Urgency hits Jets like Lightning bolt

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This article was published 03/01/2017 (3175 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

TAMPA BAY – It was an upbeat atmosphere during the Winnipeg Jets’ morning skate at Amalie Arena, where they kick off a three-game road trip tonight against the Tampa Bay Lightning (6:30 p.m., TSN3, TSN 1290).

But as loose as the Jets appeared to be, there’s an understanding that the team — after dropping its last two games at home to the Columbus Blue Jackets and the New York Islanders — can’t afford to lose a third straight. The Jets are currently three points out of the final wild card spot in the West, behind the Los Angeles Kings.

“There’s definitely a sense of urgency,” said Jets defenceman Ben Chiarot. “Any time you’ve lost two in a row you want to be desperate going into your next one. I think you should expect a pretty hungry team tonight.”

Easier said than done for the Jets (17-19-3), who have yet to win three consecutive games this season but have gone on losing streaks of three or more games three times, including a stretch of five on the road in late November and early December.

The Jets have struggled to play a consistent game, particularly against teams in the East. Winnipeg is 5-10-2 against the opposing conference. This will be their first test against the Lightning (19-15-4).

“A lot of these teams in the East (Conference) are built on quickness and an open game,” said Chiarot. “We know they like to play a fast, up-and-down game, so we’ll be ready for that.”

Tampa Bay is without superstar captain Steven Stamkos, who has been out of the lineup for the past 21 games with a right knee injury. Forward Ryan Callahan will be back in the lineup after missing the last 15 games with a knee injury suffered Dec. 10.

“There’s no doubt it’s been a while, with little ups and downs along the way, but it’s definitely good to be back,” said Callahan, who then admitted the Jets are a bit of a mystery.

“To be honest, we don’t know a bunch about them. We know they’re a big team, a very talented team with some skill up front but it’s usually about us when we go into a game. It’s about our systems, what we need to do; we try to bring the game to them, especially on home ice.”

The Jets will go back to Connor Hellebuyck in net. He enters the game with a 13-12-1 record in 26 starts and gets the start after allowing four goals on 15 shots and getting the hook midway through the second period Saturday against the Islanders.

Tampa will counter with Andrei Vasilevskiy in net. Vasilevskiy is 10-5-2 this season, playing in relief of Ben Bishop, but has yet to face the Jets in his career.

Myers back on the ice

Defenceman Tyler Myers made his first appearance on the ice in almost two months. The lanky defenceman has been out of the lineup since Nov. 11 with an undisclosed lower-body injury, missing 23 games.

He was wearing an orange non-contact jersey and got a big welcome from his teammates.

“I didn’t know if the Jumbotron was on, or what was going on but that was a pretty good cheer to have him out there,” said Jets coach Paul Maurice. “He’s not that hard to find at that size (6-8, 229 pounds), wearing orange.”

Maurice didn’t say when Myers will be able to return to the lineup; Myers still has to pass a number of medical tests before he’s cleared for hitting, and then has to get into game shape before he can play.

“The thing that we’ve missed the most was he was really, really playing well prior to his injury,” said Maurice, adding in the five games before he went down he had one goal and three assists. “We have missed him, we’ve missed him greatly.”

jeff.hamilton@freepress.mb.ca

twitter: @jeffkhamilton