREDATORS
FORWARDS:
- Forsberg-Stamkos-Marchessault
- Nyquist-O’Reilly-Hinostroza
- Novak-Svechkov-Evangelista
- Jankowski -McCarron-Sissons
DEFENCE:
- Josi-Barron
- Skjei-Blankenberg
- Stastney-Schenn
GOAL
HEALTHY SCRATCHES: F L’Heureux (suspension)
INJURED: D Lauzon (lower body), LW Smith (lower body), D Wilsby (upper body)
NOTABLE QUOTABLE
Jets coach Scott Arniel on whether there’s been a common thread in Winnipeg’s three straight losses:
“You look at the analytics of the Anaheim (and) Detroit game, we blew them out of the water. We hit posts. We didn’t score at the times that we needed to. There was a lot of good things that happened. The Colorado game was its own little entity in the sense of all the travel and three-in-four. At the end of the day, if I’m nitpicking, probably off the rush we’ve got to make sure against these teams that transition well, that we do a good job that way. That’s one thing Nashville will do. They’ll try to get off and run. They’ll blow zones with their forwards so we’ve got to be good in that area. The last couple of games, like I mentioned, I thought what we did five-on-five, I know we gave up the power play goals in that Detroit game, but what we did five-on-five was a lot of good things and we have to continue that.”
WHAT WE’RE WORKING ON
Mike has an early story coming on the scary injury to Colin Miller and how this is sure to reignite the debate about whether NHL players should be mandated to wear neckguards, with the overwhelming majority exercising their option right now not to do so. Ken will have the game analysis of the Predators versus the Jets. You can find both pieces online at winnipegfreepress.com and in Wednesday’s print edition.
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