FROM THE PRESS BOX
MIKE SAYS: Cole Perfetti continues to grow before our very eyes. Two more assists in Saturday’s game gives him a career-best six-game point streak (1G, 7A in that span). Going back slightly further, he has 11 points in his last eight outings, with his first-ever NHL hat trick coming against Utah. All of which is a great sign for the 23-year-old, who is quickly closing in on a career high in points (he has 36 in 57 games this year after posting 38 in 71 games last year).
It’s not just the production, but the obvious poise and confidence you can see in his play. He actually looks quicker than ever and, combined with his high hockey IQ, that’s leading to very good things.
It was just a month ago that Perfetti had been bumped down to the third line, with captain Adam Lowry moving up to play on the second line with Nikolaj Ehlers. But then Lowry got hurt on Jan. 20 in Utah and Perfetti reunited with Ehlers and Namestnikov. That trio has been terrific — so much so that when Lowry returned from injury last Saturday in St. Louis, Arniel wisely kept them together while using Lowry in his more traditional shutdown role with Nino Niederreiter and Mason Appleton.
Turning to the Sharks, it’s safe to say Tyler Toffoli was never much of a fit here in Winnipeg after being acquired at the trade deadline last March. He put up 13 points (9G, 4A) in 27 combined regular season and playoff games and then quickly moved on in free agency.
The 32-year-old seems to have adjusted well to his role on a much different Sharks team that has no illusions of a Stanley Cup any time soon. Toffoli — signed to a four-year, US $24 million contract on July 1 — leads the last-place club with 21 goals. His 38 points trail only current linemates Macklin Celebrini and William Eklund, who each have 41, and he’s clearly become a valuable mentor to those two young skaters.
San Jose Sharks’ Macklin Celebrini (Karl B DeBlaker / The Associated Press files)
KEN SAYS: Jets forward Gabe Vilardi continues to show off his amazing hand-eye co-ordination and it resulted in another two goals on Saturday. First, he went skate to stick to pick up a pass in front after Mark Scheifele created some space along the left-wing boards to put his team up 2-1. Then, Vilardi got to the front of the net and produced another deflection goal that sent the game to overtime. By potting a pair, Vilardi is up to 26 goals this season — well on his way to eclipsing 30 for the first time in his NHL career. He’s also up to 53 points in 57 games.
Connor had an excellent return from the 4 Nations Face-Off, recording the assist on Vilardi’s game-tying goal with the goalie out in favour of an extra attacker, while generating 10 shots on goal before delivering the shootout winner. Connor discussed the disappointment of being scratched for the championship game this morning, while also relishing the experience he enjoyed as a member of Team USA.
On the defensive side for the Jets, Dylan Samberg had an outstanding showing, logging a career-high 26:40. Samberg has consistently shown tremendous growth this season while taking on an enhanced role on the blue line.
“He’s taken advantage of every situation that we’ve thrown at him, starting from the beginning of the year and moving up into a top-4 role,” said Arniel. “You knew the other night there, especially when it was tight, that he was going to be out there a lot. He’s been pretty consistent all year long and that’s the biggest thing for a coach and for his teammates, when he brings consistency in that top-4 spot, that’s huge.”
For the Sharks, 2025 first overall pick Celebrini is having a fantastic rookie campaign — and he’s battling with Lane Hutson of the Montreal Canadiens and Matvei Michkov of the Philadelphia Flyers for the freshman scoring lead. It’s my first opportunity to watch him play live and he’s someone that could already be on the radar as a candidate for Team Canada at the Olympics. He’s got great vision, is a deft passer and has excellent finishing ability, with 18 goals and 41 points in 46 games.
PROJECTED LINES
WINNIPEG JETS
- FORWARDS:Connor-Scheifele-Vilardi
- Ehlers-Namestnikov-Perfetti
- Niederreiter-Lowry-Appleton
- Iafallo-Gustafsson-Kupari
DEFENCE:
- Morrissey-DeMelo
- Samberg-Pionk
- Stanley-Miller
GOAL:
HEALTHY SCRATCHES: D Heinola, D Fleury
INJURED: LW Barron (upper-body)
SAN JOSE SHARKS
FORWARDS:
- Eklund-Celebrini-Toffoli
- Zetterlund-Wennberg-Smith
- Graf-Sturm-Kunin
- Grundstrom-Dellandrea-Goodrow
DEFENCE:
- Walman-Thrun
- Vlasic-Ferraro
- Mukhamadullin-Thompson
GOAL:
HEALTHY SCRATCHES: F Duehr, F Kostin
INJURED: C Couture (groin), D Rutta (lower body), D Liljegren (undisclosed), F Kovalenko (upper body)
NOTABLE QUOTABLE
Jets left-winger Kyle Connor on the mood surrounding the team coming out of the 15-day 4 Nations break:
“The guys are feeling great. We’re still obviously building the game up. When you have a long break like that, it doesn’t matter if you’re on a seven-game win streak or a seven-game losing streak, it’s kind of almost a reset. That’s how we looked at it. It’s nice to keep it going, but we’re looking to build this and get better every day.”
WHAT WE’RE WORKING ON
Mike had a one-on-one chat with Eldon “Pokey” Reddick, the former Jets 1.0 goaltender who is in town to take part in the Jets 2.0 Black History Night event. They took a trip down memory lane, which will be the focus of a notebook that also includes Kyle Connor speaking about his 4 Nations Final snub and Vlad Namestnikov discussing his two-year contract extension. Ken has game coverage of Jets versus Sharks from the downtown rink. You can read both pieces online at winnipegfreepress.com and in Tuesday’s paper.
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