Experiment exorcises Devils

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This article was published 18/11/2014 (4043 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

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It doesn’t always work this way, of course. Many days and nights, NHL coaches blindly dump their forward lines into a blender in the desperate hope of finding some sort of offensive elixir.

The result is often nothing more than a vile mess.

Then there are times where what pours out is a tasty concoction that has the coach looking like Scotty Bowman and leaves everyone craving more. That’s what happened Tuesday night in a Jets 3-1 victory over the New Jersey Devils at the MTS Centre that was all about the mixing of ingredients.

The win improves the home side’s record to 10-7-3 and means they are 8-2-3 since their 2-5 start.

 

SCHEIFELE DOWN… THEN UP

The day began with Mark Scheifele getting the green light to return to action after a collision in Sunday’s OT loss to Minny had many in Jets Nation worried the young centre would be lost for a spell.

Not only was Scheifele back but, indirectly, the work his teammates did in the rally from 3-0 down in the third period against the Wild led head coach Paul Maurice to tinker with his forward lines in the hope of finding the magic potion for more offence.

And the first take?

•  Scheifele centred a line featuring Adam Lowry and Michael Frolik and scored his third of the season, and Frolik would later bury his fourth, gobbling up the rebound of a Lowry shot. All totalled, that line combined for two of the three goals and four points;

•  Mathieu Perreault was moved back to the middle from left wing on a line with Evander Kane and Dustin Byfuglien and scored his first as a Jet;

•  The Jets old No. 1 line — Bryan Little centering Andrew Ladd and Blake Wheeler — didn’t score, but was matched up against Jersey’s top trip and still managed to combine for seven shots on goal.

•  Even the team’s much-maligned fourth unit, which featured Jim Slater, Matt Halischuk and Chris Thorburn, had its moments, including drawing the first Devils’ penalty of the game.

“Me and Fro played together last year, so I feel like we already have a lot of chemistry,” said Scheifele. “And (Lowry) played an unbelievable game today, too. He’s a big body and he makes great plays. Both those guys played amazing tonight. I’m happy to be with him.”

Interestingly, Scheifele’s game started to turn for the better last season while working on a line with Frolik. And he admitted there’s no coincidence the offence started to come with No. 67 on his flank again.

“He’s unbelievable,” said Scheifele of Frolik. “I feel like everyone is fighting to play with him. He makes all the best plays, he rarely makes a mistake, he’s great offensively and great defensively. He just does everything right, and that’s everything you want in a linemate.”

 

STINGY & HUTCH

The Jets worked through some sloppy stretches, but were again effective defensively in limiting the Devils to just one goal and a measly 22 shots. Tuesday’s win marked the 12th time in 20 games the Jets have held their opponent to two goals or less.

Just as important was the work of goaltender Michael Hutchinson. He was steady, not brilliant, and had the Devils clang two shots off goalposts. But worth noting is this: Since being pulled in his first start of the season he has stopped 100 of the 103 shots he’s faced — that’s a gaudy .971 save percentage — and is now 3-1-1.

Asked if the game was tough because he had faced just nine shots through the first 40 minutes, Hutchinson grinned and said:

“Not really. When we’re playing as well as we are, it’s entertaining for me back there to watch our lines cycle the puck down low and really taking it to them. That keeps me into the game. It’s a little bit difficult when you don’t touch the puck too much and you sometimes overthink it and do too much instead of just letting the puck come to you.”

 

THE ONGOING SAGA OF THE PUNY PLAY

The Jets were 0-for-5 on the power play and have now gone five games without a goal on the man advantage, for a stretch of 0-for-18. Tuesday’s woes included two opportunities in the final 10 minutes that could have salted away a win but saw the Jets instead handle the puck like it was a ticking time bomb.

“We’re at the point now where we’re not excited about the two-minute power play,” said Paul Maurice. “It’s a mindset. We’ll have to crack that a little bit.”

ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @WFPEdTait

 

 

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