FROM THE PRESS BOX
MIKE SAYS: When times get tough, hockey teams often look to their leaders as a means of getting back on track. And it was striking just how solid the three guys wearing letters on their sweaters were for the Jets on Thursday night.
It starts with the captain, and Adam Lowry continues to remind everyone why he was the perfect choice for Winnipeg. The shutdown centre is showing he has a bit of a scoring touch, now up to seven goals on the year and on track to shatter his career high of 15 set way back in 2016-17.
Right behind him were alternates Josh Morrissey and Mark Scheifele, who each chipped in with a pair of assists in the much-needed win over the Sabres, Scheifele, who looked a lot more like his normal self after a tough couple weeks, is also on pace to set new career offensive highs, which is quite something when you consider both he and Lowry are 31.
Morrissey, 29, could also challenge the 76 points he posted in 2022-23, as he’s now up to 25 in 27 games.
All three of these guys were on the Team Canada radar, with Morrissey ultimately being the only one to get the call. No doubt that was disappointing for the others (especially Scheifele), but I love the way they all responded to some adversity within their group by upping the ante. The Jets are clearly in good hands with this trio, both on and off the ice.
Today is the 14th consecutive game in which the Jets will board a plane after the final buzzer to head to a new city. That stretch, dating all the way back to Nov. 9, represents 17 per cent of their entire schedule. Winnipeg is 6-7-0 in that span and could end it at .500 with a win over the Blackhawks.
Their extensive travels took them from Winnipeg to New York to Tampa Bay to Sunrise to Winnipeg to Pittsburgh to Nashville to Minneapolis/St.Paul to Los Angeles to Las Vegas to Dallas to Winnipeg to Buffalo to Chicago and then, after today’s game, back to Winnipeg. Add it all up and that’s just north of 25,000 kilometres covered by air over the last 29 days. If it felt like one continuous road trip, that’s because it essentially was, with just a pair of one-game pit stops at Canada Life Centre in between a steady diet of dates in enemy territory.
No doubt the players, coaches and staff are looking forward to finally unpacking their bags to play four straight at the downtown rink beginning Sunday evening.
KEN SAYS: Two critical developments coming out of Thursday’s game, the top line got on the board at five-on-five and the power play finally struck after working through a 2-for-19 drought.
There was some strong puck movement before Scheifele found Kyle Connor in the slot before his shot beat Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen.
“It’s been great, getting that change to play on that top unit. A lot of opportunity there, with a lot of skill and a lot of playmaking ability,” said Jets forward Cole Perfetti. “We had a lot of really good looks (against the Sabres). It was great that we cashed in on one.”
Connor was back to being the high-volume shooter that is dangerous, recording four shots on goal and 10 shot-attempts.
Gabe Vilardi’s redirection was another example of his exquisite hand-eye coordination and he did a great job of getting to the front of the net before getting his stick on the shot from Haydn Fleury.
Scheifele chipped in a pair of assists and looked a lot more like himself as he deals with an undisclosed upper-body issue, finishing with two shots on goal and five shot attempts. He was more engaged physically and won more puck battles.
Morrissey’s effort was a Herculean one. With Logan Stanley in the box for more than the 17 minutes in penalties he accumulated, the Jets leaned heavily on Morrissey (29:55) and Neal Pionk (27:33).
Morrissey was a force, long before his explosive burst up the ice that came before Lowry’s goal — and assisting on the OT winner capped his impressive showing and moved him to 25 points in 27 games.
As for the Blackhawks, they’ve had a bunch of underwhelming play from some of the veterans they brought in to help insulate some of the younger prospects.
It’s been a strange season for Taylor Hall, who has five goals and 10 points in 25 games — including a hat trick against the Dallas Stars on Nov. 27.
Chicago Blackhawks left wing Taylor Hall celebrates after scoring his third goal during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Dallas Stars on Nov. 27 in Chicago. (Melissa Tamez / The Associated Press)
The first time I saw Hall play live was at the 2010 Memorial Cup in Brandon on that dominant Windsor Spitfires team from the Ontario Hockey League that won it all.
Hall is a creative winger that has finishing ability and on a team that desperately needs some additional offensive production, so the 2018 Hart Trophy winner could be one of the players that benefits from the coaching change after being a healthy scratch on Nov. 18.
One individual who has played very well against the Jets during the past several seasons is Mrazek, who has a .913 save percentage and 2.60 goals-against average in 14 games against Winnipeg during his career.
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)
CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS
FORWARDS:
- Kurashev-Bedard-Teravainen
- Hall-Donato-Bertuzzi
- Foligno-Dickinson-Mikeyev
- Maroon-Reichel-Smith
DEFENCE:
- Vlasic-Murphy
- Allan-Martinez
- Kaiser-Brodie
GOAL:
HEALTHY SCRATCHES: D Crevier, F Anderson
INJURED: G Brossoit (knee), D Jones (foot)
NOTABLE QUOTABLE
Jets forward Gabe Vilardi on what his line was able to do well against the Sabres:
“I thought we did a good job of recovering pucks in the O-zone and generating off the cycle, which is what we’ve got to do. Scheifele is so good down low and then finding Kyle in the pop spots and I think I’m pretty good down low as well, so that’s what we’ve got to continue to do.”
WHAT WE’RE WORKING ON
Ken is wrapping up this two-game road trip in the Windy City and will provide analysis and reaction from the Central Division battle at United Center. You can find the story online at winnipegfreepress.com.
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