FROM THE PRESS BOX
MIKE SAYS: Have yourselves a season, gentlemen.
Hellebuyck has set new career highs in various categories (wins, shutouts, goals-against-average, save percentage). So have forwards Connor (assists, points), Mark Scheifele (points), Cole Perfetti (assists, points), Gabe Vilardi (goals, assists, points), Adam Lowry (goals) and defenceman Dylan Samberg (goals, points). Nikolaj Ehlers needs one more assist and two more points to set personal highs as well.
That’s a ton of key players having their best-ever individual seasons, which certainly speaks to why this team is where it is.
“We’ve had a few milestones that have happened this year. It’s great. Great accomplishment for those players, should be real proud of them,” Arniel told me the other night.
“But at the end of the day, I don’t even have to tell them. Those are the guys that are more concerned about where the team’s at and where we are when it comes to securing a playoff spot, where we are in the standings. Those guys know that they need to do those things offensively for us to have success but at the same time, they recognize that it’s a team game and there’s a lot more to it.”
All for one and one for all.
The big stars often get the most attention, but don’t overlook the work of Winnipeg’s depth as of late. Go up and down the lineup and it’s hard not to be impressed. Whether it’s trade deadline additions Luke Schenn and Brandon Tanev throwing their weight around and eating pucks at every chance or skaters like Morgan Barron and Jaret Anderson-Dolan making a big impact on the fourth line, there’s no weak links right now.
“It’s huge in a team for everybody to have an identity and have a role on this team,” Connor said Thursday night. “It’s everybody contributing. If you score the goal, get an assist or are blocking shots, preventing goals is just as big as scoring them at times. We need it. Every line has kind of a different element to cause a problem for the other team. That’s allowed us to be pretty dynamic.”
I think Schenn and Tanev have added significantly to what was already a terrific culture and made this Jets team even harder to play against. Barron is thriving in his role as a fourth-line centre, with beauty goals in two straight games. And Anderson-Dolan has been a revelation.
KEN SAYS: After battling through a dry spell that included one goal in the previous 23 games, there was Jets winger Nino Niederreiter going to the front of the net and tipping home a shot from Morrissey for what was his 16th goal of the season. The goal opened the scoring and proved to be the game-winner against the Stars.
Niederreiter is someone who works incredibly hard on the craft, specifically as it pertains to tipping pucks. At the end of each morning skate, Niederreiter heads to the front of the net as his teammates spread out across the blue line to fire pucks in his direction — with some of them going out of their way to try and put the shot somewhere the Swiss forward might struggle to get his stick on the puck.
Niederreiter rarely misses and while that’s no guarantee of bringing that skill into games, it’s rarely a fluke when scoring from his office around the crease.
Morrissey had another tremendous effort, setting up a pair of goals and was on the ice for three even-strength markers in just under 24 minutes of ice time. That number probably would have been higher if the score wasn’t as lopsided as it ended up being. Morrissey needs just one point to hit 60 for a third consecutive campaign.
As for the Blackhawks, they’re waiting patiently to see how the lottery goes once again, to see if they might have another first overall pick to go with Connor Bedard. Bedard, the reigning Calder Trophy winner, has endured a rough campaign, one that included a coaching change and lots of frustration given all of the losing. He’s leading the Hawks in scoring with 20 goals and 61 points in 79 games. Perhaps he can get some joy out of joining Canada for the upcoming IIHF Men’s World Hockey Championship in Denmark.
In the meantime, this game marks the end of Blackhawks forward Patrick Maroon’s NHL career. Maroon, who was chosen by the Philadelphia Flyers in the sixth round (161st overall) of the 2007 NHL Draft, is set to play his 848th regular season game today to go with the 163 Stanley Cup playoff tilts he suited up for, amassing 149 goals and 250 points.
Blackhawks forward Patrick Maroon is set to play his 848th regular season game today. (Frank Gunn / The Canadian Press files)
The rugged winger won three consecutive Stanley Cups from 2019 through 2021 (one with the St. Louis Blues and two with the Tampa Bay Lightning) and was known for his engaging personality and team-first attitude.
I was in the building in St. Louis when he scored the biggest goal of his NHL career, the double OT winner in Game 7 of the Western Conference final with the Dallas Stars. Once he had gone through multiple rounds of interviews describing the moment, the hometown hero took some additional time with me and the joy in his voice as he described the situation was something to behold. That’s something I appreciated greatly and it made for a great story to put a bow on what was a compelling series.
PROJECTED LINES
WINNIPEG JETS
FORWARDS:
- Connor-Scheifele-Iafallo
- Ehlers-Namestnikov-Perfetti
- Niederreiter-Lowry-Appleton
- Tanev-Barron-Anderson Dolan
DEFENCE:
- Morrissey-DeMelo
- Samberg-Pionk
- Stanley-Schenn
GOAL:
HEALTHY SCRATCHES: G Driedger, D Fleury, D Miller, D Heinola, F Gustafsson, F Kupari
INJURED: RW Vilardi (upper body)
CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS
FORWARDS:
- Moore-Bedard-Mikheyev
- Foligno-Donato-Kurashev
- Terarvainen-Nazar-Bertuzzi
- Slaggert-Veleno-Maroon
DEFENCE:
- Vlasic-Rinzel
- Martinez-Murphy
- Kaiser-Levshunov
GOAL:
HEALTHY SCRATCHES: D Del Mastro, D Korchinski, D Crevier, D Brodie, LW Reichel
INJURED: C Dickinson (wrist), C Dach (elbow), G Brossoit (knee)
NOTABLE QUOTABLE
Jets defenceman Josh Morrissey on goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, who is running away with pretty much every statistical category this season:
“It seems every night the last month or so, he’s been accomplishing a new record of some kind. And you honestly can’t put in the words how important he is to our team, what he does day in, day out. As a teammate of his, I feel extremely lucky that I’ve gotten to play in front of him basically my entire career. What he does in terms of preparation, the way he’s always figures out ways to improve his game is incredible. I mean even in the last few years, you think, man, I don’t know if this guy can get any better and he finds a way to. So, just really lucky to have him, and what he’s doing this year is special and definitely deserves to be talked about, because it’s it doesn’t happen very often.”
WHAT WE’RE WORKING ON
Mike is on the scene in the Windy City to cover this Central Division battle. The game analysis will be available online at winnipegfreepress.com.
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