Stenlund cleared for takeoff

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 18/04/2023 (922 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Winnipeg Jets had hoped to leave Denver a healthy bunch following their regular-season finale against the Colorado Avalanche last week.

The plan had a wrench thrown in it, however, after forward Kevin Stenlund pulled up lame before the final whistle, putting his health in question for Game 1 against the Vegas Golden Knights in their opening-round Stanley Cup playoff series Tuesday night.

Stenlund didn’t practice with the club when they returned to Winnipeg after a 4-2 loss to the Avs, nor was he to be seen on the ice when the Jets took off to Vegas and had a workout Monday. He did take in the morning skate Tuesday, ultimately quashing any fears the fourth-line centre might be unavailable.

“I feel good,” Stenlund told the Free Press, adding the injury, though undisclosed, was something he had dealt with earlier in the year. “It hadn’t been bugging me for a long, long time and then I aggravated it a little bit.”

While Stenlund doesn’t log the most minutes, averaging just 11:40 per game, nor is he relied on to fill the net, with just six goals and three assists in 54 games this season, he is an important piece for the Jets.

The 26-year-old is an integral part of Winnipeg’s penalty kill, a unit that was ranked 7th in the NHL, as well as the club’s top performer when it comes to taking face-offs. Stenlund, who is also a big presence, standing 6-5 and weighing 215 pounds, has won 53 per cent of his draws this season, ahead of other centres Adam Lowry (50), Pierre-Luc Dubois (49) and Mark Scheifele (48).

“Just playing a stable game, on defence and offence,” Stenlund said. “It’s going to be a fun series to be a part of.”

Stenlund hasn’t been a scoring machine this season but he, along with linemates Morgan Barron and Saku Maenalanen, have been finding some offence of late, just in time for the most important games to begin. The big Swede scored short-handed against the Avalanche in the finale, converting a nice pass on a two-on-one with Barron, while also registering an assist in a 3-1 win over the Minnesota Wild two days earlier that clinched the Jets’ playoff spot.

The addition of Barron to the fourth line has given the trio an added scoring touch and helped give the Jets put together their most balanced lines all season.

“He’s been awesome,” Stenlund said. “He’s strong on the puck, helps a lot in battles and plays the wing as he should.”

Stenlund doesn’t have a ton of playoff experience, logging just two games as a member of the Columbus Blue Jackets in their first-round series against the Tampa Bay Lightning. It didn’t work out as planned — Columbus was eliminated in five games in the best-of-seven series — but Stenlund did score once, sniping a power-play marker in his second and final game.

“I love playoffs,” he said. “Around the locker room you feel something different. Everyone is battling and every battle is important. It’s a different game.”

Winnipeg Free Press | Newsletter

Mike McIntyre | On Sports

Thursdays

Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter.

Sign up for Mike McIntyre | On Sports

Sign Up

I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement.

While the Jets might be the No. 8 seed, up against the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference, Stenlund doesn’t exactly feel the Jets are underdogs. Not with how Winnipeg has been playing of late, winning five of their last seven games heading into the playoffs.

There’s also the fact the Jets have been in playoff mode for some time, having to fight and claw for the final wild-card spot for the better part of the last month. They are up against a strong opponent in the Golden Knights, who have collected points in each of their last eight games (5-0-3).

“We had a couple really good games coming (into the playoffs). I think that’s huge for playoffs, to get that mindset that you have to win every game,” Stenlund said. “It doesn’t matter what the score is, they are must-win games. Obviously, it’s going to be a hard game, but we’ll take it.”

Jeff.Hamilton@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @jeffkhamilton

Jeff Hamilton
Multimedia producer

Jeff Hamilton is a sports and investigative reporter. Jeff joined the Free Press newsroom in April 2015, and has been covering the local sports scene since graduating from Carleton University’s journalism program in 2012. Read more about Jeff.

Every piece of reporting Jeff produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.