FROM THE PRESS BOX
MIKE SAYS: Has Hollywood become a house of hockey horrors for the Jets? There’s no question the club has experienced a bit of recent stage fright in La-La Land, losing three of their last four visits — all by the same ugly score of 4-1. That includes both trips last year as Winnipeg was putting together its finest regular season in franchise history. (The Jets also lost 2-1 in overtime at home to the Kings, meaning they went 0-2-1 against Los Angeles and 56-20-3 against everyone else. Go figure!)
“There’s no better challenge than us going in that building,” Jets head coach Scott Arniel said of jumping right into the deep end to start this season-long road trip.
Of course, the Jets did record their first win of this new campaign over the Kings, a 3-2 showing on Oct. 11 at Canada Life Centre, so perhaps the tide is starting to turn? We shall see.
Keep an eye on Corey Perry — and not just because he can be a bit of a cheap-shot artist when he’s on the ice. The 40-year-old is off to a sizzling start, with seven points (5G, 2A) in his first seven games. Perry lives in and around the paint and has made a career out of scoring the so-called greasy goals. And he’s showing no signs of slowing down, as proven by his 10 playoff goals last spring with the Edmonton Oilers (on top of the 19 he scored in the regular season).
I’m curious what Winnipeg’s goaltending plan looks like for this road trip. Does backup Eric Comrie possibly play two of the six?
ESPN just came out today with their first NHL Awards Poll of the young season, and it was interesting to see the Jets all over it based on an anonymous survey of hockey pundits around the league. Hellebuyck is in the top three for the Vezina, Josh Morrissey is in the top three for the Norris and Mark Scheifele is in the top three for the Hart. Kyle Connor is also in the honourable-mention category for the Selke, which tells you how much his defensive game has evolved. Curiously Arniel is not presently in the mix for the Jack Adams, which seems like a (very early) oversight to me considering he’s been without three key players so far this year yet has the Jets on top of the standings in point percentage.
Winnipeg Jets centre Adam Lowry is ready to make his season debut on Tuesday night against the Los Angeles Kings. (David Zalubowski / The Associated Press files)
KEN SAYS: The return of Lowry is an obvious storyline to monitor and while he was quick to point out that he will need some time to get up to speed as he works his way back from off-season hip surgery, it’s tough to overstate his importance to this lineup.
Lowry is the emotional leader, a shutdown centre, an elite penalty killer and a physical force, not to mention someone who is a consistent double digit goal scorer.
The loss of Barron will sting, as he’s off to the best start of his career, but getting Lowry back is a massive deal, especially as the Jets begin a grueling six-game swing — with five of those games being played in the Pacific time zone before the finale against the Calgary Flames Nov. 16 (in the Mountain time zone).
Barron’s injury also extends the opportunity for Brad Lambert, who scored his first NHL goal on Saturday in the 5-2 victory over the Penguins.
Lambert played with confidence on Saturday and he’ll need to continue to use his speed effectively to keep building his case for regular work.
Kings winger Adrian Kempe is riding a seven-game point streak and leads his team with five goals and 15 points this season.
He’s also riding a five-game point streak against the Jets, producing nine points against them during that span.
Kempe has not only emerged as a consistent scorer, he’s blossomed into a leader, which is why a lucrative, long-term contract extension should be on the horizon for him.
PROJECTED LINES
WINNIPEG JETS
FORWARDS:
- Connor-Scheifele-Vilardi
- Namestnikov-Toews-Iafallo
- Niederreiter-Lowry-Pearson
- Koepke-Ford-Lambert
DEFENCE:
- Morrissey-DeMelo
- Stanley-Pionk
- Miller-Schenn
GOAL:
INJURED: D Samberg (wrist), F Perfetti (ankle), F Barron (mid-body), F Nyquist (undisclosed)
HEALTHY SCRATCHES: D Fleury, F Chibrikov
LOS ANGELES KINGS
FORWARDS:
- ArmiaKopitar-Kempe
- Fiala-Byfield-Laferriere
- Kuzmenko-Danault-Moore
- Malott-Turcotte-Perry
DEFENCE:
- Anderson-Doughty
- Edmundson-Clarke
- Dumoulin-Ceci
GOAL:
INJURED: F Foegle (upper body)
HEALTHY SCRATCHES: D Moverare, C Helenius
NOTABLE QUOTABLE
Jets forward Nino Niederreiter on the recent struggles at Crypto.com Arena:
“I mean, (it’s) definitely not an easy building to play in, but at the same time, they seem like they haven’t found their groove yet at home. So, we’ve got to make sure we come out flying and try our best to get a win.”
WHAT WE’RE WORKING ON
Ken will be providing the analysis from home before heading out on the road for the final three games of the road trip. With the late start, you can find the piece online at winnipegfreepress.com.
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