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Mason Appleton didn’t mince words.
“This is the hungriest I’ve ever seen this group,” the veteran Winnipeg Jets winger, now in his sixth season with the organization, said during Sunday’s morning skate. “We really have a lot of belief in this group and in this team and we’re coming into the playoffs with what we feel is one of the hottest teams in the league. Playoffs are a different animal, but we’re going to try to keep that rolling.”
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It all starts tonight, in front of what should be a frenzied sellout crowd at Canada Life Centre. The Jets will try to use home-ice advantage to draw first blood in what looks to be a tantalizing best-of-seven series against the Colorado Avalanche.
“The adrenaline is pumping so much and you hear that crowd and you literally think you can run through a wall,” Appleton said of playing in front of the “Whiteout” and trying to use that energy.
JUSTIN TANG / THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES Mason Appleton (centre) anticipates the Jets hot streak will keep rolling into playoff season.
“It’s just kind of channeling that and then you want to get off to just a smooth, simple game and just work your way into it. You don’t want to start slow but you want the game to make sense early and grow from there. The crowd is going to be unbelievable. We’re going to be super fired up so it’s just channeling that and growing into our game.”
Yes, the city is buzzing, and that extends to the national weather service which offered up this tongue-in-cheek forecast for those who will be taking in the outdoor street party.
“Temperatures in the mid-teens, southwesterly winds of 15 to 20 km/h and clear skies expected for puck drop this evening. Localized “whiteout” conditions can be expected, however, in the vicinity of downtown Winnipeg,” wrote Environment Canada.
Both teams held optional morning skates ahead of the first-ever playoff series between these Central Division rivals, who were separated by just three points during the regular season. The Jets went 3-0-0 against the Avalanche, but that’s now in the rear-view mirror as the race to four wins begins in earnest.
“We’re worried about one game right now. Yes, we’ve played well against them in the regular season. But this is completely different,” said forward Nikolaj Ehlers. “This is the playoffs, and we’ve gotten ready for this series, but this game in particular we’re excited for it.”
As you’d expect, the Avalanche aren’t dwelling on the past, either.
“My whole belief on it is that if we would have been 3-0 against the Jets and finished first overall in the whole league, I would feel no better about going into the series than I do now,” said coach Jared Bednar.
“I know we’re a good team. They’re a good team. It’s about — and I’ve learned this over my eight years in the league — it’s about playing your best hockey at the right time, which is now. If you have a bad two weeks now, you’re going home. If you have a good two weeks now, you’re moving on and then you’ve got to try and repeat it again three more times. You don’t finish with 50 wins like us and 50-plus as the Jets without doing things right all year long and focusing on the right thing. But you’re still going to have to play really well in these two weeks if you want to advance.”
Jets bench boss Rick Bowness believes his group is ready for the challenge ahead but admits he’ll take the temperature just prior to puck drop.
“We’ll kind of walk into the room, around the go for a little bit, and get a feel for it. Those are things you’ve gotta feel for. Are they tight? Are they loose? Are they wound up?” he said.
“I always go walking around the room talking to guys to get a feel for that, and if we’ve gotta calm them down a little bit, then we’ll calm them down. If we find anyone way too nervous, then we’ll just go up to them and (say), ‘It’s another hockey game.’ It’s ramped up a little bit, but we still know the way we want to play and still need to know (with) each individual what we need you to do. It’s a lot of that.”
Here’s some other information to get you set:
FROM THE PRESS BOX
MIKE SAYS: Appleton’s comments certainly piqued my interest this morning, so I followed up with Ehlers when he came to the backdrop. What is behind the hunger? Is it the excellent regular season, including eight straight victories to wrap it up? Is it the trade-deadline additions that made this lineup arguably the deepest we’ve ever seen. Is it the fact these opportunities don’t come around every year — only 16 of 32 teams even qualify for the playoffs — and you want to make the most of them?
“All of what you just said,” Ehlers replied, before then adding another intriguing element.
“There’s been some talk obviously that maybe we aren’t where we’re supposed to be, and we know that we are. We want to show ourselves and prove to each and every guy in here that we’ve got what it takes to be a Stanley Cup champion, and that starts tonight. There’s a lot of belief in this room and we want to go out and show that.”
JUSTIN TANG / THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES Nikolaj Ehlers
Ehlers later confirmed he’s referring to the suggestion the Jets are a bit of a “fraud squad,” which came from the popular Spittin’ Chiclets podcast a few weeks back as retired NHLer Ryan Whitney shared that an anonymous current player told him the Jets are the “biggest frauds in the league and they’ll lose in the first round.”
Motivation comes in many forms, and it’s clear the Jets have heard the outside noise. Now, it’s a matter of walking the walk, so to speak.
Ehlers also reminded us tonight will be the first time he’s played in front of the “Whiteout” since 2019, as he was injured during last year’s first-round series against the Vegas Golden Knights.
Covering the NHL for a living is a treat. But no question the playoffs are, as Appleton said, “a different animal.” I can’t wait to get going.
KEN SAYS: This is a fantastic matchup and the games within the game will be interesting to monitor. The Adam Lowry line vs. Nathan MacKinnon’s trio is an obvious one, but since MacKinnon plays so much, it will need to be a collective effort.
Having said that, Lowry’s unit will take on the lion’s share of the load on home ice, which was one of the benefits of securing home-ice advantage in this round.
“We trust them in any situation against any line. We do,” said Bowness. “They read off each other well, they’re a heavy line. We talk a lot about their defensive responsibilities, but that’s one of the best forechecking lines in the league. And we can’t take that away from them. They create a lot of offence. They’re heavy, and they’re hard to play against. And teams don’t like playing against them. We don’t want them going out there and sitting back. That’s not going to work.
“We have to let them play their game. They score their goals for the most part off the forecheck, and that will be a big part of it. But if they forecheck properly, then we’ll spend more time in their zone and we won’t allow MacKinnon to take the puck and go end to end, like he loves to do.”
Another matchup to monitor is Sean Monahan vs. Casey Mittelstadt in the battle of the second-line pivots acquired prior to the NHL trade deadline. Both have fit in well for their respective clubs, but Monahan gets the edge here based on what he’s done so far.
Monahan is back in the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time since 2020.
“It’s exciting. It’s why you play the game, to have an opportunity,” said Monahan. “It’s something I’ve been looking forward to for a long time.”
The championship experience of Tyler Toffoli and the explosiveness of Ehlers figure to play a big role as well, since the Monahan line has been clicking since they were reunited.
On defence, Josh Morrissey had an outstanding season and you can be sure he’s excited for the matchup with Avalanche blue-liner Cale Makar, his friend and someone he trains with in the summers in Calgary.
Both are elite skaters and play drivers, and they could have a massive impact on which way this series goes.
Speaking of which, Connor Hellebuyck is the clear-cut favourite to win his second Vezina Trophy and he needs to win the battle of the masked men.
Lastly, as I wrote on Saturday, Jets centre Mark Scheifele hasn’t finished a playoff series since 2019 and he’s highly motivated to be a difference maker.
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