FROM THE PRESS BOX
MIKE SAYS: It really stood out to me on Sunday afternoon in Dallas how slow the Jets looked. They were skating on some heavy legs, and a team that is at its best when coming in waves seemed to be going against the tide.
I don’t expect that against St. Louis, and for a couple reasons. No doubt sleeping in their own beds the past two nights and getting a brief bit of home cooking should help the cause, giving everyone some much-needed rest after a long road trip. But re-inserting Heinola into the lineup, and adding Lambert as well, should be a jolt of dynamic speed that is sorely needed, especially with Ehlers still sidelined.
The curious case of Mark Scheifele continues, with the clearly hampered star being shuffled over to right-wing and with Vlad Namestnikov, and not Gabe Vilardi, as his centre. Did anyone have Namestnikov as the 1C on their pre-season Bingo card? I didn’t think so. Sure, it’s just temporary, but it’s another example of the versatility Namestnikov provides.
Maybe he can help get Scheifele going after a rocky road trip in which he had no goals and two assists (both on empty-net goals) over the six games.
It’s clear the Jets aren’t giving up on Logan Stanley, even if his last two games were rough at times. Arniel’s post-game comments to me in Dallas made it clear he is going to be given an extremely long runway here to get it sorted out. There’s no question he can do some unique things at times — that long reach is a real asset, especially on the penalty kill — but Stanley is no good to the team when he’s the one perpetually in the box, as he was three times against the Stars.
Two of those infractions were a result of not moving his feet quick enough, which is not something at the age of 26 that is going to improve. The other was a result of trying to be too physical. It’s interesting that Heinola is now shifting to the right side (something he’s very comfortable with) to be paired with Stanley, perhaps as a means of trying to balance out their collective strengths and weaknesses.
I’m curious to see what that looks like and if it’s potentially sustainable here, especially with Dylan Samberg likely still weeks away from a return from his broken foot.
Logan Stanley’s reach is an asset to the Winnipeg Jets. (Paul Vernon / The Associated Press files)
KEN SAYS: The Jets will be looking to snap out of this recent funk and while a cursory glance at the box scores would suggest the Jets need to get their offence going after being held to one goal in three of the past five games, it’s the renewed commitment to team defence that is likely where the team will be focusing a lot of its energy.
While there’s no doubt the offence has gone a bit stagnant, the Jets gave up far too many quality scoring chances (and goals) off the rush during the three-game skid.
When the Jets got off to their great start, they found that a great deal of the offence was created by their ability to check in all three zones. Their standard has slipped a touch and they’ll be working to get back to that during the days and weeks ahead.
The Jets power play is also looking to regroup after going 2-for-14 during the past five games. The team is still operating at 31.5 percent for the season and sits second in the NHL behind the New Jersey Devils, but the man-advantage was an area that helped the Jets win the special teams battle on most nights and that hasn’t been happening as frequently of late.
While a regression to the mean was always going to be around the corner, the Jets have reached the point where they’ll have to offer up a few wrinkles to get the power play humming once again.
On the flip side, the Jets’ penalty kill is coming off a five-for-five showing and they’d like to keep improving on that front, as they currently sit in a three-way tie for 15th on that front through 25 games.
The arrival of Montgomery has put a little bit of spring in the Blues’ collective step, as the team picked up five of a possible six points since he moved behind the bench.
Thomas has picked up a point in four of the six games since returning to the Blues’ lineup. He suffered a broken ankle while blocking a shot from Pionk back in October and he’s got two goals and 10 points in 13 games this season. Thomas plays in all situations and is a key play driver for the Blues, especially with Pavel Buchnevich still out of the lineup.
PROJECTED LINES
WINNIPEG JETS
FORWARDS:
- Connor-Namestnikov-Scheifele
- Perfetti-Lambert-Vilardi
- Niederreiter-Lowry-Appleton
- Barron-Kupari-Iafallo
DEFENCE:
- Morrissey-DeMelo
- Fleury-Pionk
- Stanley-Heinola
GOAL:
HEALTHY SCRATCHES: D Miller, D Coghlan <br>INJURED: D Samberg (broken foot), F Ehlers (lower body)
ST. LOUIS BLUES
FORWARDS:
- Neighbours-Thomas-Texier
- Saad-Schenn-Kyrou
- Holloway-Sundqvist-Bolduc
- Toropchenko-Faksa-M Joseph
DEFENCE:
- Suter-Parayko
- Broberg-Faulk
- P-O Joseph-Kessel
GOAL:
HEALTHY SCRATCHES: F Walker <br>INJURED: F Buchnevich (lower body), D Perunovich (undisclosed), D Leddy (lower body), D Krug (ankle).
NOTABLE QUOTABLE
Jets head coach Scott Arniel on the rush chances allowed during the six-game road trip:
“There’s a lot of mental to that. That’s usually not us. Whether it’s our D’s gap, whether it’s our F3 or F2 always pouring back, whether maybe in the offensive zone, we get three guys caught. Some of those areas, that’s sort of the mental side. You get tired. You forget, ‘Oh man, I’m supposed to be here when this guy’s here.’ It’s just some of those mental things that started to happen because of that. But the biggest thing that I keep telling everybody is that we can’t use that as an excuse, because everybody’s going through it.”
WHAT WE’RE WORKING ON
Ken will tackle the pre-game story with the injury update on Nikolaj Ehlers and the subsequent recall of Brad Lambert, plus provide analysis from the game between the Jets and Blues. You can find both stories online at winnipegfreepress.com and in Wednesday’s print edition.
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