FROM THE PRESS BOX
MIKE SAYS: Eight different players have lit the lamp for Winnipeg so far this season. Colour me surprised that top-line winger Gabe Vilardi isn’t among them.
It’s not for a lack of chances. Vilardi always seems to be around the net, and his nine shots on goal are only two behind team co-leaders and linemates Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor. In that sense, it’s likely just a matter of time.
Gustav Nyquist and Jonathan Toews are two other skaters who appear close to getting off the schneid given their strong recent play. On the blue line, it’s been a quiet start offensively for Josh Morrissey (one assist) and Neal Pionk (no points), but I’d expect the dam to break sooner rather than later in both cases.
All of which is to say, a Jets team that has already scored 17 times in four games still has plenty of weapons in the proverbial holster.
Winnipeg’s penalty kill has been the biggest surprise of the young season for me. The Jets lead the NHL with a sparkling 94.4 per cent efficiency rate, with their lone blemish coming in the season opener, at the tail end of a 5-on-3 that was essentially a 5-on-2 since Morrissey had lost his stick.
If the Jets were just average in that area, we might be talking about a 1-3-0 team instead of a 3-1-0 club. And the fact they’re doing it without top shutdown defenceman Dylan Samberg and top shutdown centre Adam Lowry makes it even more impressive.
Speaking of Lowry, he joined his teammates for the morning skate as he continues to recover from offseason hip surgery. It marked his first full group session, albeit while wearing a non-contact jersey.
“You notice him? I don’t know if you noticed him. Six-foot-six in a yellow jersey,” Arniel joked this morning. “But yeah, that’s day one. He’ll be starting practice with us again.”
The end of October remains the earliest possible timeline for a Lowry return, so we’ll see how things develop over the next couple of weeks.
KEN SAYS: Scheifele understands the magnitude of the achievement. He’s just got another milestone in mind.
And besides, Scheifele has been quick to praise those around him since he first arrived on the scene 14 years ago in a plain NHL jersey inside Xcel Energy Center when the Jets name was revealed and he was called onto the stage as the first draft pick in the 2.0 history of the franchise.
So after scoring a pair of goals on Thursday to hit 812 career points and tie Blake Wheeler for the lead, it surprised no one that he wasn’t exactly basking in the afterglow. To record 812 points in a career would be magnificent for most, but Scheifele seems destined to eclipse 1,000 within a few more seasons.
Winnipeg Jets’ Mark Scheifele scores one of his two goal against the Flyers Thursday in Philadelphia. (Matt Slocum / The Associated Press)
His name is already littered through the franchise record books and there’s a good chance a statue of his will line up beside his mentor Dale Hawerchuk one day. But there will be plenty of time for legacy-defining moments for Scheifele.
This one was worthy of recognition, but he might stand alone as early as Saturday and the most important thing to him is that the Jets have put together a three-game winning streak after an entertaining yet loosely played season opener.
There have been highs and lows for Scheifele during his tenure but he’s grown into a franchise pillar and looks poised to produce his best season as a pro — which is saying something when you consider he had 87 points last season.
As for the Predators, they’re at the tail end of a road trip but are off to a better start, despite missing key off-season addition Nic Hague on the back end. Nashville had a bunch of players who underachieved last season and are looking for bounce-back campaigns both individually and collectively.
Predators forward Steven Stamkos is someone who has given the Jets fits over the years, collecting 33 goals and 60 points in 48 career games against them.
PROJECTED LINES
WINNIPEG JETS
FORWARDS
- Connor-Scheifele-Vilardi
- Iafallo-Toews-Pearson
- Niederreiter-Namesntikov-Nyquist
- Koepke-Barron-Ford
DEFENCE
- Morrissey-DeMelo
- Stanley-Pionk
- Fleury-Schenn
GOAL
INJURED: D Samberg (wrist), C Lowry (hip), F Perfetti (ankle)
HEALTHY SCRATCHES: D Miller, F Chibrikov
NASHVILLE PREDATORS
FORWARDS
- Forsberg-O’Reilly-Stamkos
- Bunting-Haula-Marchessault
- Jost-Svechkov-Evangelista
- Smith-McCarron-Wiesblatt
DEFENCE
- Willsby-Josi
- Skjei-Perbix
- Stastney-Barron
GOAL
INJURED: D Hague (upper body)
HEALTHY SCRATCHES: C Martin, D Blankenburg
NOTABLE QUOTABLE
Jets coach Scott Arniel on seeing the most complete version of Mark Scheifele:
“You look at all the top centres in the league. It’s their hockey IQ, obviously their stickhandling, their skating, their shot. He has all of that. He always has.
“Now you throw in how much pride he takes in playing without the puck and that makes him a 200-foot player. For me, as a coach, it helps me not worry about if he’s going out against the MacKinnon’s or the Hintz’s or the McDavid’s, those type of guys. You’re real comfortable with both him and his linemates because of the buy-in.
“For me, Mark, I think has always had that skill. I think you’re starting to see it now with the numbers, he’s starting to catch up to people with numbers and records and stuff like that. He’s a handful when he and his linemates are on their game. They’re tough to defend.”
WHAT WE’RE WORKING ON
Mike will have game analysis of Jets versus Predators. You can find his summary online at winnipegfreepress.com.
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