MORNING LINES
The visitors aren’t making any lineup changes for this one.
WINNIPEG JETS
FORWARDS
Connor-Scheifele-Iafallo
Perfetti-Namestnikov-Ehlers
Niederreiter-Lowry-Appleton
Barron-Kupari-Gustafsson
DEFENCE
Morrissey-DeMelo
Dillon-Pionk
Samberg-Schmidt
GOAL
Hellebuyck
Brossoit
HEALTHY SCRATCHES
Stanley, Chisholm, Toninato
INJURED
Heinola (ankle), Vilardi (knee)
This is how the home team looked during its morning skate.
ST. LOUIS BLUES
FORWARDS
Buchenevich-Thomas-Kapanen
Saad-Schenn-Kyrou
Vrana-Hayes-Toropchenko
Blais-Sundqvist-Neighbours
DEFENCE
Leddy-Parayko
Krug-Faulk
Scandella-Tucker
GOAL
Binnington
Hofer
HEALTHY SCRATCHES
Bortuzzo, Perunovich, Alexandrov
INJURED
None
NOTABLE QUOTABLES
Scott Arniel, associate coach of the Jets, on how different the Blues look today compared to the first head-to-head meeting on Oct. 24:
“Any team early, especially in the first 10 to 12 games, you’re trying to find your rhythm, you’re trying to implement some new systems, some new players, that type of thing. These guys are starting to get themselves back up to speed. They won a couple of big games, they beat New Jersey, they beat Montreal. They’ve got some good veterans over there. In this building, they’ll be hard to play against. We’ve got to make sure that we build off of what we did in Arizona.”
Jets captain Adam Lowry on the success of his line so far:
“I’ve been very lucky to play with some great players off the start. You look at Nino’s start, the way Mason’s been playing, even when we were playing with Al (Iafallo), we’ve liked the look of our line and the style we’ve been playing. The biggest thing is, we’re hot right now and we’re contributing on the scoresheet, but we’re trying to find ways to influence the game in a positive manner. Everyone knows we’re not going to chip in two, three goals every night, but finding a way to make a difference, tilting the ice, drawing penalties to get our power play out there, things like that. The hot start has been fantastic. I think now it’s about maintaining it.”
Blues coach Craig Berube on what makes Winnipeg tough to play against:
“Looking at their game, they’ve been doing a great job forechecking hard. They’ve got some great size. A big team. I think that, from a defensive standpoint, they don’t give you a lot of time and space out there. We’re going to have to earn our ice tonight. Get on the inside. If you don’t take (Hellebuyck’s) eyes away he’s going to make the saves. We gotta get to the net here offensively. And it’s not just one. We gotta get two at the net here tonight and really create some shot volume at this guy and make their team kind of get running around a little bit as best we can. “
Blues defenceman Torey Krug on the recent strong play of his club:
“Our intensity around the opposing team’s net has been great. Obviously, we went through a little stretch there where nobody was happy with their game. Got a little bit more intense, started going to the net more and, obviously, good things happen when you do that. It’s not rocket science. Go to the hard areas, get rewarded.”
WHAT WE’RE WORKING ON
Mike is at Enterprise Center and will have two pieces coming today. He sat down with Adam Lowry following the morning skate to reflect on what his first month as captain has been like. And he’ll also have his game story, filled with news and notes, analysis and quotes. You can read both online at winnipegfreepress.com and in Wednesday’s print edition.
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