Jets defenceman Miller expected to be called in, Fleury day-to-day

NEW YORK – Colin Miller, the stage is yours.

Thanks to a lower-body injury to Haydn Fleury, the veteran defenceman is expected to be called into duty and make his season debut for the Winnipeg Jets on Monday afternoon against the New York Islanders.

Miller has experience dealing with the in-and-out nature of being a sixth or seventh defenceman over the course of his career, so you can expect him to be ready to try and seize the opportunity.

“You want to get your first game under the belt for your season. We have a lot of good D-men on this team, so we help out where we can. ” said Miller, who had four goals and 15 points in 60 games with the Jets last season but was a healthy scratch in the first two games of the current campaign. “When you are on the off-side, there are some things that are better and some things that are different, taking routes. Some positives, as well as some things to adjust to.”

Jets head coach Scott Arniel officially called Fleury day-to-day and left the door open for him to potentially play on Monday, though that seems unlikely since the afternoon game means there won’t be a morning skate to test things out.

Miller is shifting over to the left side (his off side) on the third pairing with Luke Schenn, though the pairings could be fluid since the Jets won’t have the last change during the next two games.

“We’ve talked about it since we went to 7 D here, we said that might be one of the ways you’re going to get in,” said Arniel. “So he’s been doing it not just today, but for other days he’s been practicing on that side. He said he’s played there other times. Whenever you get down to five defencemen, a lot of those guys will end up on the off-side. That’s just something that I had told him right from the very beginning when we broke camp, to make sure to work both sides because you never know when we might need it.”

Fleury’s absence also moves Logan Stanley up onto the second pairing with Neal Pionk.

They were used together throughout a good chunk of the third period on Saturday afternoon with Fleury out of commission, along with various points during training camp and exhibition action.

Stanley made a series of important blocked shots during the final three minutes of the 3-2 victory over the Los Angeles Kings and finished with four in the contest.

“It was a long, long couple minutes,” said Stanley. “I felt like I was doing burpees in the crease, getting up and down to take away the (shot) but it was fun to be out there at the end of the game.

“Yeah, I was exhausted. Legs were gassed, and I think they were too. I think LA’s guys were kind of hunched over in front a little bit too. It was a good battle.”

Stanley also delivered a massive body check on forward Alex Turcotte, which sparked a fight between Jeff Malott and Schenn.

“I looked around, and I think Schenner had a long summer and was looking for one. So he kind of big brothered me there and stepped in for me,” said Stanley. “Actually, my dad was at the game last night, and I think he went up and said to Schenner after ‘Thanks for looking after my son.’ Yeah, it was good. It’s nice of a guy like Schenner on the team who sticks up for teammates and is willing to do that job.”

Fleury blocked a blistering one-timer from Kings forward Adrian Kempe near the end of the second period and while he tried to test it out before the third period got underway, the pain was too high and the mobile blue-liner made his way back down the tunnel for further evaluation.

With Fleury day-to-day, defenceman Kale Clague was recalled from the Manitoba Moose of the American Hockey League as an insurance policy that could jump into the lineup if needed as the road trip continues in Philadelphia against the Flyers on Thursday.

In order to make room for Clague’s recall, the Jets reassigned forward Brad Lambert to the Moose and he was in the AHL lineup on Sunday against the Laval Rocket.

That leaves Parker Ford as the extra forward on the roster.

As for the Islanders, they’re off to a 0-2 start and have been led offensively by winger Kyle Palmieri, who has a goal and three points in two games after signing a contract extension last spring.

Defenceman Matthew Schaefer, the first overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft, is off to a strong start – scoring his first NHL goal and chipping in an assist through his first two games.

Monday’s matinee will feature an excellent matchup with workhorse goalies with Connor Hellebuyck expected to be back between the pipes for the Jets and Ilya Sorokin preparing for his third start for the Islanders.

Sorokin has allowed eight goals through two games, so his numbers are inflated (4.21 goals-against average and .860 save percentage.

Hellebuyck has allowed seven goals, but none of them have been softies.

Despite giving up five goals in the season opener against the Dallas Stars, Hellebuyck made a number of critical saves that allowed the Jets to rally back from a four-goal deficit and he was outstanding on Saturday, finishing with 29 saves.

Hellebuyck skipped Sunday’s workout for maintenance, but that’s normal for the reigning Hart Trophy winner.

After the formal portion of Sunday’s skate wrapped up, defenceman Dylan Samberg joined captain Adam Lowry on the ice for some conditioning work.

Samberg remains week-to-week with a wrist injury, but is the next step in his progression as it was his first time back on the ice since taking a hit from Calgary Flames forward Ryan Lomberg in an exhibition game on Sept. 27.

“There was just a concern about falling. Now we’ve got to keep his legs sharp,” said Arniel. “So, he’ll start to do stuff, just conditioning more than anything.”

The timeline for Samberg’s potential return is in the six-to-eight week window, so he’s probably still about a month or so away from getting back into game action.

ken.wiebe@freepress.mb.ca

X and Bluesky: @WiebesWorld