Arniel shuffles the deck

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This article was published 21/10/2024 (349 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

ST. LOUIS — Scott Arniel couldn’t afford to lose track of the big picture.

That’s why the head coach of the Winnipeg Jets didn’t get caught up in any superstitious notions that could have impacted his decision to make lineup changes in Sunday’s game against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Recognizing his team was in the early stages of a stretch that features seven games in 14 days — and 15 in 30 overall — Arniel resisted the urge to stick with a winning lineup just because his team was undefeated. That was absolutely the right call, whether things worked out or not.

As the Jets prepare to open a three-game road trip against the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday, there’s every indication the proposed rotatation could continue over the course of the trip, which includes games against the Seattle Kraken and Calgary Flames.

On Sunday, Eric Comrie slid between the pipes for his first start of the season, giving Connor Hellebuyck a well-deserved day off.

Comrie won the backup job during training camp and he rewarded his coaches for their faith in him, turning aside 39 shots in the 6-3 win.

Even after falling behind 2-0, Comrie made a couple of good saves to keep it a two-goal game before the Jets cut into the lead and eventually prevailed.

This was an important development, as things didn’t go smoothly for Comrie during a good chunk of the past two seasons with the Buffalo Sabres.

The Jets showed belief in bringing Comrie back for a third tour of duty and it’s important for him to ensure there isn’t much of a dropoff from the way Laurent Brossoit handled the job last season.

As much as Hellebuyck enjoys a heavy workload, it’s important to not overburden him early in the season.

Comrie needs to make at least 20 starts this season and a case can be made that number should be closer to 24 to help keep Hellebuyck fresh for the stretch run and into the post-season.

Comrie figures to play against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Nov. 1, if not before that.

Inserting David Gustafsson at centre on the fourth line was a safe play.

To make it perfectly clear, this wasn’t punishment for Rasmus Kupari either.

Kupari has come out of the gate strong, using his speed to make things happen through his first four games.

He’s improved in the faceoff circle and has been creating scoring chances for himself and his linemates.

Kupari snapped his 69-game goal-scoring drought and has shown some offensive flair, exuding more confidence with the puck on his stick.

That needs to be his new base line.

Gustafsson has proven to be a capable player and could easily be a regular on that fourth line, given his defensive awareness and ability to make plays.

He took 16 shifts for 10:21 of ice time, recording two shots on goal on three shot attempts.

It was a tough day in the faceoff circle for the Jets (45 per cent) and especially for Gustafsson, who won three of the 10 draws he took (a team-low 30 per cent).

“I’ve been in this situation many times, being outside the lineup, getting thrown in there and getting a chance,” Gustafsson said Monday. “It’s easier when you’ve done it before and you can kind of keep your mood up. Right now we’re 5-0, so there’s not much to be mad about.”

The competition between Kupari and Gustafsson will be ongoing and Gustafsson can be used on the wing as well.

The third change came on defence, as Logan Stanley made his season debut after suffering a knee injury early in training camp.

During his post-game address with the media, Arniel explained that he wanted to get Stanley into a home game, so that was part of the decision-making process.

Stanley had an eventful game as he worked to shake off the rust, skating on the third pairing with Colin Miller, who had two assists in the game.

Stanley chipped in an assist on Mark Scheifele’s fifth goal of the season and finished with 21 shifts for 16:52 of ice time, with two shots on goal, three shot attempts and three blocked shots.

One of the plays that doesn’t show up on the scoresheet, an errant pass in the D-zone led to a failed exit and a slashing minor for Miller.

The Penguins got a power play goal from Kevin Hayes during the penalty 90 seconds into the second period to open the scoring.

Then on the Lars Eller goal that made it 2-0 just under four minutes later, Stanley got caught a little flat-footed in the defensive zone.

The inability to close the gap allowed Eller to take advantage of some open space before firing a perfect shot high to the glove side of Comrie.

Mistakes are going to happen over the course of a game, especially for someone who had only one preseason game nearly a month earlier.

Stanley was on the ice for two goals for and just one against, plus he got an opportunity to contribute to the penalty kill (spending 54 seconds on the ice while shorthanded).

With the departure of Brenden Dillon in free agency, Stanley could be asked to provide a physical presence on the defence corps.

Last week, Arniel talked about the need for Stanley to tick off the opposition.

Stanley has spoken about the quest for consistency and it will be interesting to see how the battle for the sixth spot on the depth chart goes during the coming weeks.

Haydn Fleury has shown that he’s capable of providing quality minutes in that spot as well, so it’s incumbent upon Stanley to keep moving forward if he’s going to win the job.

Sunday’s insertions mean defenceman Dylan Coghlan is the only player on the active roster who has yet to appear in a regular season game.

The competition on the blue line is only going to get stiffer once Ville Heinola gets back on the ice and inserts himself into the battle.

Straddling the line between letting players get into a rhythm while not holding capable NHL players out of action for too long is one of the many tasks a head coach must navigate over the course of a season.

Arniel hit the right notes in this case and he’ll attempt to avoid the potential potholes as the Jets push toward the 10-game mark by the time the next road trip begins.

ken.wiebe@freepress.mb.ca

X: @WiebesWorld