Barron back up to speed

The motor never stops running for Morgan Barron.

Whether he’s been used at centre or shifted back to the wing, the Winnipeg Jets forward is impossible to ignore, given his combination of size, speed and strength.

For a Jets team looking for more secondary scoring, Barron is a prime candidate to take the leap forward.

After enduring a stretch that included no goals and two assists in 19 games, Barron notched goals against the Washington Capitals and Boston Bruins this week to get back on track — moving to five for the season and back on pace to eclipse the career-high of 11 he produced during the 2023-24 season.

“I’ve really watched him flourish as a player,” said Jets captain Adam Lowry. “He’s taken a really big step forward. Earlier on in the year, he was driving the bus offensively, with that depth scoring. He was a key cog on the penalty kill, he was winning faceoffs. Then, he got hurt.”

After dealing with the mid-body injury he suffered late in the game against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Nov. 1, Barron was sidelined for six games before getting back into action.

“He’s come back and done a really good job of having a positive impact on our lineup, whether he’s at centre or the wing,” said Lowry. “He’s a handful down low and he does such a good job of skating the puck through the neutral zone. When he gets the puck below the goal line, he’s really tough to get it off of.

“He protects the puck and some of that is now understanding that he can make more plays and he can take pucks to the net. He has that confidence that he’s an impact player on this team and in this league. Sometimes it takes a few years to get that.”

“He has that confidence that he’s an impact player on this team and in this league.”

On this subject, Lowry has ample experience, having gone from a fourth line player trying to find his way to growing into someone that is relied upon to often go out against the other team’s most skilled players, while being counted on to chip in offensively.

“You have to build the coach’s trust, you have to find your role,” said Lowry. “If you’re playing limited minutes, you don’t want to make a mistake that’s going to cut those minutes even more. He’s done a good job of finding that balance, but now really trying to push to continue getting better.”

Now in his fifth season with the Jets after coming over in a trade with the New York Rangers, Barron continues to show improvement on a number of fronts.

“He’s a big man. The thing about (Barron) is he can move, he can really put pressure on the opposition,” said Jets head coach Scott Arniel. “The other side is he does a good job of getting back. His confidence at both ends of the rink is really growing. His detail in his game has gotten a lot better.

“He’s taking advantage of the opportunities that have been put in front of him because of the injuries, and it’s allowed him to have a real good season.”

Barron, 27, started the campaign as the fourth-line centre and it’s a job he’s been able to excel at.

But with the Jets searching for optimal combinations, specifically on Lowry’s checking line, Arniel decided to put Barron and Alex Iafallo together in Saturday’s game against the Capitals.

Barron used his speed to drive to the slot and redirected a perfect Lowry pass on his backhand to put the Jets up 2-0.

“What I see when Morgan is playing well is that he’s a great skater, he plays in straight lines, he holds onto the puck and he gets to the net.”

“He starts at the hash marks (in the defensive zone) and he wins a race,” said Lowry. “What I see when Morgan is playing well is that he’s a great skater, he plays in straight lines, he holds onto the puck and he gets to the net.”

Barron was in the slot when Iafallo tried to find him for another tip-in that caromed into the net off the stick of Capitals centre Justin Sourdif before Barron could get a piece of it.

The other layer to the Lowry line is that they were used in a shutdown role against Aliaksei Protas, Tom Wilson and Sourdif, the big and strong second line of the Capitals that generated very little offence against the Jets.

Part of that had to do with the stifling defensive effort, but Lowry’s line also did an excellent job of forcing the Capitals to defend, thanks to some extended cycling shifts in the offensive zone.

“I finally got them in a shutdown role,” said Arniel. “Adam, he kind of thrives on that and knows what his assignment is and who he’s going up against all night. We’ll have to do that again tonight. But at the end of the day, they know what they need to do in our end of the rink and then, pretty simple, they’re not looking to make tick-tack-toe plays although they did on that one goal.

“It’s more about getting pucks in, being heavy and getting it back, using the forecheck and getting to the net. You see a lot of tip screens and rebound goals from those guys. There’s chemistry building with them and we’d like to see that continue.”

Iafallo had scored in consecutive games going into Monday’s action after going through a 13-game drought of his own, which was another important development for the Jets.

“(Barron’s) got so much speed down the line there, in the corners winning all those battles.”

There have been plenty of stretches when Iafallo played with Barron last season and he’d been used for extended periods with Lowry this season, but rarely had the three of them been used together.

“Yeah, it’s fun playing with them,” said Iafallo. “A lot of chances down low, solid defensively. Obviously (Lowry), taking all those draws, winning those battles is huge for us. Starting with the puck like that. We got a lot more offensive draws too.

“So, that helped out getting those and getting some shots through. (Barron’s) got so much speed down the line there, in the corners winning all those battles.”

There’s no denying that the trio of Mark Scheifele, Gabe Vilardi and Kyle Connor has been driving the offence and supplying the lion’s share of the goals, but the Jets have a number of players with a proven track record of putting up points, so the expectation is that things will eventually come around.

“Has to happen. Has to happen,” said Arniel. “Other players, other lines have to continue to get their opportunities. The result is, obviously, you want to score goals but, for me, it’s that zone time. It’s making whoever you’re lining up against, make them defend, and that’s what you need to do.”

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