Jets nearing return to full strength

MONTREAL — Neal Pionk has thrown that hit hundreds of times in his hockey career. But what happened next was anything but routine.

“Something felt off. Something felt like it had never felt before,” the veteran Winnipeg Jets defenceman told the Free Press on Wednesday, a few hours before he’d make his return to the lineup after a four-game hiatus.

“Went and got some scans later. Found out what it was. Thankfully it wasn’t anything major. Just a little thing we had to make sure was fully good to go before I got back in.”

The strange play occurred on Pionk’s first shift in the Nov. 23 game against the Minnesota Wild. He clearly tweaked something in his lower body as he ran Danila Yurov into the boards with a clean check. Pionk laboured over to the bench, then tested it out on a couple more shifts before pulling the plug.

It was a big loss for a Jets team that had just learned a few days earlier reigning league MVP Connor Hellebuyck was going to be sidelined four-to-six weeks after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery — which came on the cusp of a near-full return to health after Dylan Samberg, Adam Lowry and Cole Perfetti were back in the lineup from lengthy injury absences.

Pionk was off to a slow start by his standards, with just five points (1G, 5A) in 21 games. But most of those were played without Samberg, his usual partner. Rookie Elias Salomonsson and depth defender Luke Schenn each had a pair of games filling in for Pionk, with the Jets losing three of the four.

“A lot of alone time,” Pionk said of what what it’s been like to be sidelined during this road trip. “Just slowly grinding through it, make sure it’s alright. Take it step-by-step and listen to what the trainers and doctors say, make sure you’re ready to go.”

Although he didn’t play in the game, Pionk (and the healthy scratches) took part in Monday’s closed-door players’ meeting following a 5-1 beatdown to the Buffalo Sabres. He said the session — led by Lowry, the captain — was productive.

“We had a quick chat. Just to talk about expectations of ourselves and what we need to do better as a team and as individuals,” said Pionk. “We need to start piecing things together here.”

CAUTIONARY TALE

It’s a development that is surely going to have plenty of fans excited — the sight of Hellebuyck returning to the ice after going under the knife.

“I think he’s getting close to that,” Arniel said Wednesday. “But won’t take anything… I’m going to make sure he has like four yellow (non-contact) jerseys on.”

Translation: The timeline hasn’t changed, although the internal hope is Hellebuyck could be closer to the four week prognosis (which is now about two-and-a-half weeks) than the six-week window. The Jets desperately miss the reigning Hart and Vezina Trophy winner.

“We’re making sure on this one,” Arniel continued. “He’ll run into you and tell you, ‘Oh, I’m feeling really good, I want to play next week.’ But with this one, we have to obviously be ultra careful with. But I do believe he’ll actually be on the ice very soon. Whether that’s shots or movements, we’ll see.”

There’s some potential good news when it comes to defenceman Haydn Fleury, who has been sidelined with a concussion since Nov. 11 and recently had a setback. Arniel said he skated earlier this week in Winnipeg and will chat with team doctors on Friday.

COLE’S NOTES

Cole Koepke loves throwing his weight around, but the 27-year-old winger hasn’t had much opportunity to do it lately. He’s been a frequent healthy scratch, playing just 16 of the first 25 games

Koepke is back in the lineup Wednesday against Montreal, with Arniel looking for a jolt of energy to a forward group that is struggling mightily these days.

“I try to make a positive impact whenever I’m out there. Try to bring some speed and physicality,” he said after the morning skate.

Koepke leads the Jets in hits with 52 despite spending plenty of time in the press box. Defenceman Logan Stanley is second with 43, while Vlad Namestnikov is the next top forward with 37. Both of them have dressed for every game.

“You obviously never want to be out of the lineup or expect to be out of the lineup. But that’s the nature of the business and there’s a lot of good players on this team,” said Koepke, who signed a one-year, US$1 million free agent deal with the Jets last summer.

“I’m just trying to work hard. Come in, try to put my best foot forward and help the team any way I can.”

Koepke led the Boston Bruins in bodychecks last year as a rookie while also putting up 17 points (10 goals, 7 assists) in 73 games. He’s still trying to make any kind of offensive impact with the Jets, with no goals and just two assists so far prior to facing the Canadiens.

“I know I haven’t chipped in, but that’s something I’ve been working on the side with (coaches) this last week or so, just trying to gain some more confidence with the puck,” he said.

Koepke replaced Gustav Nyquist, who was signed by the Jets to a one-year, US$3.25 million deal with the idea of providing some secondary scoring. The 35-year-old has yet to find the back of the net through 20 games, with just six assists, and now is a healthy scratch for the first time this year.

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