FROM THE PRESS BOX
KEN SAYS: It was the equivalent of pulling a rabbit out of a hat on Saturday when the Jets rallied in the third period, but can they follow that up with another victory and try to build some momentum as they push towards the Olympic break?
That’s a massive question going into this one.
Count me among those intrigued by the goaltending battle and you can be sure the folks from USA Hockey are going to take a keen interest in watching how Hellebuyck and Oettinger fare in this matchup.
With so many people talking today about the third member of the American goaltending contingent after Boston Bruins netminder Jeremy Swayman got into a fight in the outdoor game with Andrei Vasilevskiy of the Tampa Bay Lightning, this is certainly an opportunity for both Hellebuyck and Oettinger to shine.
The only true difference as it relates to the numbers is in the wins category, where Oettinger is 22-10-4 and Hellebuyck is 13-15-6.
Of course, a lot of that has to do with the defensive environment in front of both goalies.
It says here that Hellebuyck will be between the pipes for the opening game of the tournament for Team USA, based on his performance at the 4 Nations Face-Off last February, but it’s not as much of a slam dunk as we would have expected going into the season for the reigning Hart and Vezina Trophy winner.
Of course the U.S. isn’t going to base its decision on one outing in early February, but it could be part of the decision-making process.
What will Gustav Nyquist do for an encore?
Well, after setting up the game-winning goal on Saturday, Nyquist will remain on the Jets’ top line with Mark Scheifele and Connor to start the game.
Nyquist is the first to admit things haven’t gone the way he anticipated when he signed a one-year deal as an unrestricted free agent on July 2, but he was confident that he has plenty of good hockey left in him when we spoke after the morning skate.
As for the Stars, it remains downright baffling to me that Team USA didn’t find a spot for Jason Robertson on the Olympic team.
Robertson, who is not afraid to go to the hard areas, leads his team in goals (30) and is second in points (63) behind Mikko Rantanen (66).
Robertson has 11 goals and 16 points in 17 career games against the Jets, while Rantanen has 11 goals and 34 points in 33 games against Winnipeg, so you can be sure the Jets will be aware when they’re on the ice.
MIKE SAYS: Quite the shocker in Nashville this morning, where Dauphin product Barry Trotz abruptly announced he is stepping down as general manager of the Predators.
He never really seemed to find his footing in that role, and it just goes to show that being very good at one thing — in his case, head coaching — doesn’t automatically translate to other jobs.
Hindsight is always 20/20, but I wonder if Trotz ultimately regrets not taking the reins of the Jets back in the summer of 2022.
True North put on the full court press — as did a local beer company, offering him free suds for life — but he ultimately opted to return to Music City.
For those who might now be thinking Trotz could be the successor to Scott Arniel, I wouldn’t hold my breath.
There are multiple reports that this is a true retirement rather than an eventual return behind the bench.
However, as we’ve seen with Rick Bowness — the man who ultimately got the Winnipeg job that Trotz passed up, retired after two seasons to open the door for Arniel and is currently leading the Columbus Blue Jackets — plans can always change.
For the record, I personally don’t believe Arniel is on the hot seat despite a disappointing year for his club. I’m confident he will certainly finish out the season, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s given another shot to guide the club next year.
Arniel didn’t lose his ability to coach overnight, and he did help guide the team to franchise records just last year while finishing as the runner-up in the Jack Adams Trophy race.
Besides, as I’ve written in this space before, I don’t believe his players have tuned him out or “quit” on him.
Case in point would be Saturday’s gutsy win in Florida.
Now comes another tough test, and wouldn’t it be something if the Jets could find a way to squeeze out a victory over the Stars and go 3-1 on this road trip.
One reason for optimism: Saturday’s game reminded me of last year’s team in terms of their ability to limit offensive chances.
Winnipeg’s DNA is in defence — you can thank Bowness for implementing that in a major way — and they’ve often strayed from that blueprint this year. But the way they stifled Florida showed they haven’t completely forgotten how to play the right way. The key, as always, is consistency.
PROJECTED LINES
WINNIPEG JETS
FORWARDS:
- Connor-Scheifele-Nyquist
- Perfetti-Lowry-Vilardi
- Niederreiter-Toews-Namestnikov
- Koepke-Barron-Iafallo
DEFENCE:
- Morrissey-DeMelo
- Samberg-Salomonsson
- Stanley-Schenn
GOAL:
HEALTHY SCRATCHES: D Phillips, F Pearson
INJURED: D Fleury (nose, back), D Miller (lower-body), D Pionk (lower-body)
DALLAS STARS
FORWARDS:
- Hryckowian-Johnston-Rantanen
- Robertson-Hintz-Bourque
- Steel-Duchene-Benn
- Back-Faksa-Erne
DEFENCE:
- Lindell-Heiskanen
- Harley-Lundqvist
- Capobianco-Petrovic
GOAL:
HEALTHY SCRATCHES: RW Blackwell, RW Bastian
INJURED: D Bischel (lower body), D Lyubushkin (lower body)
NOTABLE QUOTABLE
Jets head coach Scott Arniel on what Gustav Nyquist can do to build on his last outing, where he helped set up the game-winning goal after being a healthy scratch in 12 of the previous 14 games.
“He recognizes that maybe he wasn’t at his best and that maybe I was trying to find some chemistry in other places. This is his chance, this is the opportunity. He made the most of it the other night. Hopefully, he can go right back in and do it again. When you have guys like that, playing and creating and being a threat offensively, it certainly helps our team play more in their end of the rink.”
WHAT WE’RE WORKING ON
Ken is in Texas for the final game of the road trip. He caught up with Gustav Nyquist after the morning skate for an early feature. He will also handle the game analysis from this Central Division battle. You can find the stories in Tuesday’s paper and online at winnipegfreepress.com.
|
