FROM THE PRESS BOX
Mike says: The trade deadline additions of Schenn and Brandon Tanev have clearly had an impact on the Jets, who seem to be better suited now for playoff-style intensity.
Adding their experience and toughness and grit can have a trickle-down effect on teammates, and I thought we saw that in spades on Tuesday night against a hard-hitting Rangers team.
The Jets went toe-to-toe when it came to physicality, including a monster hit by Schenn on Arthur Kaliyev that knocked him out of the game (and sent him back to New York for further medical evaluation of an obvious upper-body injury).
Then you had a guy like Ehlers getting feisty with J.T. Miller, who stepped in his path and received a two-handed stick chop in return. Ehlers actually confessed this morning that he let his temper get the best of him.
“I’ve already talked to him, I wasn’t too proud of myself for that one,” he said.
“It wasn’t meant to be that violent, if you want to put it that way. So yes, absolutely you want to stick up for yourself, you want to stick up for a teammate, that’s how it goes in the playoffs. But you can do it in different ways than what I did, and that’s something I want to work on.”
Fair enough. But I imagine the Jets (and plenty of fans) loved the feisty response, which could serve them well down the road as the games become even heavier and, at times, nastier.
There should be no shortage of emotion on display in this one, with plenty on the line for both clubs.
“It’ll be a good test for us. This is going to be a playoff-style game,” said Samberg.
“We’re coming to the close here on the regular season, so we’ve got to start fine-tuning our game. This is the group that we’re going to go into playoffs with, so we’ve just got to make sure we’re ready.”
Speaking of trade additions, I’m curious to see how Mikko Rantanen looks with the Stars.
He was fairly quiet a few weeks ago when he came here with Carolina, but we’ve since learned that relationship wasn’t meant to be a long one. Just when you thought the power forward was gone from the Central Division, he’s back.
Luke Schenn’s toughness (5) and grit had a trickle-down effect on his Winnipeg Jets teammates Tuesday night against the New York Rangers. (Fred Greenslade / The Canadian Press files)
Ken says: It was a solid debut for Schenn, who came exactly as advertised by delivering a game-high five hits and a game-high five blocked shots in just over 16 minutes of ice time.
He was also out on the ice protecting the one-goal lead in the final minute of regulation time, which is a situation he could find himself in more frequently as the stakes get higher during the stretch run.
“A lot more fun to play with him than against him, I’ll tell you that,” said Jets forward Cole Perfetti.
“He had a couple of really big hits, a couple of really big blocks. And he’s just always making the smart, simple play. He’s a rock back there.”
Speaking of Perfetti, he’s continued to elevate his all-around game as the campaign has worn on — and that’s a big development for the Jets.
With his first of two helpers on Tuesday, Perfetti established a career-high for points and he’s got 16 games to inflate that total.
Perfetti is going to the hard areas and he’s being rewarded for it. His vision and passing ability have also been on display, which has provided an obvious boost of confidence.
Jets captain Adam Lowry is one goal away from matching the career-high of 15 he set during the 2016-17 season — and he’s provided that production despite missing eight games due to injury, all the while incorporating Selke levels of defensive play.
Like Schenn, Rantanen has been part of three NHL organizations this season — and the Finnish winger actually suited up for all of the Colorado Avalanche, Carolina and most recently, the Stars.
Seeing the biggest name on the trade boards move twice was a shocking development, even after the rumour mill suggested it was a possibility.
Lowry joked on Thursday Rantanen was probably sick of coming to Winnipeg, since this is his fourth trip this season, but the truth of the matter is he’d probably like to make several more visits this May during the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
After the trade to the Stars, Rantanen immediately became the Stars leader in goals and points and his championship pedigree will provide a boost for a core group that is trying to get over the top after knocking on the door in 2021 and getting eliminated in the Western Conference final by the Edmonton Oilers last spring.
In 29 career games against the Jets, Rantanen has 10 goals and 28 points, so you can expect his opponents to have their heads on a swivel when he’s on the ice.
PROJECTED LINES
WINNIPEG JETS
FORWARDS
- Connor-Scheifele-Vilardi
- Ehlers-Namestnikov-Perfetti
- Niederreiter-Lowry-Appleton
- Tanev-Barron-Iafallo
DEFENCE
- Morrissey-DeMelo
- Samberg-Schenn
- Fleury-Miller
GOAL
Healthy scratches: D Stanley, D Heinola, C Gustafsson, C Kupari
Injured: D Pionk (lower body)
DALLAS STARS
FORWARDS
- Benn-Johnston-Rantanen
- Robertson-Duchene-Granlund
- Marchment-Bourque-Dadonov
- Back-Steel-Blackwell
DEFENCE
- Harley-Lyubushkin
- Lindell-Ceci
- Smith-Dumba
GOAL
Healthy scratches: D Capobianco
Injured: D Heiskanen (knee), D Lundkvist (shoulder), C Hintz (face), C Seguin (hip), D Bischel (illness)
NOTABLE QUOTABLE
Jets coach Scott Arniel on whether Dallas plays the same way even without a few key players:
“Yes, they do. They have a style of play that they play night-in, night-out. They’re not going to open up the gates. They’re not going to let you get into a wide-open game. They play one-goal games. And we both play an awful lot alike. They have people out, the next guys are stepping up for them and they’re not missing a beat. And that’s kind of how they’ve rolled all year long. I’ve said it, even though we’ve had success and done some good things, winning lots of games, you just keep looking in your rear-view mirror and somebody keeps sitting there, and that’s the Dallas Stars.”
WHAT WE’RE WORKING ON
Mike is covering the Central Division slugfest between the Jets and Stars and combines with Ken for the latest edition of Dump and Chase, our weekly look at the NHL. Both stories will be in Saturday’s paper and online at winnipegfreepress.com.
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