FROM THE PRESS BOX
MIKE SAYS: I’ve loved what I’ve seen on the ice this series from both teams. And I’m enjoying the back-and-forth banter now happening between the two head coaches, who I suspect have temporarily parked their longstanding friendship to focus on the task at hand.
You’ll recall Arniel taking a dig at Jim Montgomery the other night, questioning when he got his medical degree, after the Blues bench boss suggested Scheifele wasn’t injured as a result of a penalized check from Brayden Schenn, but rather a clean hit from Radek Faksa.
Fast forward to this morning, where Montgomery met the media and I asked him about the fact the Blues plane broke down yesterday in Winnipeg and resulted in an eight-hour delay flying home. Rather than an 11 a.m. departure, they didn’t fly until 7 p.m., once a replacement plane could be found.
Montgomery mentioned how his players spent the day watching Netflix, getting some naps in and playing cards but saved his best response for last, jokingly telling us that he spent the time “in the O.R.”
That’s just tremendous stuff from Dr. Montgomery.
Because of these types of theatrics, I admit there’s at least a tiny part of me wondering whether Ehlers is truly ready or if this is one big ruse to try and throw the Blues off by making them think he’s returning.
Speaking with Arniel and several players this morning, it certainly feels like he’s going to be in the lineup. If not, this is an Academy Award-winning performance from all involved.
Winnipeg Jets’ Nikolaj Ehlers is officially listed as a “game-time decision” for tonight’s game. (Matt Slocum / The Associated Press files)
The Toninato decision also intrigues me, as he’s playing over guys like Anderson-Dolan and David Gustafsson — who have both been in this series so far — and Rasmus Kupari.
I asked Arniel the thinking behind that.
“He’s got some experience in the playoffs. He’s got some grit to him, he’s good on face-offs, that type of thing. It just kind of, I don’t know, just kind of looking at that line now, it just gives them some identity. He played games for us this year, he’s played in the past. Just like a lot of what he brings.”
Fair enough. Toninato, who served as the Manitoba Moose captain this year, never seems to have a bad game or even a bad shift. You know what you’re going to get from the veteran. I like it.
“It’s about energy, right? We’re going to need four lines. We’re going to need it tonight. They run their four and we need to run our four,” added Arniel.
KEN SAYS: The Jets took a big step towards quieting the noise surrounding the lack of secondary scoring through four games with an offensive onslaught from the middle-six forward group in Game 5.
Whether it was Appleton chipping in three helpers or Niederreiter and Namestnikov scoring their first goals of the series and each adding an assist, there was an abundance of complementary offence on display.
Namestnikov did an outstanding job after his promotion to the top line, converting a perfect pass from Connor for the game-winning goal, snapping a 20-game goal-scoring drought in the process.
Connor was a force, scoring the first goal of the contest and chipping in a pair of helpers. In the three Jets’ victories, Connor has scored the game-winning goals in Games 1 and 2 and set up the winner in Game 5. Connor was held off the board in the two previous road games in this series, but he’ll be looking to break that trend.
Vilardi quickly got up to speed in what was his first game in five weeks. Airdropped into a fast-paced and hard-hitting battle, Vilardi had two shots on goal, three hits and four blocked shots in just over 18 minutes of ice time. He didn’t shy away from contact and got to the hard areas.
With Scheifele sidelined, Vilardi’s ability to distribute the puck on the power play should be on display.
The Jets did an excellent job of sticking to their structure and the defence corps did a fantastic job overall, from Morrissey logging 26:32 of ice time to Dylan DeMelo scoring and settling things down in the D-zone to Dylan Samberg killing countless plays with a good stick and his smarts.
DeMelo scored his first goal of the series, while Samberg and Neal Pionk chipped in assists as the defence corps got involved with the secondary scoring as well.
Blues rookie Jimmy Snuggerud continues to impress. Although his shot that beat Hellebuyck to the short side to make it a 2-2 game should have been stopped, Snuggerud doesn’t look like someone with just 12 games on his NHL resume — including the regular season and the playoffs.
The 23rd overall pick in the 2022 NHL Draft has made an immediate impact since joining the Blues after the completion of his junior season with the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers.
He’s got a good shot and hasn’t been afraid to go to the hard areas, making a seamless transition to a top-line role, helping to alleviate the sting of the loss of Dylan Holloway due to injury.
PROJECTED LINES
WINNIPEG JETS
FORWARDS:
- Connor-Namestnikov-Vilardi
- Ehlers-Lowry-Perfetti
- Niederreiter-Barron-Appleton
- Tanev-Toninato-Iafallo
DEFENCE:
- Morrissey-DeMelo
- Samberg-Pionk
- Stanley-Schenn
GOAL:
HEALTHY SCRATCHES: G Driedger, D Miller, D Fleury, D Heinola, C Kupari, C Gustafsson
INJURED: C Scheifele (upper body)
ST. LOUIS BLUES
FORWARDS:
- Buchnevich-Thomas-Snuggerud
- Neighbours-Schenn-Kyrou
- Joseph-Sundqvist-Bolduc
- Toropchenko-Faksa-Walker
DEFENCE:
- Fowler-Parayko
- Broberg-Faulk
- Leddy-Suter
GOAL:
HEALTHY SCRATCHES: D Kessel, F Tesier
INJURED: D Krug (ankle), LW Holloway (lower body), Tucker (lower body)
NOTABLE QUOTABLE
Jets captain Adam Lowry on whether injured players like Nikolaj Ehlers can heal a bit quicker this time of year, with so much at stake:
“I think the medical staff’s not putting anyone out there if they’re going to be in a situation where it’s going to get worse or potentially dangerous to them. I think they’ve done a great job with the treatment. He’s done a real good job of making sure he’s dialed in all the extra recovery stuff you can do.
“Sometimes it takes time. To see him skating with us the last few days and know he’s feeling good, we’re excited. Everyone at this time of the year is playing with bumps, bruises. You just want to do your best to get through these games as a team and make it long nights for the opposing team.”
WHAT WE’RE WORKING ON
Mike is on the scene in St. Louis and will file an early story that looks at all the news of the day, including the return of Ehlers, the insertion of Toninato into the lineup and the Jack Adams nomination for Arniel. He will also have full game analysis including locker room reaction out of Jets versus Blues. You can find both pieces online later tonight and in Saturday’s print edition.
Ken is also writing a column out of the game, which will appear on our website.
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