FROM THE PRESS BOX
MIKE SAYS: Happy Thanksgiving, folks.
Can the Jets get back to their winning ways on the road? I likely don’t need to remind you, but the team went 0-for-the playoffs last spring in enemy territory, dropping all three games in St. Louis and then three more in Dallas, including the season-ender. It was a stunning reversal from the regular season, where a 26-15-0 record away from home was one of the best in the league.
For whatever reason, Winnipeg never seems to play well in New York against the Islanders. In fact, they have lost their last five visits by a combined score of 20-9. The last victory came way back in December 2018. An optimist might suggest they’re long overdue, I suppose.
The line of Vlad Namestnikov, Nino Niederreiter and Gustav Nyquist had a tough day at the office on Saturday.
They just never really seemed in in sync and spent far too much time in their own end of the ice and not enough time generating chances against Los Angeles.
It looks like Arniel is sticking with them for another game, which probably isn’t a bad idea. All three players are proud veteran skaters who would certainly know they need to be better.
Colour me intrigued at the idea of the right-shooting Miller playing on the left side.
He’s got a cannon of a shot — easily the hardest on the team — and this should potentially free him up for some easier one-timers from the point. Of course, defending is his primary job so it will be worth watching if that is a struggle at all for him.
I’ve mentioned a couple of times the Logan Stanley-Luke Schenn pairing scared me, but I have to give credit where it’s due: They played a pretty solid game against the Kings, and both men showed why they can be valuable contributors.
Stanley’s massive hit in the first period against Alex Turcotte led to Luke Schenn dropping the gloves with Jeff Malott a few seconds later. Stanley had a funny answer when I asked him about the sequence on Sunday, saying he got “big brothered” by Schenn as he would have willingly taken that fight himself. He also mentioned how his father was at the game and thanked Schenn after it was over.
Then, with the Jets clinging to a one-goal lead and under siege late in the game, Stanley made a series of huge blocks as the Kings were buzzing. He was only officially credited with two on that final shift but said it “felt like a lot more than that.” I would agree.
KEN SAYS: What an outstanding start it’s been for Jets’ top-line centre Mark Scheifele.
After speaking with Scheifele at the Team Canada Olympic orientation camp in Calgary this summer, it was easy to see how motivated Scheifele was to get off to a great start, and that’s exactly what he’s done.
His two goals and five points in just two games is an outstanding offensive outburst, but Arniel also praised Scheifele for taking on a larger leadership role with captain Adam Lowry sidelined to start the season.
It’s been a relatively slow start for the Jets middle-six forward group, which is to be expected given the changes in personnel, but the only goal coming from the secondary scorers was a power-play marker from Alex Iafallo.
Yes, the sample size is extremely small, though this is an area that we’ll be keeping tabs on throughout the two-game road trip.
The Islanders could find themselves battling for a wild-card berth in the Eastern Conference but they could also be in tough to qualify for the post-season.
However, they’ve got some skill in their lineup and they’ve given the Jets some difficulty over the years.
Islanders captain Anders Lee has made a habit of scoring with regularity in the head-to-head matchups, with 17 goals and 26 points in 22 career games so keep an eye on the power forward.
This will be my first time watching 2025 first overall pick Matthew Schaefer in person and it will be excellent to see his skating ability on display as he works to adjust to the pro game.
Grandview product and former Brandon Wheat Kings captain Ryan Pulock and defence partner Adam Pelech figure to get a heavy dose of the Scheifele line on Monday, so keep a close eye on that matchup as well.
PROJECTED LINES
WINNIPEG JETS
FORWARDS:
Connor-Scheifele-Vilardi
Iafallo-Toews-Chibrikov
Niederreiter-Namesntikov-Nyquist
Koepke-Barron-Pearson
DEFENCE:
Morrissey-DeMelo
Stanley-Pionk
Miller-Schenn
GOAL:
Hellebuyck
Comrie
INJURED: D Samberg (wrist), D Fleury (lower body), C Lowry (hip), F Perfetti (ankle)
HEALTHY SCRATCHES: F Ford, D Clague
NEW YORK ISLANDERS
FORWARDS:
Drouin-Horvat-Heineman
Duclair-Barzal-Palmieri
Lee-Pageau-Shabonov
Holmstrom-Cizikas-Tsyplakov
DEFENCE:
Romanov-DeAngelo
Pelech-Pulock
Schaefer-Mayfield
GOAL:
Sorokin
Rittich
INJURED: G Varlamov (knee), D Bear (undisclosed), LW Engvall (hip), LW Nurmi (knee)
HEALTHY SCRATCHES: D Boqvist, F MacLean, RW Gatcomb
NOTABLE QUOTABLE
Jets coach Scott Arniel on hitting the road for the first time this season and the chance for players, especially new additions to the roster, to spend time together.
“We’ve done some team building here and we were trying to do stuff through camp leading up to the season opener. But this is a chance for us to get out on the road. Obviously there’s 41 of them. They’re going to have a team dinner Tuesday in Philly. So it’s a chance for those guys. You love that part when they hang together and the camaraderie is great. But we know how important the road is and making sure we’re dialed in, too.”
WHAT WE’RE WORKING ON
Ken is on scene in New York and will have full coverage and analysis, including post-game reaction from the Jets’ room. You can find his story online and in Tuesday’s print edition.
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