Big line staying together: Ehlers, Wheeler, Scheifele will join forces again

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This article was published 01/02/2016 (3739 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Winnipeg Jets infirmary may be emptying, but the return to health won’t mean a change to the club’s potential new No. 1 line.

Mathieu Perreault and Adam Lowry returned to practice Monday, but even with a healthy forward crew coach Paul Maurice has opted to leave Mark Scheifele between Nikolaj Ehlers and Blake Wheeler. That trio was sensational for the Jets in their last game before the NHL all-star break, teaming up for three goals — all by Ehlers — and seven points in a 5-2 win over the Arizona Coyotes.

Maurice spoke after practice Monday about what kind of influence a veteran like Wheeler can have on his two young linemates.

“Blake, the most consistent part of his game has been his work level,” said Maurice. “That rubs off better than any coaching that gets done. Who you sit beside on the bench and how they play the game has a huge impact, whether it’s a D partner or a guy on a line.

“You can see it in practice, too. There’s also more options for a skilled player. You’ve got Mark who can make a lot of plays out of the middle, but one of the things you notice about Nik’s game, going back to junior, is he’s a really good passer. So, it’s another player for Blake to be able to use, to use his speed. But any time you can use young players with guys who really drive the pace of the game, they just get faster because they have to keep up and then they learn to play the game differently.”

The other line combinations at practice Monday featured Bryan Little between Perreault and Drew Stafford, Lowry centring Andrew Ladd and Alex Burmistrov and Andrew Copp between Joel Armia and Chris Thorburn.

Dustin Byfuglien, who participated in Sunday’s all-star game in Nashville, was not at practice but is expected to be in the lineup tonight against Dallas.

BACK AT IT: Lowry’s appearance at practice meant the Jets have their full complement of centres available for tonight’s game, so Perreault and Burmistrov have been shifted back to the wing. Lowry has been out since taking a vicious shot to the head in a game against Nashville Jan. 14.

He spent his time during the break in Calgary skating with the WHL’s Hitmen.

“It’s nice to be back on the ice and back in the swing of things,” said Lowry. “It’s frustrating any time you can’t help your team and if you’re forced to sit out games it’s tough. It was important to make sure I was feeling good before I came back. I feel comfortable now. I’ll talk to the trainers and see what they have in mind, but I felt comfortable getting back to it and my body felt good.

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Meanwhile, Ondrej Pavelec continues to get work and a decision on whether he would be activated from the injured list or have a conditioning assignment with the Manitoba Moose could be made within the next few days.

QUOTABLE: “I loved it. I don’t usually tune into (the all-star game) but for the obvious reason — John Scott being there — I just wanted to see how that all went down and I really enjoyed it.” — Chris Thorburn.

NUMBERS GAME: Wheeler’s assists on all three of Ehlers’ goals last week were his 298th, 299th and 300th points as a member of the Jets’ franchise. He now has 110 goals and 190 assists in 361 games dating back to the 2010-11 season and now sits fourth on the franchise’s all-time points list, trailing Ilya Kovalchuk (615), Vyacheslav Kozlov (416) and Bryan Little (381).

ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @WFPEdTait