Consistent and dependable Jets third line comes up big at both ends of the ice By: Ken Wiebe Posted: 5:42 PM CST Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024

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This article was published 22/02/2024 (638 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

They don’t have a snazzy nickname, nor do they need one.

The trio of Adam Lowry, Nino Niederreiter and Mason Appleton do a lot of heavy lifting for the Winnipeg Jets and bring their proverbial lunch buckets to work on a daily basis.

They’ve been the most consistent line for the Jets during this impressive season, which continues with a game against the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday night at United Center at 7:30 p.m.

That’s why head coach Rick Bowness has been reluctant to break them up since they were put together early in the season, even with some recent goal-scoring issues the Jets have been battling through, especially at even strength.

“It’s a dominant line. It is,” Bowness said before the team flew to Chicago on Thursday afternoon.

“You’ve got a dominant line that’s controlling play — and you’ve got to remember the roles that I’m putting them in. When we get scored against, they’re going on the ice to settle things down. We get scored against, they’re going back out to get the forecheck going. So that’s their role, playing against the opposition’s top lines when we have the last change at home. So it’s worked to this point.

“Nothing is written in stone. That doesn’t mean that we won’t move some of those guys around if we need to. We just haven’t felt that need yet.”

Niederreiter has scored or eclipsed 20 goals seven times in his NHL career, so he would be a logical candidate to spark the second-scoring line along with Sean Monahan.

This season, however, Niederreiter has been a great fit with Lowry and Appleton.

During the times when the players on the line have suffered through an extended scoring slump, the job they do defensively is enough to offset any lulls in production.

That doesn’t mean the Lowry line doesn’t recognize part of their job is to help supply some complementary scoring — especially when goals are tougher to come by.

“Our line has been talking about getting back to the ways we can contribute. We’ve gone through a lull and it coincides with the (teamwide) scoring slump,” said Lowry. “Secondary is huge to get results in this league.”

Lowry has gone 15 games without scoring, but he snapped a 10-game drought without a point in Tuesday’s 6-3 victory over the Minnesota Wild, chipping in a pair of assists.

While some players show outward frustration when going through a rough offensive patch, Lowry met a question about his slump with his trademark sense of humour.

“You know what, I kind of expect one a year,” Lowry deadpanned, before tackling the subject head on. “It’s one of those things where sometimes it feels like you’re gripping your stick too tight. If I wasn’t getting chances or creating some, it would be a little more frustrating. I was getting chances (in the last game. There’s been opportunities to score. It comes down to bearing down and getting one. Then sometimes it feels like the dam breaks.

“It can certainly weigh on you. The biggest thing is to go back to the foundation of your game and see if you can impact the game in different areas.”

One of those areas is setting the tone, and the Lowry line did just that on Tuesday, establishing a strong forecheck, spending ample time in the offensive zone and doing an excellent job against Joel Eriksson Ek, Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy — one day after Eriksson Ek and Kaprizov had matching hat tricks and six-point outings against the Vancouver Canucks.

Not only that, but the Jets checking line notched a pair of goals — a sharp-angle marker from Appleton that made it 2-0 and an empty-netter from Niederreiter that rounded out the scoring.

“We had a really good start, had a couple of chances early and we liked our game all night. I thought we were really clean coming through the neutral zone, with breakouts. We managed the puck right and from there, we created good chances,” said Appleton.

“So, it was a good game for our line. It would be nice to see the puck fall in a little bit more here.”

“It would be nice to see the puck fall in a little bit more here.”–Mason Appleton

The Blackhawks represent a different challenge for the Jets. Despite the tough season for the team currently 32nd overall, they’ve played the Jets tough and beat them in overtime in their second meeting of the season on Dec. 27.

Blackhawks goalie Petr Mrazek has been a factor in the two of the previous meetings, turning aside 63 of the 66 shots on goal he’s faced, leaving him with a .955 save percentage and 1.48 goals-against average — compared to his season totals that include a .909 save percentage and 2.99 goals-against average in 39 appearances with a team that has gone 15-39-3 overall.

“It’s going to be important to get screens, tips, deflections. Score goals that he has no chance on,” said Appleton. “That’s kind of our MO going into (Friday).”

Blackhawks rookie phenom Connor Bedard recently returned from a broken jaw and continues to turn heads with his captivating style of play.

The first overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft is up to 17 goals and 39 points in 43 games this season.

“I feel like he’s found a good balance of being able to block it out when the game hits and just play his game. When he doesn’t have the puck, he’s not nearly as lethal as when he does. I’m not saying he’s bad off the puck at all, don’t get me wrong, but when he has the puck, that’s really when his game kicks into another gear,” said Appleton.

“How we try to look at it is if we’re blanketing him and always in the right spots defending him that we’re going to limit his touches. Because when he gets his touches in a game, it’s crazy. You look at the box score and he’s got 12 shot attempts in a game. He gets his looks when he gets the puck because he can shoot that puck from anywhere. He can get his release off quick and he’s obviously got a really good shot as well. To see how he’s been scoring goals at that age is damn impressive.

“Just trying to always be in his pocket and try to be all over him, that’s kind of how you’ve got to defend him.”

ken.wiebe@freepress.mb.ca

X: @WiebesWorld