FROM THE PRESS BOX
MIKE SAYS: In a road trip that’s been filled with returns, the biggest one yet — at least in my eyes — is Samberg. He may not get the same accolades as a Hellebuyck or a Morrissey or a Scheifele or a Connor but make no mistake: He can be every bit as valuable as those big stars.
Consider this: Samberg missed 22 regular-season games last year and his team went just 11-9-2. But in the 60 he played? An incredible 45-13-2.
Not only will Samberg help stabilize the back-end, he should do wonders for blue-line partner Neal Pionk who hasn’t really looked himself yet this season.
Still on the subject of players coming back into the lineup, I suspect Nyquist didn’t envision skating on the fourth line when he signed that one-year, US $3.25 million deal with Winnipeg last summer. But I think that is a good re-entry point for him, especially with Vlad Namestnikov playing some good hockey and looking like a nice fit on the wing with Jonathan Toews and Cole Perfetti.
Nyquist is still looking for his first goal as a member of the Jets, but I thought his last two games pre-injury were a step in the right direction: he had clever assists in both, bringing him up to five helpers in 11 games.
Finally, we can talk about returns until we’re blue in the face, but the most important one for the Jets is seeing their style of smothering, shutdown hockey re-appear.
We saw signs of it on Tuesday in Vancouver, and no doubt getting so many key players back to health is a factor.
They have a chance here to really wash away the stench from the first three games of this road trip — in addition to avenging the previous stinker against Seattle back on Oct. 23 at Canada Life Centre — while also reminding everyone, including themselves, that they can be a real handful when they’re at the top of their game.
KEN SAYS: Jets defenceman Josh Morrissey was a man on a mission in the last game, setting up a pair of goals and scoring another to highlight a three-point effort.
Morrissey has been carrying a heavy load in the absence of Pionk, as he’s averaging 24:27 per game, which is nearly two minutes higher than his career average. Morrissey has done a great job defensively and while some folks were curious about his quiet offensive start, any concerns have been alleviated.
After collecting two assists through seven games, Morrissey has been on a tear, accumulating three goals and 14 points during the past nine games, including four multi-point outings.
Jets winger Alex Iafallo appeared in his 600th NHL game on Tuesday and had another effective game, sealing the victory with an empty-net goal while adding an assist for a two-point effort.
Winnipeg Jets left wing Alex Iafallo (Mark Humphrey / The Associated Press files)
Hitting 600 games as an undrafted college free agent is an outstanding accomplishment and Iafallo continues to be an import cog for the Jets, given his role as a tenacious forechecker that chips in secondary scoring and is used on both special-teams units, along with his work at even strength on the Lowry line with Nino Niederreiter, who also had two points on Tuesday.
The Kraken continue to be led by captain Jordan Eberle, who has five goals and 11 points in 16 games — and he has 10 goals and 21 points in 30 career games against the Jets.
I will also be keeping my eyes on Kraken defenceman Brandon Montour, who has three goals and nine points in 12 games this season.
Montour is in the discussion for a spot on the Canadian Olympic team and his skating ability is impressive.
PROJECTED LINES
WINNIPEG JETS
FORWARDS
- Connor-Scheifele-Vilardi
- Namestnikov-Toews-Perfetti
- Niederreiter-Lowry-Iafallo
- Pearson-Ford-Nyquist
DEFENCE
- Morrissey-DeMelo
- Samberg-Pionk
- Stanley-Miller
GOAL
INJURED: D Samberg (wrist), D Fleury (upper body), F Barron (mid-body), F Koepke (undisclosed)
HEALTHY SCRATCHES: D Schenn, F Lambert, F Chibrikov
SEATTLE KRAKEN
FORWARDS
- Schwartz-Stephenson-Kakko
- Marchment-Beniers-Eberle
- Catton-Wright-Tolvanen
- Kartye-Meyers-Winterton
DEFENCE
- Dunn-Larsson
- Lindgren-Montour
- Evans-Oleksiak
GOAL
INJURED: G Daccord (upper body), F McCann (lower body), F Gaudreau (upper body)
HEALTHY SCRATCHES: D Fleury, D Mahura, F Nyman
NOTABLE QUOTABLE
Jets head coach head coach Scott Arniel on what he’s seen from the Kraken this season under new head coach Lane Lambert:
“They don’t open games up. They’re going to keep it pretty tight in all three zones and then they have the ability to transition well, like a lot of these teams we’re seeing. Lane has got them playing a real structured game, they’re playing hard and they’ve been in a lot of overtime games, so that plays into them staying in games for 60 minutes.”
WHAT WE’RE WORKING ON
Ken is in Seattle and will provide analysis from the game, along with an early piece on the return of Jets defenceman Dylan Samberg that you can find in Friday’s print edition.
The late start tonight means the game story won’t make tomorrow’s print edition, but you can find it online later tonight or early tomorrow.
Plus, a friendly reminder the Jets monthly mailbag for November is open, so send your questions to Mike and Ken at your convenience either by replying to this email or finding us on social media.
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