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Welcome to another first-place showdown as the Winnipeg Jets host the Colorado Avalanche in what will be the second of three meetings this season for the teams battling for top spot in the Central Division standings.
The Jets got a leg up in the first meeting, earning a 4-2 victory 10 days ago at Ball Arena in Denver but head coach Rick Bowness downplayed the significance on Saturday morning during his availability.
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“We’re not too much worried about first place, that will take care of itself,” said Bowness. “We played well in Colorado but we gave Nathan MacKinnon a little too much room out there. He was obviously a big factor in that game, he is in every game. But I think we can do a better job of getting on him early, slowing him up a little bit. Because once he gets a step on you, he’s gone. So I think that’s something we can do better.”
Although the Jets have been riding high of late, winning four of the past five games to improve to 17-9-2, keeping a close eye on MacKinnon will be a priority as the speedy centre is in the midst of a 13-game point streak and is up to 12 goals and 41 points in 29 games this season.
“He’s super explosive,” said Jets defenceman Dylan DeMelo. “Obviously when he gets that puck and he’s galloping up the ice, he’s a lot to handle. You have to respect his speed and he does a good job of changing speeds too. He’ll come into the zone and delay and when you think he’s going to delay, he’ll take you wide. He’s a very smart player, he’s been around the league for a long time and now he realizes what works for him on a daily basis.
“He’s got a great shot, too. And he doesn’t need a lot of time and space to get it off. He is going to get some looks and you just try to limit them as best you can and limit those second (chance) opportunities.”
After visiting with several players in the Avalanche room this morning, it’s apparent the group feels they have another level they know they can reach.
“We’ve been struggling to find that consistency, but when we do, you can see that buy-in,” said Avalanche defenceman Cale Makar. “This group can show a lot of resilience, it’s just (a matter) of being able to do that every day.”
Connor Hellebuyck vs. Ivan Prosvetov is the goalie matchup. After a heavily attended optional morning skate, the Jets will go with the same lineup as they had in Wednesday’s win over the Los Angeles Kings.
Here’s some additional information to get you set for the game:
FROM THE PRESS BOX
KEN SAYS: What in the world will the top trio of Mark Scheifele, Gabriel Vilardi and Nikolaj Ehlers do for an encore? That’s one of the things I will be watching for after that unit combined for five goals and 11 points in Wednesday’s win over the Los Angeles Kings. The chemistry is building and the potential for the line has already been on display in their first several games together.
It should also be a great battle to monitor between the Adam Lowry line with Nino Niederreiter and Mason Appleton as they go head-to-head with MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen and Valeri Nichushkin.
With plenty of talk and debate surrounding whether or not the Jets are moving up into the upper echelon of teams in the NHL, this homestand features matchups with the Avalanche and Boston Bruins, so the measuring stick will be out a few more times over the next week.
MIKE SAYS: Paging Alex Iafallo. It’s been a tough stretch for the veteran forward, who enters play tonight looking for his first point in 14 games. Considering Iafallo had 13 points in his first 15 games, that’s a dramatic turn of events. The eye test tells me he’s still working hard and being solid defensively, but a team now without Kyle Connor for the next couple months could use some secondary scoring from the likes of Iafallo. He’s bounced around different lines and is currently skating with Vlad Namestnikov and Cole Perfetti. That trio has been fairly quiet so far.
Winnipeg Jets left wing Alex Iafallo enters play tonight looking for his first point in 14 games. (Carlos Osorio / The Associated Press files)
Despite taking a pair of cross checking penalties last game, defenceman Nate Schmidt remains in the lineup while Logan Stanley and Declan Chisholm sit. I’d like to see more of Chisholm at some point soon, but I also understand why Bowness doesn’t want to change a lineup coming off a big win.
Finally, I’m curious to see if crowd sizes pick up on this homestand. Not only do you have the Avalanche in town on a Saturday night in a battle for first, but that’s followed by three straight Original Six teams that tend to draw well.
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