Bringing it from the D

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This article was published 19/10/2022 (1117 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

DENVER — The Winnipeg Jets have made it a priority this season to get their defencemen more involved in the rush, hoping some added offence from the back-end will boost their chances of success.

For a blueprint on how it’s done, they need to look no further than their opponent on Wednesday night in the Mile High City. The Colorado Avalanche activate the blue-line better than anyone else in the league, and it played a significant role in their Stanley Cup championship last season.

They come in waves, making it difficult if not downright impossible to defend at times. It doesn’t hurt to have someone like Cale Makar in your lineup, of course.

“I feel like that’s what you have to do now to be a productive offence,” the reigning Norris Trophy winner told the Free Press following the morning skate at Ball Arena. “You have to have five guys on the ice that are basically interchangeable and know each other’s position. For us I feel the mobility on our team has really helped in that aspect. Overall that’s just the way the game is going.”

Makar, 23, is coming off a monster campaign in which he had 28 goals and 58 assists in 77 regular-season games, then another eight goals and 21 assists in 20 playoff contests. The Avalanche also have the likes of Devon Toews, Samuel Girard and Bowen Byram as slick, puck-moving specialists.

Which begs the question: can you implement this kind of system even if you don’t necessarily have the superstar personnel to execute it?

“Yeah I think you can,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said Wednesday.

“For me it’s a mindset first and foremost. The D can’t be resting. Puck gets moved up the ice, we know where it’s going. Decisions with the puck when that’s happening. Making reads at every line, are you still part of it, can you help on this attack or should I pull out of it? If you’re going to get your D active and they’re going to go up the ice and attack the net, there’s going to need to be other players, usually forwards, with responsibilities to be in a position to cover for them. So puck decisions and making sure you’re not throwing it away when you’ve got four guys up the ice. Execution is very important.”

Winnipeg had just 24 goals from their entire defence core last year — four less than Makar scored himself — and new coach Rick Bowness said he wants that to change. They had nothing to show for their first two games, but Bednar said he’s seen significant changes in what he’s reviewed on video.

“It’s showing up already on their numbers from what I have. They’re in more rush attacks. In video I watch they’re in more rush attacks,” he said. “I don’t think you have to be super skilled to be able to do it. It’s just getting everybody on the same page and then execution is a big part of decision making. We still make mistakes. So when it’s going good it’s going really good. And sometimes when it’s not it goes the other way on you. I think it’s just where the game’s going.”

Josh Morrissey, Neal Pionk and Nate Schmidt are no slouches, but they don’t have nearly the razzle-dazzle of a Makar. In fact, you could argue the organization’s most dynamic offensive defenceman is currently plying his trade for the Manitoba Moose. Ville Heinola was sent to the farm for more seasoning following training camp, with Bowness saying they wanted the 21-year-old Finn to continue to work on his defensive game.

The Jets made some intriguing changes on the blue line against the Avalanche, putting Morrissey and Pionk together on the top pairing. That’s something that typically only happened in previous years when they were trailing late and looking for offence. Pionk’s usual partner, Brenden Dillon, was paired with Schmidt. And Morrissey’s right-hand man, Dylan DeMelo, skated alongside Dylan Samberg, who drew into the lineup for Logan Stanley.

The move paid off, with Pionk scoring in the first period during four-on-four action. He jumped into the play, took a pass from Mason Appleton and ripped a shot past Alexander Georgiev.

Pionk was the hero later when he scored the game-winner with a blast in overtime.

“We’re coming on the rush, we’ve been preaching that since the first day of camp. We’re doing a good job of that. Maybe we’re not getting the numbers,” associate head coach Scott Arniel said prior to puck drop.

“We do need to get more shots to the net, we know every team is looking to block. I thought the other night we had some looks where we shot wide or we went to the far side where it ended up coming out of the zone. We’re just talking to these guys about getting off the walls, getting to the middle of the ice and get centred whenever possible. And when possible pound that puck. We certainly need a little more traffic around the net, that can help, too. That’ll come with everything. We needed to get them in the rush and get them in the offence first. Now we have that, and now we’ll build off that.”

Playing in the Central Division, Winnipeg gets a healthy diet of some of the best blue-liners in the game. Makar is joined by the likes of Miro Heiskanen in Dallas (who scored a big insurance goal in Monday’s 4-1 win over the Jets) and Roman Josi in Nashville, who was runner-up for the Norris last year.

“We’ve got a handful of those dynamic guys in our division,” Jets veteran forward Blake Wheeler said earlier this week. “The game has changed a little bit in that regard where you’ve got guys like (Heiskanen), Makar, guys like that, Roman Josi, they seem to be leading the pace on the rush.”

In a copycat league, everyone is often left playing catch-up to the champs. The Jets are hoping to get in on that action, even as it remains a work in progress.

“You’re seeing more and more teams have these elite defencemen that are essentially, when they want to join, are as good as any of the top forwards,” said Makar. “I feel like it’s not just us. Even just watching Winnipeg you can tell their D are coming.”

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @mikemcintyrewpg