Bottom-six jobs on the line tonight for Jets hopefuls

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This article was published 27/09/2017 (2907 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Winnipeg Jets host the Ottawa Senators tonight at Bell MTS Place in what will be the team’s sixth and second-last pre-season game.

And while Saturday’s match in Calgary against the Flames gives the Jets a final tuneup before the regular season gets underway next Wednesday, tonight’s game could determine the fate of several forwards fighting for a job in the bottom six.

Ottawa is 3-1 in exhibition games and is expected to dress an experienced lineup against the 1-3-1 Jets, including forwards Kyle Turris, Bobby Ryan and Mark Stone. Defencemen Dion Phaneuf, Chris Wideman and Johnny Oduya are also expected to dress.

“A guy can play a pretty good game against an average group, but everything happens a little faster tonight, a little quicker,” Jets head coach Paul Maurice said following Wednesday’s pre-game skate.

“Their passes will be on the tape; they’re going to make more plays with the puck, so your reads have to be right. It’s a good place to watch the players that are trying to get into that bottom-six group play.”

Mathieu Perreault — who returned to practice following the birth of his twins — Bryan Little and Nikolaj Ehlers make up the top line. The other three will be populated mostly by players hoping to land a roster spot.

Nic Petan will be at centre between Kyle Connor and Marko Dano; Andrew Copp centres Shawn Matthias and Brandon Tanev; and the fourth line is made up of veteran Matt Hendricks down the middle and wingers Brendan Lemieux and J.C. Lipon, two players who spent most of last season with the Manitoba Moose.

Maurice said he is looking for “all of them” to stand out, and not just in five-on-five play. Improving the penalty kill is a priority — the Jets were ranked 25th out of 30 teams with a 77.5 per cent success rate last year – and the coach expects a strong auditions for the PK.

“With better competition tonight we’re going to see a higher stress on our penalty kill and on our defensive systems,” Maurice said. “Penalty killing is of primary importance for our team this year and having penalties killers. We’re going to have a good number in our lineup tonight and that’s really important.”

Another experiment taking place tonight comes on the blue line, with rookie Tucker Poolman playing his opposite side. A right-handed shooter, the 24-year-old will play along the left boards, paired with Tyler Myers. It’s not the first time the young defenceman has been asked to play on his off side; he spent much of his three years at the University of North Dakota switching back and forth.

“I wouldn’t do it if he hadn’t spent a considerable amount of his off side,” said Maurice. “He’s done it in chunks so I asked him about playing his off side and he detailed the two of three areas that can be a challenge and the four or five that he likes on that side. He has a very deep understanding of the game.”

If Poolman can adjust to playing opposite his shooting hand at the NHL level, it could put a lot of pressure on Maurice is put him in the opening-night lineup. Both sides are full of veterans, but especially on the right wall, with Jacob Trouba, Dustin Byfuglien and Myers. The move to switch Poolman isn’t likely aimed at replacing Josh Morrissey, Toby Enstrom or Dmitry Kulikov on the left, but rather to see if he can slide in when the inevitable injuries occur on the blue line.

“I’d be looking at this regardless of what the rest of our group looked like,” Maurice said. “If you can get one of your defencemen that you know during a game can switch left and right, when you cut to four, or if you want to cut to five, it makes running the bench a lot easier.

“It’s a great time to learn it now. If he had been just average (in camp) we’d leave him on his natural side and not want to over-complicate this. But he’s been strong.”

Connor Hellebuyck will get the start in net and is expected to play the entire game. Steve Mason, the Jets’ projected No. 1, will play Saturday against the Flames.

 

 

jeff.hamilton@freepress.mb.ca

twitter: @jeffkhamilton