Ehlers dropped to third line as struggling Jets search for scoring

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This article was published 27/03/2023 (940 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It’s typically not a good sign when a hockey team is still juggling its healthy lineup on the eve of Game No. 75, hoping to find a spark that can perhaps save the season from completely swirling down the drain.

But such is the current state of the Winnipeg Jets, who saw the blender come out once again on Monday as they skated in southern California. They are just 7-11-2 in the last 20 games, including an uninspiring 4-1 loss on Saturday afternoon in Los Angeles, and are trying to hold off both the Calgary Flames and Nashville Predators for the final Western Conference wild-card playoff spot.

Up next is a critical Tuesday night date with the sad-sack San Jose Sharks, who have the lowest winning percentage in the NHL. However, one of their 19 victories was a 3-2 overtime triumph over the Jets at Canada Life Centre back on March 6.

“More offence. Simple as that,” Jets coach Rick Bowness told reporters following an early afternoon practice.

Nikolaj Ehlers has been moved out of Winnipeg’s top six, bumped down to a line with Adam Lowry and Mason Appleton. Vladislav Namestnikov moves up to fill the vacated spot along with the struggling Mark Scheifele and Blake Wheeler.

“I’ve always thought Vladdy would be a good fit with Mark and Wheels so we gotta look at that,” said Bowness.”Adam ‘s scoring (three goals in his past five games), so maybe they can help Nik get going, two big strong guys that hang on to pucks. It’s as simple as that. We’re just trying to find more offence.”

The other top line of Pierre-Luc Dubois, Kyle Connor and Nino Niederreiter remains intact, as does the fourth line of Kevin Stenlund, Morgan Barron and Saku Maenalanen.

“I played with Blake a little bit before, but this was the first time with Scheif,” said Namestnikov. “I thought practice was good. We were moving the puck and hopefully it can translate into the game.”

The Jets enter play against the Sharks with just a four-point cushion on Calgary (both teams have eight games remaining) and a five-point buffer on Nashville (who have 10 games left). Winnipeg’s margin for error is now razor-thin, which speaks to why Connor Hellebuyck will make his league-leading 58th start.

They opened this road trip with a 3-2 victory in Anaheim last Thursday, and will try to close it out on a winning note. A five-game homestand is on deck, including games against the Flames and Predators, and then a season-ending two game trek to Minnesota and Colorado.

Whether they’ll be planning for the playoffs or preparing to clean out their lockers when the regular-season buzzer sounds 16 days from now remains to be seen.

“Everyone knows there are eight games left and we need to win a certain amount of games. We’re all focused on that,” said Namestnikov, who came over in a trade deadline deal with the Sharks and has six points (two goals, four assists) in 12 games. “Obviously we let the one (Saturday) slip away, but we all know what’s at stake. So we’re ready to go.”

Some contributions from the top players would help. Scheifele has been struggling mightily, with no goals and just two assists in his last eight games.

“He’s got 38 goals. Shoot the puck,” Bowness said of his top centre, who has gone without a shot in three of those eight contests.

“We can’t go into every game, ‘We need you to shoot the puck, OK.’ But when your chance is there, you’ve got to shoot the puck. You can’t be looking for — and this is where this team gets itself in trouble. When we’re looking to make that extra play that’s there, instead of putting it on the net. There’s got to be a lot more commitment from all of them to shoot, but especially Mark. He’s got a great shot, he’s got a great release. If it’s there, don’t look for the next play. The next play should be a shot on net.”

Namestnikov recalled Monday how he played against Scheifele in the Ontario Hockey League more than a decade ago. He’s looking forward to now lining up beside him.

“For me, nothing changes. I still have to be a responsible two-way player,” he said. “I just have to get those guys the puck and win all my battles in the corner. Just play my game. I’ve played with many types of players before. I’m excited to get a chance to play with these guys.”

Bowness believes the newest addition could be a perfect fit.

“It’s his hockey IQ. He hangs on to plays and knows where people are. He can find people,” he said of Namestnikov. “And doesn’t throw the puck away. That’s the biggest thing. He hangs on to it. When you’re playing with those two guys and you want to be a puck possession team, the third guy on the line can’t be getting it throwing it away. Vladdy will get it, and he’ll hang on to it and buy time for them to support him.”

Ehlers has been wildly inconsistent at times, perhaps owing to a sports hernia suffered during the second game of the year that cost him three months. The skilled winger had three goals in his first five games back, but just six in the 31 games since.

“I want him skating with the puck. You’re after him every day, get the puck and skate, get the puck and skate. He didn’t skate with it last game, he didn’t. And we need him to get the puck and skate,” said Bowness.

“So Adam and Apple, we’ll see how it goes, but they’ll give him some size and it should clear out some space for him to give him a little more room with the puck. Listen, from day one we’ve wanted Nik getting the puck and skating with it. That’s when he’s at his best. He just got it a a couple times the other night, he wasn’t moving and he gave the puck away. So we’ll try something else. It’s the consistency we’re after. So keep moving him around and hopefully we can get more consistency from him.”

No other lineup changes are anticipated, with the same six defencemen (Josh Morrissey with Dylan DeMelo, Brenden Dillon with Neal Pionk and Nate Schmidt with Dylan Samberg) suiting up. Logan Stanley, Kyle Capobianco, Karson Kuhlman, David Gustafsson and Axel Jonsson-Fjallby will be the healthy scratches, while Cole Perfetti and Sam Gagner remain sidelined with long-term injuries.

Puck drop at the Shark Tank is 9:30 p.m. CT.

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @mikemcintyrewpg