Pionk’s bold move pays big dividends for Jets

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This article was published 12/10/2024 (358 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Neal Pionk was in no mood to spend any time patting himself on the back.

The Winnipeg Jets defenceman explained that he simply made a calculated gamble that paid off when asked to discuss the thought process of attacking Chicago Blackhawks forward Ilya Mikheyev in the neutral zone late in the third period of Friday’s rally.

The Jets were down at the time and it looked like Mikheyev was going to have a clear path to shooting into the empty net.

But instead of allowing that to happen, Pionk made the alert decision to attack Mikheyev, preventing him from having the opportunity to get a shot off and setting the stage for a dramatic comeback that included a pair of goals from Mark Scheifele in what became a 2-1 overtime win.

“I just think it’s an aggressive mindset,” said Pionk. “If they’re going to walk around you or make a chip play around you, that’s fine. Don’t let them cross into your own blue line and let them shoot it into the net.

“That’s just too easy. If you make an aggressive pinch and they go around you, it is what it is. But make them make that play.”

That’s precisely what Pionk did and Scheifele recognized the importance of the play when he spoke to reporters after Friday’s win.

“That saved it from being game over to, all of a sudden, winning in overtime,” said Scheifele, who scored the 300th goal of his NHL career to help the Jets improve to 2-0.

Scheifele is set to hit another milestone on Sunday at 5 p.m., as he’s scheduled to skate in his 800th NHL game during the first meeting of the season against the Minnesota Wild.

Facing one of your fiercest rivals this early in the campaign is beneficial for players and fans alike.

“It gets the adrenaline going, gets the juices going,” said Pionk. “You almost get a playoff game in October, because you get that physicality and you get that emotion into the game. The crowd will be rowdy. It will be a fun one.”

It could also be a spicy one, given Winnipeg’s sweep of all four games the teams played last season.

The Wild were unhappy with star winger Kirill Kaprizov getting injured on two separate occasions, once when Jets defenceman Logan Stanley fell awkwardly on him and another time when he was on the receiving end of a cross-check to the ribs from Brenden Dillon.

The Jets, meanwhile, weren’t thrilled with Wild forward Ryan Hartman catching Cole Perfetti with a blatant stick to the face after a faceoff.

“That’s a two-way street,” said Jets head coach Scott Arniel. “I think that they go after our top guys. If you look around the league, I think that if you let the opposition’s best players just run free range, you’re going to have a tough night. You’ve got to make it hard on those guys. You don’t want them to get comfortable because once they get comfortable, then they start to become tougher to play against.”

With the Jets playing a mostly spread out schedule during the month of October, Arniel was asked if he had a game circled on the calendar for Eric Comrie’s first start of the season.

“Kind of, sort of,” said Arniel, who wasn’t ready to reveal that game just yet.

After Sunday’s outing, the Jets don’t play again until facing the San Jose Sharks on Friday and the Pittsburgh Penguins on Oct. 20 to wrap up a four-game homestand.

Comrie isn’t fretting about when he’s going to see game action.

He got a vote of confidence on Thursday as he won the backup job when the Jets placed Kaapo Kahkonen on waivers.

Kahkonen was subsequently claimed by the Colorado Avalanche.

“Kaapo and I were very close. We talked the whole time,” said Comrie. “I was never trying to battle him for a spot. I was trying to do the best I could for myself and that’s all I could do at the end of the day. I don’t really measure myself up against anybody.

“If you perform your best, you can earn a spot and they will make room for you.”

Comrie said he was encouraged when he heard the news he had earned the No. 2 spot on the depth chart, but he’s been around long enough to know he needs to perform at a high level to keep the job.

“I’ve got to earn that spot every single day,” said Comrie. “It’s not a given that I will hold it for the year. Just continuing the same work ethic I have, every single day, not taking everything for granted, and earning that spot. Every day.”

Comrie signed a two-year, one-way deal with the Jets on July 1 and his familiarity with the organization, coupled with his relationship with Hellebuyck and Jets goalie coach Wade Flaherty, were major factors in his decision.

“Wade Flaherty is one of the best goalies coaches in the NHL and Connor Hellebuyck is the best goalie in the NHL,” said Comrie. “For myself to be around that every single day, it’s a special thing for myself. Like I said before, I’m a goalie nerd. I’m going to be a sponge and soak up as much as I can and try to be the best I can and learn from them.”

ken.wiebe@freepress.mb.ca

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