FROM THE PRESS BOX
MIKE SAYS: Is this a Kyle Connor revenge game?
I suspect the slick winger will have some extra giddy-up in his stride and fire in his belly given that his 4 Nations stint ended in the form of a healthy scratch for Thursday’s championship game. Given that he began the tournament on the top line, I definitely didn’t have this development on the Bingo card. And it might just serve as an extra bit of motivation for a very proud player who still leads all American skaters with 30 goals so far this year.
Connor didn’t light the lamp in Winnipeg’s last three games before the break, so his personal drought is now at six if you include the three American round-robin games. January 30 – the last time he scored – probably feels like a lifetime ago. Keep an eye on him in this one.
Also not on the Bingo card was the much-maligned Logan Stanley being on the top pair of the top defensive team in the NHL, but here we are. The big man gets a big bump with Josh Morrissey getting the night off, and he’ll slide in beside Dylan DeMelo.
“Looks good,” DeMelo told me on Friday of how it’s gone in practice this week. “He’s a guy that I like playing with, a guy that’s very steady. He makes good decisions with the puck, obviously he’s a big body, uses it well, closes well and he’s got a very under-rated offensive game so I’m looking forward to playing with him. I think we’re going to play well together, I think our styles mesh well together.”
Stanley has had some bumpy moments earlier this year while playing in a more sheltered role, but I thought he’d nicely settled down and really minimized the mistakes during Winnipeg’s eight-game winning streak. He’s had nine shots on goal, an assist and is a rock-solid plus-four in that span while averaging about 14 minutes a game.
Just as I expect it might take the players a period or two to get back into the flow of things, it’s probably going to take some time for us viewers to get used to the more methodical pace of regular season hockey after the frantic, heart-stopping action we just witnessed during the best-on-best event.
Winnipeg Jets defenceman Logan Stanley (64) had nine shots on goal, an assist and is a rock-solid plus-four in that span while averaging about 14 minutes a game over the last eight games. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
KEN SAYS: Jets forward Cole Perfetti has three assists in the first two meetings between these two teams this season and he went into the break riding a five-game point streak that included a goal and five assists.
Perfetti is going to be an important player for the Jets during the stretch run and if he can be a consistent point producer to go along with his improved all-around play, that’s a massive development for a team that continues to lead the NHL in goals (with 202).
Offensively, the Jets have been led by the top line of Mark Scheifele, Gabe Vilardi and Connor, but this isn’t to suggest they’re a one line hockey team. Far from it, but this group has proven to be incredibly dangerous when the trio of Vladislav Namestnikov, Nikolaj Ehlers and Perfetti has also been rolling.
Getting Lowry back is a massive boost for the Jets.
Although Rasmus Kupari and David Gustafsson did an excellent job during Lowry’s absence, the captain brings a presence to go along with his Selke calibre defensive play.
Comrie has quietly put together a stretch that shows why the Jets gave him a two-year commitment in the off-season to battle for the backup job.
With a back-to-back on the schedule next week, Comrie remains on track to hit and eclipse 20 starts and he’s got his numbers into a solid place — with a 2.58 goals-against average and .912 save percentage in 13 previous starts.
The Blues are 16-14-4 since Jim Montgomery took over as head coach and there’s been plenty of speculation about what general manager Doug Armstrong might do before the NHL trade deadline.
They’ve been led offensively by Jordan Kyrou, Robert Thomas and Dylan Holloway, who is up to 16 goals and 40 points in 56 games.
The move to acquire Holloway and blue-liner Philip Broberg with the double offer sheets last summer was a brilliant move by Armstrong.
Thomas, who suffered a broken ankle earlier this season against the Jets when he blocked a shot, is riding a four-game point streak and averaging nearly a point per game.
Hofer is 10-7-1 in 20 appearances (including 18 starts) and sports a 2.88 goals-against average and .903 save percentage.
PROJECTED LINES
WINNIPEG JETS
FORWARDS:
- Connor-Scheifele-Vilardi
- Ehlers-Namestnikov-Perfetti
- Niederreiter-Lowry-Appleton
- Iafallo-Gustafsson-Kupari
DEFENCE:
- Stanley-DeMelo
- Samberg-Pionk
- Fleury/Heinola-Miller
GOAL:
HEALTHY SCRATCHES: G Hellebuyck, D Morrissey, D Heinola or D Fleury
INJURED: LW Barron (upper-body)
ST. LOUIS BLUES
FORWARDS:
- Neighbours-Thomas-Buchnevich
- Holloway-Schenn-Kyrou
- Texier-Sundqvist-Joseph
- Toropchenko-Faksa-Walker
DEFENCE:
- Fowler-Parayko
- Broberg-Faulk
- Suter-Tucker
GOAL:
HEALTHY SCRATCHES: D Leddy, F Bolduc
INJURED: D Krug (ankle)
NOTABLE QUOTABLE
Jets defenceman Dylan Samberg on facing the Blues:
“Obviously, a good heavy team. They’re good defensively and they have good skill up front. It’s usually a good 2-1 battle against them. We’re looking forward to it and looking forward to getting back to the games here.”
WHAT WE’RE WORKING ON
Ken is covering this game remotely and you can find his analysis at winnipegfreepress.com. Plus, if you have a question for the Jets’ monthly mailbag, you can reply to this email. The latest edition is set to go up on Sunday, so this is the last call on that front.
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