Jets focused on pesky Predators

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This article was published 06/04/2023 (888 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

They couldn’t find success in the biggest game of the season. The Winnipeg Jets, however, say a short-term memory is the best way to handle their current situation.

“It’s just move on to the next one,” associate coach Scott Arniel said Thursday during a sparsely attended optional practice that followed video sessions and team meetings. Only the healthy scratches and the fourth-line forwards from the Wednesday’s 3-1 loss to the Calgary Flames hit the ice.

“I know it’s easy to say, but we knew the importance of (Wednesday’s) game and it didn’t work out in our favour, but we have to move on to Nashville here. Prepare as best we can, we’ve just seen them recently, and make sure we’re a little bit better than what we were (Wednesday) night.”

The Jets are still in control here, despite now being tied with the Flames for the final Western Conference wild card. They have four games remaining (Calgary has three), starting Saturday evening against those pesky Predators.

“We’ve talked about just zooming in on the moment itself. If we win three games, we’re pretty much guaranteed in,” said Arniel.

“But we can’t focus on that. We have to focus on our individual games, what you can do as a player that can bring benefit to our hockey club, and just go out and do that. I thought (Wednesday) night it looked a little bit like we were tentative. We’re thinking maybe about the end result instead of how do we work to get to victory.”

Despite trading several key players at the deadline, Nashville very much remains in the post-season mix. They were just three points back of the Jets and Flames pending the outcome of Thursday night’s home game against the Carolina Hurricanes.

“They’re definitely hanging around,” said Nino Niederreiter, who was sent from the Predators to the Jets in exchange for a second-round draft pick.

“The thing with them is they have no expectations right now. They sold quite a lot of players, traded away quite a lot of players. Now they can play with no pressures knowing they don’t have to make the playoffs. Obviously if they make it, it’s great and they definitely deserve it. But they have no pressure, so it’s definitely a different situation they are in.”

A win over Calgary would have cemented Winnipeg’s hopes, but Niederreiter said there’s still reason for optimism.

“Honestly, it’s the most exciting part of the year,” he said. “You play 82 games and you want to get into the playoffs. Now we put ourselves in a position where we still can control our own destiny. Which is fun. But we know what’s at stake. Obviously the loss (Wednesday) night made things a little harder than they’re supposed to be. But we definitely embrace the challenges.”

Niederreiter has been in this kind of slow-moving race before.

“One year, when I was playing with Minnesota, we went on a five game losing streak into the playoffs. We were hoping that Colorado was losing, and they lost four in a row. And we lost five in a row and ended up making it,” he said. “And then we lost the first two games in the playoffs against Dallas and ended up winning the series. I mean, you never know how it’s going to turn out. Like I said, those are the fun situations to be in right now. And I think we’re all excited about it.”

The Jets can certainly help their cause by staying disciplined. They gave the Flames six power plays on Wednesday night, which is out-of-character for them. Although they managed to kill them all off, it severely impacted the flow of the game and reduced ice time significantly for players who aren’t on the PK.

“A lot of teams are playing meaningless hockey at this point. We’re right in the thick of a race here. A big four games coming up,” said defenceman Brenden Dillon.

The Jets will return to the ice on Friday morning for a full team practice as they get ready for the next biggest game of the year.

“We all know what’s at stake. We all want to do the right thing and want to get there,” said Dillon.

“Managing those highs and lows is so crucial at this time of the year. To realize that yeah, you want to have the pressure, you want to understand the importance of the games but at the same time, it is just another game and if you put too much emphasis on that shift or you start gripping the stick or you start doing things outside of that zone that is going to make you successful, then you get in trouble. I found sometimes we were forcing it a little bit (against Calgary).”

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @mikemcintyrewpg