Perfetti trying to stay confident during cold streak

Cole Perfetti has been down this frustrating road before.

And while it hasn’t made it any easier to avoid the potholes he’s encountered during this latest slump, having that road map does provide a sense of calm for the Winnipeg Jets forward as he battles to work through things.

Perfetti has battled through adversity in the form of surgeries that ended consecutive seasons prematurely and he’s powered through lengthy goal-scoring droughts.

But what he’s going through right now is a combination of working his way back from a significant injury while searching to find the level he’s established for himself on a more consistent basis.

“You never want to go through this but it is going to happen throughout your career and, luckily or unlucky enough, I have been through it before,” said Perfetti, whose Jets will welcome the Boston Bruins to town on Thursday night. “You learn a lot about yourself and yourself as a player and person and how you deal with this kind of stuff. It is all a mindset. If you keep doing the same thing, it’s not like you have got worse as a hockey player its just that sometimes the puck bounces for you and sometimes, it doesn’t.

“I am trying to keep that confidence, and that is something I learned throughout my first year I went through it.”

By chipping in an assist in Tuesday’s 4-3 loss to the Dallas Stars, Perfetti is up to two goals and five points in 15 games for the Jets this season, numbers that certainly don’t match the projections going into the campaign.

After recording a career-high in assists (32) and points (50) to go along with 18 goals while appearing in all 82 games last season, the expectation was that Perfetti would take another important step in his development, leading his productivity to increase once again.

But a high ankle sprain in an exhibition game against the Calgary Flames sidelined Perfetti and he’s been trying to get himself back up to speed — and that’s not an easy thing to do given the nature of the injury, coupled with the timing of it.

“Just trusting it is the hardest thing,” said Perfetti. “For the first little bit, you are a little hesitant, (worrying) it is not as strong, you’re not scared but a little hesitant to get leaned on (in) the same way. Even when you come back and are cleared to play, there is still a little bit of achiness or pain to it and it is not ideal to play with. But I am just trying to get over that mental hurdle, where you have to feel a couple of tweaks and twinges and then get mentally over it in that aspect. And then, feeling good about yourself and your game.

“It is a tough process coming back. Everyone goes through it, it is part of the game, and I am trying to get into midseason form as fast as possible.”

Unfortunately for Perfetti, pushing fast forward to speed up that process isn’t an option.

There are going to be days when he isn’t feeling quite as good physically and there will be others when the bounces just don’t seem to be going his way, whether that’s making a crisp pass to a linemate or trying to bury a pass on his stick in an area on the ice where he’s a scoring threat.

To that end, Perfetti stayed on the ice late with veteran Luke Schenn on two occasions this week, fine-tuning some things that could eventually translate into some more offence.

“I am just trying to feel good about my game and feel good with the puck on my stick. Just feel under control,” said Perfetti. “It wasn’t anything crazy, just getting the puck in the right position and making some plays and just feeling good out there is a big part of it. There are games right now where you don’t feel your best, and you go into practice the next day, just looking to get touches that make you feel good about yourself heading into the next game and that is what I have been trying to do for the last couple of days.

“Feel good at going into a game, so when the game comes, you already have that positive mindset and feeling good about yourself.”

Compounding the issue for the Jets is that they’ve been generating very little offensive production behind the top trio of Mark Scheifele, Kyle Connor and Gabe Vilardi — forcing head coach Scott Arniel to replace Vilardi with Alex Iafallo in an effort to spread the wealth.

Perfetti is no stranger to be counted on and he’s carried himself to a high standard when it comes to his own expectations, now it’s just a matter of delivering when opportunities present themselves.

“The puck won’t go in the net for him. At the end of the day, guys want to see him succeed and they know that he’s important for us,” said Arniel. “When he starts to score, it starts to relieve some of that pressure for that other line specifically.”

Arniel has been encouraging Perfetti to stick with it, exuding the confidence that things can turn quickly if he continues to stack stretches of strong play with and without the puck.

“He has something he can add every shift,” said Arniel. “Just find a way. Be repetitious about it, and hopefully that carries over into the game. Really, the next thing for him is he’s going to have to get rewarded here, sooner or later. There’s not much more. We’ve talked, we’ve shown video, we’ve had one-on-ones, his teammates are pumping him up and it’s just a case of him finding it. And hopefully, he can get on a run with it.”

Perfetti isn’t that far removed from scoring one of the most important goals in franchise history, his roof-raising equalizer in the waning seconds of regulation time of Game 7 of the opening round series with the St. Louis Blues.

So, it’s not like Perfetti needs to scour over a bunch of video from the archives to remember what it looks like when he’s on his game.

“I am just trying to have the belief in myself, that things are going to turn and you have to be ready and prepared when they do turn,” said Perfetti. “And it is going to turn for the group, as well. And when it does, and we start getting those bounces and start getting a little luck with us, you have to be ready to roll with it and be ready to go. That is when teams and players get hot.”

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