Jets shuffle deck on blue-line to get more scoring punch

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This article was published 13/12/2015 (3583 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Winnipeg Jets are loading up their pairings in an attempt to get some offensive pop and more minutes for their Top 4 defencemen.

Jets coach Paul Maurice had Jacob Trouba paired with Dustin Byfuglien at practice Sunday morning, and coupled with the Toby Enstrom-Tyler Myers pairing, it is a look the team could carry into Tuesday’s home game against the St. Louis Blues.

The third pairing features Ben Chiarot and Mark Stuart; Chiarot had been working with Byfuglien with Trouba teamed with Stuart.

“It’s an interesting dynamic to have a one-time shot with a guy who can move the puck as well as Buff does,” said Maurice. “We know that Jake has that ability; he can pull the puck across the line and be creative in that hole, too. It has more to do with who they match up with and who they play behind. We think they’ll be effective, but there will be a learning curve for the two of them.”

The Byfuglien-Trouba pairing was used in Friday’s 2-0 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks as the Jets tried to generate more offence. Byfuglien leads the Jets in average ice time at 23 minutes, 47 seconds while Myers is second at 21:32 and Trouba third at 20:15. Trouba’s ice time is down about three minutes from a year ago. Myers’ time is down two minutes, as is Toby Enstrom’s. Only Byfuglien’s ice time is up, by about a minute, among the Top 4 defencemen compared to last season.

“I liked it enough,” said Maurice of getting a look at the Trouba-Byfuglien pairing late in Friday’s game. “I know at some point we’re going to have to get the minutes to those players and that’s one way to do it.”

Interestingly, the move means the Jets will now have two right-shooting defencemen in the Trouba-Byfuglien pairing and two lefties teamed in Stuart and Chiarot.

Asked what he liked about the new pairing, Byfuglien shrugged and said:

“I couldn’t tell you anything right now. I don’t know. We practised today and that’s all we’ve got so far. I’ve played with everyone a bit. It’s early. We’ve got to focus on our D zone and the offence will come.”

Tough Buff

Byfuglien leads the Jets in penalty minutes with 50, including two minors in the loss to Chicago — the second of which seemed to earn him a stint at the end of the bench. Asked if he was sending Byfuglien a message, Maurice tried to choose his words carefully — in vain.

“I don’t know if I sent a message to him,” said Maurice. “It was just a silent protest to the referees… I benched the only guy I thought got a legitimate call on him. That’s going to go over well, isn’t it? It was just kinda in my head and it came out of my mouth. Penalties are going to happen by the intensity of the game. I understand that. I don’t like all of them.”

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Byfuglien was asked if leading the team in penalty minutes was a byproduct of his ice time. He grinned, then said: “I guess the refs don’t like me. I’ll try to keep it under, try to keep it good, but things happen. It’s a fast game. It’s the way I play. It’s not on purpose, like I go out there and take them. It happens.”

FYI: The Jets will have had three full days between Friday’s game and Tuesday’s matchup with St. Louis. In games with that long a break between, Winnipeg is 2-0-1 in the first game back this season… Bryan Little is second in the NHL in faceoffs with 721 (Buffalo’s Ryan O’Reilly has taken 740). Little’s 721 is 309 more than Mark Scheifele, second on the Jets’ list. Little’s win percentage is 52.7.

Ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @WFPEdTait