Scheifele, Wheeler yet to hit stride

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This article was published 08/11/2021 (1438 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Infrequently, the Winnipeg Jets have had to manage without the offensive offerings of Mark Scheifele and Blake Wheeler during the past six or seven NHL seasons.

Now, as the 2021-22 NHL season progresses, the NHL club finds itself in the rare position of having to produce enough scoring from the rest of the ensemble to cover a lack of input from the two skilled veterans, who have been recently aligned with Adam Lowry on more of a checking trio but with a healthy dose of finesse.

Chalk up much of the drought to bad luck, on and off the ice.

Scheifele and Wheeler were sidelined for five games owing to COVID-19, and the Jets centre also missed the season-opener while serving the last game of a four-game suspension he received for his dangerous run at Montreal Canadiens forward Jake Evans in the playoffs in June.

Wheeler has recorded just two assists in six games, while Scheifele has three helpers in five.

Now, a serious question lingers about Scheifele’s availability for Tuesday’s home date with the Central Division-rival St. Louis Blues. Game time is 7 p.m. at Canada Life Centre.

The sting of Winnipeg’s 2-0 defeat Saturday to the New York Islanders was exacerbated by injuries to both him and Paul Stastny in the third period. Scheifele emerged from a collision with Islanders blue-liner Adam Pelech favouring his leg and was in obvious pain on the bench. He played one short shift before making his way to the dressing room.

“With these, you know it’s going to be a bruise and we’ll see what it looks like (Sunday) would be the tell,” Jets head coach Paul Maurice, during his post-game media conference. “If the swelling can stay down, then we’ll be pretty fortunate with it and, hopefully, that’s what it is.”

Earlier in the period, Stastny was hit in the foot by friendly fire, limped to the bench and did not return. An update on the veterans’ status is expected after today’s practice.

New York’s stifling defensive structure resulted in a scarcity of prime scoring chances Saturday yet prior to his departure, Scheifele had not one but two sensational chances in the second period to knot the score 1-1. He sailed a quick release high and wide of an open net, and then corralled a bouncing puck off the backboard and shovelled it to the net, only to be robbed by goalie Ilya Sorokin.

Backup goalie Eric Comrie had a stellar performance for Winnipeg, stopping 29 shots in his third consecutive start.

It was an otherwise infuriating night for the Jets, who lost for the first time in five home-ice games and dropped to 6-3-2 on the season. Just one night before, they imposed their will on the sadsack Chicago Blackhawks in a 5-1 romp.

“I don’t think they necessarily enjoyed the (Islanders) game. It was a little bit of a quiet bench,” Maurice said. “You get that always on back-to-backs. It’s a little bit quieter, right. I didn’t think we had a real heavy push in some areas, but it’s a loss so you don’t enjoy it.”

Wheeler had more than 21 minutes of ice time to lead all Winnipeg forwards and was engaged throughout, but managed just two shots on Sorokin.

While their numbers are down, the busy hands and tireless feet of two of Winnipeg’s key leaders have helped provide an important defensive element.

“I’ve felt like the last two games we’ve made a big impact on the game. You play 20 minutes, playing against the other teams’ top line and playing hard, I feel like the opportunities have been there,” Wheeler said, during the club’s availability Saturday morning. “Overall, we’re trying to win hockey games. You’re not going to see Mark and I coming in here and complaining about lack of production when we’ve played two games together and our team is, since the first two games of the year, is — what’s our record? It’s pretty good, right?”

While the Jets orchestrated some nifty goals on goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, a play going the other way garnered, the most adulation. As Blackhawks’ forward Dylan Strome broke free, Scheifele chased him down and swiped the puck away at the last moment.

“At the end of the season, you will probably see Mark Scheifele having a ton of points. But those types of plays resonate throughout the lineup way more than Scheifs scoring a goal,” said Wheeler. “When you see your best players playing 200 feet, playing hard and making plays like that, that’s what buy-in is all about.”

That kind of work isn’t taken for granted by the man who runs the bench.

“I can get Scheifs and Wheels points, I’ll just put Kyle Connor there and then put some sort of checking line together so that those guys don’t have to go out and play against (offensive guys). But that doesn’t mean that we win more,” offered Maurice.

“They’re smart guys, they know there’s not going to be the same kind of production. But they played their butts off and they defended and they were a big part of us winning the (Friday night) game. And there’s some maturity there. They know and they value winning over points, for sure.”

Connor scored his team-leading eighth goal against Chicago, Stastny fired his fourth and Nikolaj Ehlers chipped in his third, while Andrew Copp set up three goals.

Pierre-Luc Dubois, meanwhile, was a major force during the absences of Scheifele and Wheeler and is enjoying a solid bounce-back season with seven tallies in 11 games.

Saturday’s setback should give the Jets plenty to think about, as the Islanders play a playoff brand of hockey to near perfection. Still, a vastly improved defence, the solid goalie combination of currently ailing starter Connor Hellebuyck and Comrie and a balanced forward group comprise, perhaps, the most complete Jets squad since the franchise’s relocation from Atlanta to the Manitoba capital.

“The drivers of our hockey team have been here a while, so even though we’ve made a bunch of changes to the way we play the game, we’ve added some personnel, I think it goes to the Scheifele-Wheeler (concept) of whatever needs to get done to win,” said Maurice. “There are fewer players in our forward group that feel they have to prove themselves offensively.

“They can go out, they know their gonna get enough, they know they’re all playing with good players, they’re excited about their lines. They’re not going to cheat and haven’t been. We’ve still got lots of room to get better but they’re not cheating on the wrong side of the puck.”

jason.bell@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @WFPJasonBell