Jets look to capitalize on six-game road trip

Scott Arniel hasn’t spent a lot of time wondering when the Winnipeg Jets might actually get to dress a full lineup.

Sure, the head coach of the Jets has drawn up a number of permutations and combinations, whether that’s on a napkin on the plane or the dry erase board in his coach’s office.

But Arniel also knows that the only way he’ll be able to determine what that optimal lineup might look like is to get the puzzle pieces together if and when this group gets back to full health.

As the Jets opened a season-long six-game road trip against the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday, they welcomed back Adam Lowry to the lineup, a move that certainly moves the needle — given the importance of both the role he plays and the voice he carries as an emotional leader.

“He brings a lot of energy,” Jets forward Tanner Pearson told reporters in Los Angeles after the morning skate. “Playing against him over the years, he’s not too much fun to be able to go up against, so I’m happy he’s on my side now. He’s the captain, he can be the heartbeat of this team. So, it’s a big add.”

But as Lowry returned, Morgan Barron was sidelined with a mid-body injury he likely sustained when he was on the receiving end of a hard check from Connor Dewar in Saturday’s 5-2 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Barron joins forwards Gustav Nyquist (day-to-day, undisclosed) and Cole Perfetti (ankle) and defenceman Dylan Samberg (wrist) in the infirmary.

Yes, injuries are part of the game and the Jets’ depth has already been tested in the early part of this NHL season.

Barron is off to a fantastic start and did an admirable job in Lowry’s absence, anchoring the fourth line and handling the responsibility of often being the first forward over the boards during the penalty kill during the first dozen games.

He also delivered three goals and six points, playing a power forward game that earned a promotion to the third line before he got banged up.

Nyquist was just starting to find his offensive group when he left Thursday’s game with the Chicago Blackhawks, though it appears he could be back in action before long.

Perfetti, who injured his ankle in an exhibition game against the Calgary Flames, could be back before this lengthy trip concludes, which would give the Jets another weapon to unleash in the middle-six forward group.

While Vladislav Namestnikov has increased his offensive production since moving to the wing several games ago, seeing what he could do with Perfetti and Jonathan Toews could be intriguing for Arniel — who is perfectly content with how well Alex Iafallo has played on that line since putting them together.

As for Samberg, the wrist issue he’s been dealing with since an awkward hit into the boards from Flames forward Ryan Lomberg during the final exhibition game is healing well and he’s itching to get back into game action.

Arniel also left the door open for Samberg to return before the end of this road trip as well, which wraps up on Nov. 15 against the Flames.

Reuniting Samberg with Neal Pionk will be beneficial for both players, as they’ve got outstanding chemistry together.

Until that time comes, the jockeying for position on the depth chart will continue, both on the back end and at forward.

One area the Jets aren’t searching for answers is on the top line, where Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor are off to scalding starts offensively and Gabe Vilardi is on a roll after a slow start.

Although he chipped in four assists in the first seven games, an offensive outburst during the previous five games (with five goals and nine points) quickly moved Vilardi into third place in team scoring.

“He has great hands and good vision,” Arniel told reporters in Los Angeles after the morning skate on Tuesday. “You can feel it. When he scored his first goal, it was like he was skating 10 miles per hour faster. It seems like the so-called pressure came off his back.”

Once again, the Jets’ top trio is producing at a rate that has them in the discussion as one of the best lines in hockey.

They’ve outscored opponents 12-6 at five-on-five, while making a massive impact on a highly productive power play.

One of the strangest stats in the entire NHL is that going into Tuesday’s action, Connor has not scored a power-play goal since Dec. 23 of 2024 against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Connor still had nine power-play markers last season and has 67 in his career, but teams seem to be doing whatever they can to try and limit his one-timer opportunities on his off-side.

During a recent interview, Arniel emphasized he wasn’t concerned by that development, noting that it means other options are open and that Connor is doing his part to suss out those chances for others while working with the man-advantage.

“It has a lot to do with the attention side of things. We saw that in the second half last year. He had a bunch of goals early and teams started to shade (towards him),” said Arniel. “That was a big reason why we were No. 1 in the league, that (teams) were overplaying (Connor). I’ve seen this before with (Alex Ovechkin). If you overplay one spot, there’s still four guys that have real skill out there and we’re taking advantage of it.

“He’s got a ton of assists on our power play and if you ask him, he’s okay with that.”

The remainder of the games on this road trip include visits to San Jose to face the Sharks on Friday, Anaheim to face the Ducks on Sunday, Vancouver to face the Canucks on Nov. 11, Seattle to face the Kraken on Nov. 13 and Calgary to wrap up the three-game series with the Flames on Nov. 15.

Each of those teams present their own set of challenges, though the Jets appear to be rounding into form of late.

“We’re not just winning games because of our special teams or because of our goaltending, we’re doing it in all fashions now,” said Arniel. “That’s how we’ve done it in the past, last year specifically.”

If the Jets can continue that trend, not only will they survive this six-game swing, they could arrive on the precipice of the quarter mark of the NHL season in excellent shape as they return home to face the Columbus Blue Jackets on Nov. 18 and Nikolaj Ehlers and the Carolina Hurricanes on the 21st.

But there’s a lot of ground for the Jets to cover before that point arrives.

ken.wiebe@freepress.mb.ca

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