Jets seek three-game streak

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This article was published 24/03/2022 (1263 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

No pain, no gain? That certainly seems to be the case for a number of Winnipeg Jets, a black-and-blue crew that put their bodies on the line in a number of ways to help secure two more valuable points in the standings.

Consider a series of unheralded but important events that went down Tuesday night at Canada Life Centre, with the home team clinging to a two-goal lead over the Vegas Golden Knights early in the third period. Nate Schmidt was stinging after taking a Jonathan Marchessault shot up high. Dylan DeMelo was in agony after taking a Nolan Patrick slapper off the fleshy part of his leg, literally crawling to the bench to get off the ice once it eventually cleared his zone. Logan Stanley was hurting after being crushed by Keegan Kolesar while making a play. Schmidt was felled again, this time by an Alex Pietrangelo rocket.

Just another tough night at the office for a typical NHL defenceman? Perhaps. But the kind of little plays that can all add up to big things for a squad that needs to go streaking if they want to sneak into the Stanley Cup playoffs.

“Whole leg seized up. Just praying we can get the puck out so I can get off,” is how DeMelo described his down-and-out moment following an optional skate on Wednesday. Not surprisingly, the veteran blue-liner was one of a handful of players who elected to stay off the ice, allowing for a little more time to lick his wounds.

“When you play penalty kill that’s kind of your role. Sometimes you’ve got to eat a few shots. Guys sacrifice all the time. It was just my turn.”

Winnipeg (30-24-10) went on to add a couple insurance markers and beat Vegas 4-0, earning a second straight victory to crawl within three points of the final Western Conference playoff spot currently held by Dallas. Connor Hellebuyck’s 42 saves were the main reason. But 13 blocked shots certainly helped the cause as well.

“Thankfully Marchessault missed it a little bit. That could have been a lot worse. It looked like it was coming up into my teeth, at first,” Schmidt said of his close call with catastrophe. “When it starts coming into this region (holds hand at throat level) I would tell you that I have some fear. Anything below, I would say, from the belly button on down, you just kind of realize it’s part of the gig. But when it starts to creep up that’s when it gets a little nerve-racking.”

The Jets will need plenty more where that came from down the stretch, with 18 regular-season games remaining. That includes three in the next four nights on home ice, all against teams well below the playoff line. Ottawa (22-36-5) visits tonight, Columbus (32-29-3) on Friday, and Arizona (20-39-4) on Sunday.

Opportunity is certainly knocking.

“We gotta get wins. It doesn’t matter who we’re playing, what night it is. We’re a desperate team,” said DeMelo. “We kind of put ourselves in this spot, so our backs are against the wall. There’s really no time to fool around. We gotta get these wins. They’re crucial games, crucial points for us.”

The Jets will be looking for their first three-game winning streak in nearly three months when they face a Senators squad that is in full re-build mode and languishing near the NHL basement. But Schmidt cautioned about taking any opponent for granted, no matter where they are in the standings.

“Sometimes when you’re not in the picture it’s a more dangerous team,” he said. “I didn’t really understand that term until I played my first year in Vegas. We weren’t supposed to be good. And so there was no pressure. And we just went out and played. You saw what happened. That happened the whole year. When you have that, you never know. With teams that are maybe not in the playoff picture, you also can have a little starter pack, play well at the beginning and really squash their momentum early.”

And that’s where all eyes will be on how Winnipeg comes out of the gate tonight night. They are coming off arguably their worst first period of the year, a lopsided affair in which Vegas outshot them 17-4 and thoroughly dominated. Hellebuyck was the only reason his club wasn’t facing a major deficit.

“Thankfully we’ve got one of the best goalies in the world on our team. He made a lot of amazing saves, kept us in that game, let us get our feet going,” said DeMelo, who was at a loss to explain the sleepy start.

“I wish I had a reason for it, otherwise it wouldn’t have happened.”

The Jets will be without forward Adam Lowry for a third straight game, as he spends his fifth (and likely final) day in COVID protocol. He is expected to return against the Blue Jackets, as Patrik Laine and Jack Roslovic return to Winnipeg for the first time.

Perhaps a good sign for Winnipeg is that 15 skaters (out of 19 currently on the active roster) and backup goalie Eric Comrie all participated in Wednesday’s optional practice, which was entirely player-run. No coaches were on the ice, as captain Blake Wheeler drew up a series of drills.

“With how many games we’ve got coming up, guys just wanted to skate a little bit without overdoing it. Get a feel for a puck,” Schmidt said of the solid attendance. “I think guys want more and they want to see this thing through. It just shows you that guys want more from what’s going on and you just want to continue to keep that feeling. When you’re winning you want to have the puck on your stick and you want to have that confidence, and that just adds to it.”

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @mikemcintyrewpg