FROM THE PRESS BOX
MIKE SAYS: Unlike Willie Nelson, I think the Winnipeg Jets would have happily waited to get on the road again. Yet here they are, continuing a nearly month-long odyssey which will see them board a plane after 14 straight games — never playing in the same city more than once in that span — and cover more than 25,000 kilometres in the process. The good news is the end is near, with a four-game homestand set to begin Sunday.
The Jets no doubt would love to become road warriors once again, rather than road worriers. But they’ve dropped six of their last eight games away from home and now face two more in the next 36 hours or so.
There’s no magic fix here, other than getting back to their core principles of play which have become the exception, rather than the rule, lately.
Do that, and their fortunes should start to turn once again.
Programming note: I’ve got a big feature running in the paper this Saturday (the 49.8 section, and also online at winnipegfreepress.com) which takes you behind the scenes of the just completed six-game, 10-day, three-time zone trip and showcases what it takes to keep an NHL team happy, healthy and performing at a high level while away from home for long. It features more than a dozen interviews I did in Pittsburgh, Nashville, St. Paul, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Dallas with players, coaches and a dedicated support staff who often burn the candle at both ends to keep things running smoothly. I hope you’ll enjoy reading it as much as I did researching and writing it.
KEN SAYS: Although he’s far more concerned with helping his team get out of this funk, this will be a special game for Arniel, who played for the Sabres from 1986-90 and was an assistant coach on Ruff’s staff during his first stint as the bench boss here.
“I obviously started my NHL coaching career here with Lindy,” said Arniel. “I still think we could’ve won the Stanley Cup if we kept our defence healthy the year Carolina won. I think we lost four defencemen. But that’s water under the bridge. I have some great memories here.”
Pionk has been one of the few consistent point producers of late for his team during the recent slide, chipping in a point in three consecutive games and in four of his past five games.
Fleury continues to impress in an elevated role. Signed in the summer to a two-way contract to be more of a depth guy, Fleury continues to try and make his case to remain in the Top-6 even when the defence corps is back to full health. He saved a goal in the second period of Tuesday’s game and had two hits and two blocked shots in 21:06 of ice time.
The Sabres continue to be led by forwards Alex Tuch (eight goals, 23 points) and Tage Thompson (13 goals, 20 points).
The offensive weaponry has never been in question, but the team has been plagued by inconsistent play, especially when it comes to the defensive zone.
With Dahlin out, you can expect the ice time for former Colorado Avalanche D-man Bowen Byram to be on the rise. Byram has four goals and 15 points in 25 points and he’s someone you can be sure the Jets will be paying attention to, given his propensity to be active on the back end and ability to join the rush on the second wave.
It’s sure to be an exciting evening for Kozak, who was teammates with Winnipegger Seth Jarvis with the Portland Winterhawks of the WHL and spent the first two-plus seasons of his pro career with the Rochester Americans of the American Hockey League after being chosen in the seventh round of the 2021 NHL Draft by the Sabres.
Kozak is an energetic forward who should be noticeable in this one, even though he’s likely going to play limited minutes.
PROJECTED LINES
WINNIPEG JETS
FORWARDS:
- Connor-Scheifele-Vilardi
- Perfetti-Lambert-Namestnikov
- Niederreiter-Lowry-Appleton
- Barron-Kupari-Iafallo
DEFENCE:
- Morrissey-Pionk
- Fleury-DeMelo
- Stanley-Heinola
GOAL:
HEALTHY SCRATCHES: D Miller, D Coghlan
INJURED: D Samberg (broken foot), F Ehlers (lower-body)
BUFFALO SABRES
FORWARDS:
- Zucker-Thompson-Tuch
- Benson-Cozens-Peterka
- Kulich-McLeod-Krebs
- Melenstyn-Kozak-Aube-Kubel
DEFENCE:
- Bryson-Byram
- Power-Jokiharju
- Gilbert-Clifton
GOAL:
HEALTHY SCRATCHES: F Quinn
INJURED: D Dahlin (back spasms), D Samuelsson (lower body), F Greenway (mid body), F Lafferty (lower body).
NOTABLE QUOTABLE
Jets head coach Scott Arniel on seeing his friend Lindy Ruff reach 1,800 NHL games as a head coach on Thursday:
“It just means he’s really old. That’s awesome. Him and I both went to San Diego. Rick Dudley, Donny Waddell talked us into coming to play in San Diego. It was in training camp in our second year, Lindy was the captain, he got a call from Roger Nielson because Craig Ramsay got sick. Lindy was going to continue playing. Then he got the call and joined the Florida staff as an assistant coach. From there on, that’s the 1800. He’s done a lot of things. I got to work with him here, he was a great mentor for me. I got to work with him again with the Rangers a few years back. He loves the game, he’s passionate about the game. Just a great accomplishment for him.”
WHAT WE’RE WORKING ON
Ken is on the two-game trip and is doing an early story with reaction from the Jets’ players who were named to the rosters for the upcoming 4 Nations-Face-Off tournament in February. He will also provide analysis from the game between the Jets and Sabres. You can find both stories online at winnipegfreepress.com and in Friday’s print edition.
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