FROM THE PRESS BOX
Mike says: One of Rick Bowness’ favourite sayings in his two years as bench boss was “you come at one of us, you come at all of us.” That’s a non-negotiable that has become entrenched in the DNA of this tight-knit group, one that was on display again Wednesday night in Ottawa.
An iffy hit by Artem Zub on Mark Scheifele drew an immediate physical response from Logan Stanley, just as one a few minutes later by Tyler Kleven on Mason Appleton prompted an instant reaction from Adam Lowry.
I asked various players and coach Scott Arniel about those two specific incidents after the game and wasn’t surprised by their responses.
“That’s us sticking together. Scheif is our top player, you don’t want to see anyone taking runs at him or whatever in those situations. There wasn’t a call, maybe I thought there should have been, but at the end of the day, great that Stan got in there. Obviously, (Lowry) jumping in there real quick to help Apple, those are signs of a really good hockey team who care for each other,” Arniel told me.
Added Appleton: “That’s just kind of our mentality is sticking up for each other. Obviously that guy crunched me there pretty good and Lows stepped in. And then the Scheif knee, not knee, whatever you want to call that one. Stan coming in that was big-time. Yeah, maybe that kind of jump-starts us. Gets us into the battle a bit.”
I don’t believe it’s a coincidence that the Jets, who had been the second-best team on the ice in the opening minutes of the feisty first period, quickly responded with a pair of goals in 77 seconds.
Nor was it a surprise that in the locker room after the game, it was Lowry and Stanley who were given the two team jackets as part of the usual victory ritual initiated by the players to recognize valuable contributions from within. (The two players who received them in the previous win — in this case Mark Scheifele and Josh Morrissey — make the call as to who gets them next).
These are the sorts of things that can go a long way for a team with championship aspirations.
Watching Ottawa come out with a real physical approach to the game — something we may see again tonight here in Nashville — once again had me thinking that a player or two with some size and some snarl might be on the wish list for general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff when it comes to the NHL trade deadline.
It’s vitally important any such addition be able to contribute in other ways, too — the days of a pure enforcer are long gone — but the Jets will want to ensure they don’t become easy prey for a playoff opponent who decides a good strategy to try and combat all their speed and skill is to try and run them out of the building (legally, of course, since Winnipeg’s power play will have to be respected).
Mason Appleton (centre) celebrates his goal against the Senators with Logan Stanley (left) and Nino Niederreiter during the first period Wednesday in Ottawa. (Adrian Wyld / The Canadian Press)
Ken says: Perfetti is in the midst of his most consistent stretch of hockey in his budding NHL career and it couldn’t have come at a better time for the Jets.
That he has been producing with regularity is important for someone that is transitioning from a complementary scorer to a more primary one, but it’s also where he’s been willing to go to deliver goals that would be a smile to the face of the Jets’ coaching staff.
Perfetti got to the front of the net and redirected a pass from Nikolaj Ehlers to open the scoring Wednesday, and that was the latest example of him going to the hard areas and being rewarded for it.
He is up to 12 goals and 37 points to sit sixth in team scoring and he’s also playing a sound defensive game and doing many of the little things that don’t end up on the scoresheet but are essential to playing winning hockey.
One of the few things that hasn’t been operating quite at its usual pace for the Jets since the break ended is the efficiency of the power play, which is now zero-for-10 during the past three games — including zero-for-four on Wednesday, which included a two-man advantage that lasted a full two minutes.
Given how much success the Jets’ power play has enjoyed this season in sitting first in the NHL, it’s important to remember that staying above 30 per cent this late into a season is incredibly rare and it’s far too soon to be overly concerned by the recent drought.
However, in order to help the Jets generate a bit more momentum with the man-advantage, look for them to get back to a bit more of an attack mentality, with more shots coming earlier in the sequence after gaining control in the offensive zone.
Another staple for both power play units is crisp puck movement and motion, rather than being stationary.
That the Predators have been one of the most disappointing teams this season after landing several high-profile free agents on July 1 is still surprising to me, but something just hasn’t clicked so far and it will be interesting to see how Dauphin product and GM Barry Trotz handles things during the coming days.
Defenceman Luke Schenn and forward Colton Sissons are two players to keep an eye on this evening — as both would fit the bill for what the Jets appear to be searching for.
Schenn is a high-character individual that is a physical blue-liner with championship pedigree, while Sissons would bring size, grit, versatility, secondary scoring and an ability to kill penalties.
PROJECTED LINES
WINNIPEG JETS
Forwards:
- Connor-Scheifele-Vilardi
- Ehlers-Namestnikov-Perfetti
- Niederreiter-Lowry-Appleton
- Iafallo-Gustafsson-Kupari
Defence:
- Morrissey-DeMelo
- Samberg-Pionk
- Stanley-Miller
Goal:
Healthy scratches: D Fleury, D Heinola, F Anderson-Dolan
Injured: LW Barron (upper-body)
NASHVILLE PREDATORS
Forwards:
- Forsberg-O’Reilly-Marchessault
- Nyquist-Svechkov-Stamkos
- Bellows-Novak-Evangelista
- Smith-McCaron-Sissons
Defence:
- Skjei-Barron
- Englund-Schenn
- Blankenberg-Livingstone
Goal:
Healthy scratches: None
Injured: D Josi (upper body), D Lauzon (lower body), D Willsby (upper body), F L’Heureux (upper body), F Jankowski (undisclosed)
NOTABLE QUOTABLE
Jets forward Mason Appleton on captain Adam Lowry dropping the gloves in Wednesday’s game with Ottawa Senators defenceman Tyler Kleven:
“That’s who (Lowry) is. He can kind of impose his will on teams, and guys are very conscious of that, maybe a little fearful. He’s a big, strong dude, and when he grits his teeth a little bit, I think everyone on the other bench definitely notices it.”
WHAT WE’RE WORKING ON
Mike has made his way to Music City and you can find his game analysis of Jets vs Predators in Friday’s paper and at winnipegfreepress.com.
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