Jets dive into deep end with Poolman

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This article was published 17/04/2018 (2706 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Defensive depth remains a strength of the Winnipeg Jets and they dipped into the pool Tuesday, pressing Tucker Poolman into active duty.

The rookie blue-liner made his NHL playoff debut in Game 4 of the the Jets’ first-round series with the Minnesota Wild and was paired with Ben Chiarot on the club’s third defensive unit.

The 24-year-old from East Grand Forks, Minn., replaced Tyler Myers, who was hurt in Game 3 here Sunday — a 6-2 triumph for the Wild.

The Jets have yet to divulge the severity of his injury, believed to be lower body.

Myers was felled in the second period after a collision with Wild forward Marcus Foligno, who lost his balance blocking a shot and tumbled into the towering Jet. Myers lay motionless for about a minute and was helped off the ice and down the tunnel to the dressing room by training staff.

An unconfirmed report said Myers returned to Winnipeg on Monday for medical evaluation.

Meanwhile, the Jets officially recalled Sami Niku from the Manitoba Moose on Tuesday morning, although the American Hockey League’s most outstanding defenceman was in St. Paul long before that and participated in the morning skate at Xcel Energy Center.

He watched Game 4 from the press box with defenceman Toby Enstrom (lower body) and centre Matt Hendricks (lower body), along with healthy scratches Shawn Matthias and Marko Dano. Forward Mathieu Perreault (upper body) and defenceman Dmitry Kulikov (upper) did not make the trip.

Niku was preparing for the AHL playoffs this week with the Manitoba Moose, but will instead be some insurance for Winnipeg’s injury-depleted blue-line corps.

He scored a goal in his NHL regular-season debut in Montreal during the team’s final road trip, his only taste of big-league action.

Jets head coach Paul Maurice said joining the team during the playoffs presents a beneficial learning opportunity for the skilled Finn.

“It’s really important to watch it,” Maurice said.

“Every little piece of information for those young players that they can get moves them closer to being comfortable when they do get the chance.”

Niku, 21, posted 16 goals and 54 points in 76 games with the Moose this season.

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Minnesota suffered a massive blow Tuesday when the club revealed winger Zach Parise is out for the rest of the series after suffering a fractured sternum (breastbone) Sunday in Game 3.

It’s believed the injury occurred in a collision with Jets centre Mark Scheifele late in the game.

Parise had scored in each of the first three games of the best-of-seven series.

It’s the second significant injury of the season for Parise, who was sidelined for the first 39 games after having back surgery. The 33-year-old Minneapolis product registered 15 goals and 24 points in 42 games this season.

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Kyle Connor believes abiding by the mantra “keep it simple” doesn’t preclude him from using some creativity in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Winnipeg’s 21-year-old rookie winger, who was still looking for his first tally in Game 4, understands the heightened intensity in the series with the Wild and the magnitude of each and every moment.

He’s focused on small jobs that absolutely must be taken care of, but said he won’t dumb down his game to the point that he’s performing like someone else entirely.

Connor fired 31 goals in his rookie campaign, demonstrating elite speed and a wicked shot — characteristics that can’t be altered just because the calendar on the wall reads mid-April.

“You can’t be a different player just because it’s playoffs. You can’t be gun-shy. You can’t just be chipping pucks out,” he said Tuesday afternoon, following Winnipeg’s morning skate.

“You still have to make plays, you still have to score goals. You can’t be playing scared. It’s about picking your spots.

“For me, it’s still about playing fast, making plays. For me, that’s why I’m effective, creating offence for the team.”

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Maurice doesn’t have a Stanley Cup ring, but it’d be fair to assume he understands a thing or two about team chemistry

The Jets’ bench boss assumed his first NHL coaching gig in 1995 with the Hartford Whalers and has coached in Carolina (twice), Toronto, Russia and Winnipeg over the course of 20 years.

He was asked Tuesday afternoon whether a tight-knit dressing room can produce success on the ice — and he relayed a conversation he recently had with the head coach of the national-champion University of Manitoba Bisons women’s hockey squad.

“I think it’s the critical piece, by far,” Maurice said.

“I had a long conversation about that with a fellow by the name of Jon Rempel… the coach’s intensity, whether you have that ability to wind a team up, is so secondary to how the players feel about themselves.

“They care about each other, they talk to each other, they create bonds that eventually mean they don’t want to let each other down. It would be true of any relationship you have with somebody you’re close to. The closer you are, the more you’re willing to sacrifice for that person. That’s true in a locker room, too. A close-knit group will sacrifice more for each other.”

Maurice said the closeness of his Winnipeg squad — the strong ties, the playfulness between veterans and raw rookies — is refreshing, although he only witnesses a fraction of it.

“I’ve watched (as) they allow the young kids to come in and fit into it, but we’re not in that room. Most of the really good stories we never hear. We can hear the laughter on the other side of the door, but you never really get the good stuff,” he said.

“That’s why the next-best place is the coach’s (room) because we’ve got our own jokes about them, and they have their jokes about us.”

jason.bell@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @WFPJasonBell