FROM THE PRESS BOX
MIKE SAYS: Give Lowry credit: The captain has a good sense of timing, and I thought his decision to hold a closed-door meeting after Monday’s messy performance was a smart one.
For one thing, it shifted the focus directly onto the players. Arniel had already played the “shred your team in public” card, having done that just three nights earlier in Raleigh after an ugly 5-1 loss. He likely couldn’t go right back to that again, so Lowry essentially said, “I’ve got this one,” by doing what he did. That’s a sign of solid leadership.
Winnipeg Jets captain Adam Lowry (John Woods / The Canadian Press files)
Fun fact: This is a battle between the NHL’s oldest team (Winnipeg) and the youngest (Montreal). The Jets, even when they have been flying high in recent years, really seem to struggle against opponents who have speed to burn. Montreal fits right into that category, although their legs might feel a bit heavier since they’re playing for a second straight night.
Arniel is wisely dressing a quicker line than the one we saw Monday night, as Pionk, Salomonsson and Koepke can all move. I might have scratched Tanner Pearson over Nyquist, but that’s just being picky at this point.
This feels like the most important game of the year so far: Another flat performance and then what? Call up some kids from the Manitoba Moose? Put someone on waivers or make a trade just to shake things up? Anything and everything should be on the table.
Bottom line: The Jets better hope Buffalo represented rock-bottom. We’re about to find out.
“We’re not off to the best start, but we still feel we’re a strong playoff team. We just gotta make sure we get going and get ourselves in,” said Arniel.
I’ve covered a lot of Jets road trips over the past decade, but this one ranks right up there for newsworthy developments bordering on soap-opera storylines. We’ve had two NHL debuts (Salomonsson and Thomas Milic) and no shortage of angst and emotion on display, which has included some really interesting one-on-one chats I’ve been able to have over the past week with Lowry and general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff.
Also, if you haven’t seen it yet, I’d encourage you to check out my feature on the flight crew that tries to keep the Jets flying high all season long. It was a fun piece to put together — I learned a ton of things I didn’t know in the process — and I love these type of behind-the-scenes peeks that we are able to provide.
KEN SAYS: Although the Jets focus will be playing with more pace and defending better, there are three marquee matchups I’ll be watching closely in this game.
With less than a month to go before Olympic rosters are announced for Canada and the United States, there are six players suiting up in this contest that are in contention and only one of them is a lock right now — Jets defenceman Josh Morrissey.
Morrissey is having an outstanding season and looks to be right behind Cale Makar in the chase for the Norris Trophy.
The Canadiens have a skilled, mobile D-man trying to force his way into the discussion for Team USA in Lane Hutson, the second-year pro. Both Morrissey and Hutson are play drivers that can generate offence off the rush and by making creative moves at the blue line.
Sticking with the Americans, Jets left-winger Kyle Connor looks like a strong candidate to be on the team and he’s playing well also, so Canadiens winger Cole Caufield will certainly be trying to catch the attention of the brass that’s watching this game. Although offence isn’t the only thing that will be judged when it comes to personnel decisions, Connor holds a two-point edge on Caufield (who has the goal lead 14-13).
Left-winger Kyle Connor (Frank Franklin II / The Associated Press files)
Wrapping up the battle of potential Olympians is the battle between No. 1 centres who will see a lot of each other in this contest. Mark Scheifele goes into Wednesday’s action tied for ninth in NHL scoring — and fifth among Canadians — with 13 goals and 32 points in 25 games. He’s been driving the Jets’ top line and has put himself in prime position to get the call when the team is revealed in January.
Nick Suzuki will be tasked with trying to slow down Scheifele and company and he’s an early contender for the Selke Trophy, given out annually to the top defensive forward. Suzuki also has eight goals and 30 points through 25 games.
It’s not impossible for Canada to find a spot for both Scheifele and Suzuki, but head-to-head battles such as this one only adds to the intrigue with the debate heating up surrounding what the roster is going to look like.
PROJECTED LINES
WINNIPEG JETS
FORWARDS:
- Connor-Scheifele-Vilardi
- Namestnikov-Toews-Perfetti
- Niederreiter-Lowry-Iafallo
- Koepke-Barron-Pearson
DEFENCE:
- Morrissey-DeMelo
- Samberg-Pionk
- Stanley-Salomonsson
GOAL:
INJURED: G Hellebuyck (knee surgery), D Fleury (concussion protocol)
HEALTHY SCRATCHES: D Schenn, D Miller, F Nyquist
MONTREAL CANADIENS
FORWARDS:
- Caufield-Suzuki-Bolduc
- Slafkovsky-Kapanen-Demidov
- Texier-Evans-Anderson
- Davidson-Veleno-Gallagher
DEFENCE:
- Matheson-Dobson
- Struble-Hutson
- A. Xhekaj-Carrier
GOAL:
INJURED: D Guhle (lower-body), F Laine (abdomen), F Newhook (ankle), F Dach (foot)
HEALTHY SCRATCHES: F F. Xhekaj, D Engstrom
NOTABLE QUOTABLE
Jets defenceman Neal Pionk on how the team needs to respond after a closed-door meeting on Monday night:
“I expect some high-energy tonight. We had a quick chat after the game. Just talked about expectations of ourselves and what we need to do better as a team and as individuals. We need to start piecing things together here, starting tonight.”
WHAT WE’RE WORKING ON
Mike is in Montreal and will have an early notebook looking at Pionk’s return, plus updates on the status of injured goaltender Connor Hellebuyck. He will then have game coverage of Jets vs. Canadiens, including post-game reaction from the room.
You can find both pieces online and in Thursday’s print edition.
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