FROM THE PRESS BOX
MIKE SAYS: Gus Nyquist must be wondering if he did something to spite the Hockey Gods. The struggling veteran forward looked like he’d finally scored his first goal as a member of the Jets, only to have it wiped out by a successful offside challenge on Saturday night. I’d say Nino Niederreiter owes him a steak dinner for that mistake. Then, later in the game, Nyquist ripped a shot off the iron.
So close. And yet, so far.
The encouraging sign is he’s getting better looks as of late, so perhaps his puck luck is about to turn?
I continue to be puzzled by the fact Cole Koepke can’t crack this lineup. Not only has he shown a bit of offence in his limited playing time, he’s been a ball of energy on the ice, hitting everything that moves, and bringing some much-needed speed to the lineup. Yet he continues to be a healthy scratch in favour of a player like Tanner Pearson, who has now taken three penalties in the past two games that all fall under the “you can’t be doing that” category.
Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck (David Zalubowski / The Associated Press files)
Is Hellebuyck showing signs of some fatigue? He’s played every game since his return from arthroscopic knee surgery and while I’m not pinning any blame on him, he hasn’t looked quite as sharp in the last few outings. The underlying numbers would support the eye test, too — he’s recorded three consecutive “non-quality” starts based on expected goals vs. actual goals allowed.
I suspect Hellebuyck will get an eighth straight start on New Year’s Eve in Detroit — that’s a hometown game he always looks forward to — before Eric Comrie gets the nod on New Year’s Day in Toronto.
Captain Obvious here: The Jets might want to keep an eye on that McDavid fella! He’s on a 12-game point streak that has produced truly eye-popping numbers: 13 goals, 19 assists, 32 points, which has put him on top of the NHL scoring race.
“Hope Helly stops him,” Pionk joked when I asked him how to slow down No. 97.
“I mean it’s really a five-man effort. Sometimes it’s not a whole lot you can do, because he’s that good of a player and kind of, like you said, he’s been hot lately. So we’ll have to be aware when he’s on the ice.”
KEN SAYS: Jets defenceman Dylan DeMelo has never been short on accountability, so it was no surprise to see him take responsibility for the cross-checking minor he was given in the final minute of Saturday’s game against the Wild.
DeMelo didn’t necessarily agree with the call, but he conceded that he can’t put himself in that situation to have a penalty assessed on him, given the circumstances of the situation. For the record, Wild centre Joel Eriksson Ek is an incredibly sturdy player and he wins a lot of battles in front of the net, and there’s no doubt he went down easily when he was pushed on the left shoulder by DeMelo.
By winning the offensive-zone draw late in the second period that led to Mark Scheifele’s goal, Jonathan Toews was able to snap an 11-game pointless drought. Toews was one of several players that had plenty of jump coming out of the holiday break and provided the type of performance the Jets are going to need during this upcoming sprint to the Olympic break.
Former Jets forward Jack Roslovic has been an excellent fit for the Oilers, supplying plenty of speed and secondary scoring. Roslovic signed a show-me deal with the Oilers Oct. 7 and has already produced 10 goals and 18 points in 26 games. The 25th overall pick from the 2015 NHL Draft has bounced around a bit since the Jets moved him to the Columbus Blue Jackets as part of the blockbuster deal involving Patrik Laine, and he’s someone who has never lacked talent. Despite missing 13 games due to injury and his late arrival, Roslovic is tied for fourth on his team in goals with Zach Hyman and he’s sixth in points while averaging just under 17 minutes per game.
Another player to keep an eye on in this game is Oilers winger Andrew Mangiapane, who hasn’t been a great fit after signing as a free agent and has been dropped down to the fourth line for this game. He’s recorded five goals and 11 points in 39 games and he’s a team-worst minus-16 — and even though the stat can be a big misleading at times, Mangiapane has been on the ice for too many goals against. Mangiapane is someone the Jets showed interest in this past summer before he ended up in Edmonton, so perhaps a team looking for some secondary scoring of their own could circle back and see if there could be a deal to be made at some point.
PROJECTED LINES
WINNIPEG JETS
FORWARDS
- Connor-Scheifele-Vilardi
- Perfetti-Namestnikov-Iafallo
- Barron-Lowry-Pearson
- Niederreiter-Toews-Nyquist
DEFENCE
- Morrissey-DeMelo
- Samberg-Pionk
- Stanley-Schenn
GOAL
HEALTHY SCRATCHES: D Fleury, D Miller, F Koepke
INJURED: None
EDMONTON OILERS
FORWARDS
- NugentHopkins-McDavid-Hyman
- Podkolzin-Draisaitl-Savoie
- Frederic-Roslovic-Janmark
- Mangiapane-Henrique-Lazar
DEFENCE
- Ekholm-Bouchard
- Nurse-Regula
- Stastney-Emberson
GOAL
HEALTHY SCRATCHES: D Stillman, LW Jones
INJURED: G Jarry (lower body), D Walman (undisclosed), RW Kapanen (undislosed), F Clattenburg (eye)
NOTABLE QUOTABLE
Edmonton head coach Kris Knoblauch on the Jets’ top line of Mark Scheifele, Kyle Connor and Gabe Vilardi:
“That line is about as dangerous (as you see) around the league. They’re a very good line. All three of them can score and also, they’re responsible defensively. It’s not like they’re just exchanging chances so that they can score. They’re a good, all-around line and whoever gets that responsibility (of checking them) for our team, it will be a big job for them to do. If we’re going to have success, we’re going to have to keep them in check. They’ll get some chances, but we have to limit their opportunities.”
WHAT WE’RE WORKING ON
This morning, Ken caught up with former Jets forward Jack Roslovic, who is off to a strong start after signing a one-year deal with the Oilers. He will have an early story coming. Mike will have the game analysis from the downtown rink. You can find both pieces online at winnipegfreepress.com and in Tuesday’s print edition.
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