FROM THE PRESS BOX
MIKE SAYS: The month of February was short but certainly sweet for Cole Perfetti, who looks like a different player than the one we saw struggle out of the gate once he returned from his high-ankle sprain.
Perfetti picked up five points (2G, 3A) in the four games he played — and probably deserved even more given the number of chances he had.
Consider this: Perfetti played 14 games in December, with no goals, three assists and 21 total shots on goal. He was, essentially, just taking up a roster spot at that point.
I remember seeing him after a road game just before Christmas hobble out of the dressing room, a big wrap still around his ankle, which was a sure sign he was still not anywhere close to 100 per cent.
But it’s clear things have improved, based on how well he’s moving around the ice and how many times he’s getting himself into prime scoring position.
Perfetti started to pick up the pace in January (9 points in 16 games) and he found another level in February, with 16 shots in the four games. That speaks to the confidence he’s playing with. I’ve really liked the line of Perfetti, Adam Lowry and Iafallo. They’ve got some nice chemistry going.
Speaking of Lowry, he’s also looking more like his expected self after off-season hip surgery really hampered his campaign. The captain has five assists in the last seven games.
No doubt the three-week Olympic break was most welcome for players like Perfetti and Lowry.
I expected something similar with Jonathan Toews, who got on a nice run in mid-January (goals in four straight games) but has gone fairly cold ever since. Toews has just one assist in his last 12 games and is a team-worst minus-eight during that span.
KEN SAYS: What a moment for Jets rookie defenceman Elias Salomonsson, as he took a pass from Lowry just inside the blue line and ripped a shot past Lukas Dostal to make the game 3-1 at 1:27 of the third period on Friday.
Salomonsson has been doing an excellent job defensively of late and this offensive reward was something he’s dreamed of doing since strapping on the blades.
After Saturday’s workout in Anaheim, Salomonsson said his parents were watching back home in Sweden and that he was able to share a phone call with them after the game.
“It was pretty special,” he said. “They were super happy for me. That was unreal. I heard from a bunch of friends and teammates too. A lot of messages.”
Defenceman Elias Salomonsson (Mike Deal / Free Press files)
Salomonsson’s emergence as a guy who is comfortable handling Top-4 minutes has been an important development for the Jets during this recent stretch of games.
He’s been sound defensively and Friday’s goal was another example of the offensive side of his game starting to come out, without raising the risk profile.
Speaking of D-men, this will be another important game for Logan Stanley for a number of reasons.
As has been widely discussed, the NHL trade deadline is coming up quickly and if he’s not signed to an extension, the expectation is that he will be moved.
Since the Sharks have four blue-liners on expiring contracts already, they’re not necessarily a team that would be trading for him but could emerge as a candidate to sign him if he reaches unrestricted free agency on July 1.
Much has been made of Celebrini’s performance at the Olympics (and rightfully so) and it’s always a treat to see when young elite players take the next steps in their development.
Celebrini, who is currently fifth in NHL scoring, had the tying goal and set up the game-winner in the last meeting between these two teams, so you can be sure the Jets will be paying close attention to him when he’s on the ice.
Mailbag call-out
We’re getting ready for our next monthly Jets mailbag, which will go online in early March. Got a question about the hockey club? Simply hit reply to this email and Mike and Ken will try to tackle it.
PROJECTED LINES
FORWARDS:
- Connor-Scheifele-Vilardi
- Perfetti-Lowry-Iafallo
- Nyquist-Toews-Duehr
- Koepke-Barron-PearsonDEFENCE:
- Samberg-Salomonsson
- Stanley-DeMelo
- Fleury-SchennGOAL:
- Hellebuyck
- Comrie
HEALTHY SCRATCHES: D Clague, D Heinola
INJURED: D Morrissey (upper body), D Pionk (lower body), D Fleury (nose, back), D Miller (lower-body), LW Niederreiter (lower body), F Namestnikov (lower body)
SHARKS
FORWARDS
- Smith-Celebrini-Sherwood
- Eklund-Misa-Toffoli
- Graf-Wennberg-Kurashev
- Goodrow-Ostapchuk-Regenda
DEFENCE
- Orlov-Klingberg
- Ferraro-Mukhamadullin
- Dickinson-Desharnais
GOALIE
HEALTHY SCRATCHES: D Liljgeren, RW Reaves, RW Gaudette
INJURED: RW Dellandrea (lower body)
NOTABLE QUOTABLE
Jets forward Alex Iafallo on hitting double digits in goals for a
“It’s fun getting those goals. Playing as many years in the league, I’ve been lucky enough. At the same time, I’m just trying to do things offensively, learn more ways to score. I just have to keep driving that (total) up.”
WHAT WE’RE WORKING ON
Ken is in San Jose to close out this Pacific Time Zone road swing. He will handle the game analysis for this matinee and you can catch that in Monday’s paper and online at winnipegfreepress.com.
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