It’s Jets vs. Predators

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This article was published 22/04/2018 (2748 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

As the Winnipeg Jets returned to the ice Sunday morning, they found themselves in a temporary holding pattern. They had punched their ticket to round two but were still waiting for a dance partner to emerge.

Then the Nashville Predators joined the party several hours later, setting up a compelling second-round series which will pit the NHL’s top two teams during the regular-season against each other. Exact dates and times have yet to be announced, but it’s expected to begin Thursday in Tennessee.

One thing was clear: despite having some idle time on their hands after disposing of Minnesota in five games, the Jets weren’t putting their collective feet up.

Sunday’s practice at Bell MTS Iceplex was noticeably fast-paced, with plenty of up-tempo drills clearly designed to keep the team as sharp as possible. Look no further than defenceman Tyler Myers burying forward Andrew Copp with a big hit during one particular puck battle.

“That’s the way our group is, intense, chirping each other. It makes it fun. It’s kind of the environment we have in the room and on the ice. Whenever we step out there it’s competitive. It makes going out there worthwhile,” said captain Blake Wheeler. “Guys take pride in their work and like working hard. That’s what we’re here for. You don’t go out there just to tool around. It’s not the way we do things.”

“After a day off you always want to get the legs going again. We wanted to be quick. We don’t want to slow ourselves down. We wanted to feel the puck a little bit and it was a good skate,” added linemate Mark Scheifele.

Players were planning to watch Sunday night’s Game 6 between the Predators and Avalanche, either on their own and in small groups, but generally expressed no preference about the outcome — which ended up being a 5-0 Nashville rout to win the series.

On one hand, having some immediate certainty about their next opponent now provides more time for specific game-planning. On the other hand, having that series get extended to a Game 7 Tuesday would have taken a further toll on whoever managed to emerge.

“Both teams are very good teams and have had great years. It’s the Stanley Cup playoffs, so you’ve got to have the right mindset whether you’re playing Nashville or Colorado,” said forward Brandon Tanev.

Nashville was the only team in the NHL to have a better regular-season record than Winnipeg. For what it’s worth, the Jets went 2-3-0 against the Predators this season.

If Colorado could have pulled off the big upset, Winnipeg would have started round two at home. The Jets went 2-0-2 against the Avalanche this year.

“Honestly, it doesn’t matter. Even if they beat each other up, they’re still going to regroup and be ready to go in the second round,” veteran centre Bryan Little said Sunday morning when asked for a preference.

Coach Paul Maurice said this break between rounds is valuable for his team, which ended the Minnesota series banged up. Nikolaj Ehlers was a scratch for Game 5, Joel Armia got hurt during the game and didn’t return and goalie Steve Mason went down during the morning skate.

Defencemen Toby Enstrom and Dmitry Kulikov have yet to play a game so far in the playoffs, while forward Mathieu Perreault was knocked out after Game 1. Myers returned from a one-game injury absence to play in the clincher against the Wild.

And those are just the hurts we know about publicly. There’s no doubt other players who are currently grinding through some aches and pains. For example, sniper Patrik Laine left Sunday’s skate early.

“I’m not concerned,” Maurice said Sunday afternoon of Laine, without offering further details.

Ehlers and Enstrom were full participants in the practice, albeit in yellow no-contact jerseys. Kulikov has not resumed skating following an injury suffered last month, and Maurice had no updates on Perreault, Armia or Mason.

Ehlers explained his absence Friday, saying he “felt off” following the morning skate. After consulting with trainers and coaches, they decided not to risk it and sit him out.

“I wanted to make sure that I was 100 per cent, and I didn’t feel that on Friday. I didn’t how much I could help the team,” said Ehlers. “In the playoffs, you know, sometimes you play with it, and sometimes you have to think about the situation. I hate not playing, but I’m glad I didn’t. We won the game, and I have a few days to get back to 100 per cent.”

Maurice was asked whether Ehlers had an injury or an illness, and responded by calling it “malaise.” Ehlers didn’t provide much additional detail on Sunday.

“I don’t even know what malaise means,” he said. “But it sounds pretty good.”

As for Enstrom joining full practice for the first time (he’d previously skated a couple times on his own), Maurice said it was a positive development.

“Good sign but if you watched the practice, it doesn’t look like he’s missed a day. That’s Toby. He’s dealt with injuries his whole career and come back on short notice and been very good. He looked it (Sunday). Hopefully we get him out of that sweater along with Nikky and into the right colour,” said Maurice.

This break also allows for a bit of reflection by the Jets on what went right against the Wild — and how they can prepare for the next challenge ahead.

“Obviously, it feels good. We put a lot of hard work into it, but now we’re here for the long term. We want to win a Stanley Cup and we’re going to continue to build our games until the very end,” said goalie Connor Hellebuyck, who helped finish off Minnesota with two straight shutouts.

“We can’t expect to go 16-0 so just getting through one and knowing it doesn’t really mean anything and we can get through it. We’re just going to continue playing our game and it’s going to work for us. I think that’s key for the long haul.”

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @mikemcintyrewpg