Perreault’s involvement tonight a game-time decision: Maurice

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This article was published 16/04/2015 (4127 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

ANAHEIM, Calif. — It will be a surprise if Mathieu Perreault skates in Game 1 of tonight’s Stanley Cup playoff series between the Winnipeg Jets and Anaheim Ducks (9:30 p.m. CT, Sportsnet, TSN1290).

Perreault was not part of the regular group in this morning’s game-day skate at Honda Center. He took to the ice late during the workout but stayed on the ice barely two minutes, trying to skate hard.

He was on the ice late in Wednesday’s practice here but he has not yet taken part in a full session with his teammates since last Thursday’s lower-body injury forced him to leave a game in Denver.

Jets coach Paul Maurice continued to say today that Perreault would be a game-time decision tonight.

“He skated today and we’ll see how he comes back tonight and make a decision then,” Maurice said.

Jiri Tlusty skated in Perreault’s regular spot with centre Adam Lowry and winger Lee Stempniak again today.

“He’s pretty excited about this and that’s true of all the guys that haven’t played much playoff hockey,” said Maurice. “He’s capable of it. We’ve seen him go on runs. He’s got the hand skills to do it. You just get a feel sometimes watching the practices that he looks like a guy who’s pretty darn excited about this. He’s moving a little quicker in practice, has a bigger smile on his face. He’s looking forward to this challenge.”

Andrew Ladd was also not on the ice this morning but there’s nothing unusual about that. Toby Enstrom was on the ice after taking Wednesday off.

The Jets, like the Ducks, are eager to get this series underway.

“This is what you work for all year and in the summer so I’m really excited,” said Enstrom, one of several Jets ready for their first-ever Stanley Cup playoff game. “This will be my first playoff over here. You know what, I’m excited to get it all going, to start playing here. It feels like I’ve been waiting too long the last few days here, walking around and waiting for it to get it all going.

“That shows how hard it is to win the Cup and go the whole way. I’ve been over here eight years and haven’t been in a playoff yet. It’s tough. There are a lot of good teams. We’re happy to be in.”

The hype won’t trap the inexperience of the Jets, defenceman Mark Stuart said this morning.

“If something needs to be said it will be,” Stuart said. “Our group’s been pretty good about concentrating on our game.

“We worked really hard to get here. The hype, I don’t think too many of us really listen to hype. We know we can’t afford to have any outside distractions if we want to win. I don’t see that being an issue for us.”

One issue the Jets have had is penalties. They finished the regular season as the NHL leader in most time shorthanded, 308, though they cut down on their shorthanded times per game dramatically in the final quarter.

“We’ve done that in a pressure-filled time,” Maurice said. “You don’t get everything fixed at once. I thought earlier in the year we brought that compete and intensity and it crossed the line. But we had to start with that first and we did a really good job down the stretch.”

Stuart said the Jets are figuring out just how much to push their luck in terms of physical and aggressive play.

“You have to try to find that line, play emotional and play hard,” he said. “It’s no different than in the regular season when you don’t want to put yourself in the box or put yourself down a man.

“In the playoffs, special teams are so important. They can sometimes make or break a series. You want to play hard and find that line and play hard enough that you’re not getting in the box a lot.”

tim.campbell@freepress.mb.ca

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