FROM THE PRESS BOX
MIKE SAYS: It wasn’t just the fact they finally won, but how they got the job done that was most impressive.
Vlad Namestnikov responded to being healthy scratched a game earlier by snapping a nightmarish drought and opening the scoring.
Nino Niederreiter, parked in the press box a week earlier for poor play, got his first point in eternity by setting up his linemate.
Jonathan Toews broke his own lengthy scoring drought with a hard-fought goal.
The struggling Cole Perfetti showed plenty of jump, registering a pair of assists. The fourth line scored for a second straight night, with a beauty by Cole Koepke. (As an aside, I have no idea why he’s been a healthy scratch so often this year. He brings so much to the lineup).
Defencemen got in on the act, with Logan Stanley, Colin Miller and Dylan Samberg all registering assists. Sure, they got a pair of goals from leading scorer Mark Scheifele, but this truly was a team effort up and down what was a depleted lineup with the absence of Pionk and Barron and Hellebuyck.
“The win helps some of it mentally, obviously. But just for those guys to go out and have success as lines (and) not just our top guys doing it. They feel like they’re contributing, they feel like they’re a part of it, and that’s what you want,” said Arniel.
I’ve really liked the trio of Toews, Perfetti and Gabe Vilardi (who also had two helpers) in the pair of games they’ve played together – and the coach clearly does as well.
“Chemistry is probably the biggest thing, first and foremost. I think it builds as they get to know each other,” said Arniel.
“I think Gabe has helped that line in the sense of what he does well in games. (Perfetti), for me, his vision. Last night some of those plays he made, that’s the Cole Perfetti that we’ve come to expect. And I think he’s feeling good about himself. Like we talked about with JT, he’s really started to move in the right direction as a second line centre.”
The atmosphere inside the downtown barn on Friday night, particularly in the third period, was as good as it gets. It truly felt like a giant group therapy session combined with a massive karaoke dance party. The players and coaches felt it, too.
Now the key is to go right back out there and give the supportive fans much more to cheer about in the coming days, weeks and months. They’ve got a lot of catching up to do.
KEN SAYS: Aside from the collection of slump busters breaking out that Mike mentions, the Jets also got another important contribution from top centre Mark Scheifele.
Outside of the game against the Toronto Maple Leafs, where he had a goal and three points, Scheifele hadn’t been performing at an elite level since being left off Canada’s Olympic team — as he was held off the board in three of four games.
But with two helpers on Thursday against the Edmonton Oilers and two goals against the Kings, Scheifele reached the 50-point mark in 43 games, which keeps him on pace for the most productive campaign of his career.
Not only should he be able to eclipse 87 points, but he could threaten triple digits if he can stay hot during the second half.
One of the understated stories of Friday night was the solid play of Colin Miller, who jumped into the lineup for Pionk and provided some excellent minutes on the second pairing beside Dylan Samberg.
Miller was steady defensively and unleashed his booming blast from the point on multiple occasions, finishing with two shots on goal and seven shot attempts to go along with two hits and a blocked shot.
Some additional offence from the defence is something the Jets will be looking for as they close out this lengthy homestand.
And speaking of Samberg, his no-look cross-ice pass to Cole Koepke was really impressive.
After missing time at the start of the season, Samberg seems to be settling in nicely, using his hockey intelligence to routinely kill plays and minimize scoring chances.
Koepke has also played well on the Jets’ fourth line since returning to the lineup, using his speed effectively on the forecheck while chipping in a goal and an assist during the past two games.
For a team that wants to be faster and harder to play against, Koepke is someone who could boost his stock during the coming days and weeks here.
Much like the Jets, the Devils came into the season with high hopes and things just haven’t gone smoothly for them to this point.
They don’t score a lot, with Jesper Bratt and Nico Hischier leading the team in points, with 33 and 32 respectively.
First-line centre Jack Hughes has essentially been a point-per-game player (25 points in 26 games) but missed a bit of time after a freak injury and you have to wonder if the Devils haven’t been impacted by the rumours of Quinn Hughes (the brother of Jack and Devils D-man Luke Hughes) being acquired before he landed with the Minnesota Wild.
All to say that both of these teams should be feeling plenty of urgency when the puck drops at the downtown arena on Sunday afternoon — and that should make for an entertaining game.
PROJECTED LINES
WINNIPEG JETS
FORWARDS:
Connor-Scheifele-Iafallo
Perfetti-Toews-Vilardi
Niederreiter-Lowry-Namestnikov
Koepke-Zhilkin-Pearson
DEFENCE:
Morrissey-DeMelo
Samberg-Miller
Stanley-Schenn
GOAL:
Hellebuyck
Comrie
HEALTHY SCRATCHES: F Nyquist
INJURED: D Fleury (nose, back), D Pionk (lower-body), F Barron (upper-body)
NEW JERSEY DEVILS
FORWARDS:
Hughes-Hischier-Bratt
Meier-Mercer-Dadonov
Gritsyuk-Glass-Brown
Palat-Glendening-Cotter
DEFENCE:
Hughes-Pesce
Siegenthaler-Kovacevic
Dillon-Nemec
GOAL:
Markstrom
Allen
HEALTHY SCRATCHES: D Hamilton, D White, F Lammikko
INJURED: F MacEwen (knee), F Noesen (knee)
NOTABLE QUOTABLE
Jets coach Scott Arniel on what he’s seen from rookie Danny Zhilkin in his first two NHL games:
“He has got NHL speed. He can skate and he thinks the game real well. We talked about him when he first came up that was one of the things the coaches said, ‘His hockey IQ is good,’ and it’s hard when kids jump in, especially their first game in the NHL, they jump in January and it is fast-moving water and it can be (hard) for guys and I think he has handled it real well. like that line. They have given us good minutes. To me it is what you hope you are going to get from that line and he is a young guy that has taken advantage of the opportunity that has been put in front of him.”
WHAT WE’RE WORKING ON
Mike is putting together his monthly look at all the Jets prospects. Ken will handle the game analysis of Jets versus Devils. You can find all both pieces in Monday’s paper and online at winnipegfreepress.com.
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