Ehlers declares himself ‘good to go’

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This article was published 15/04/2023 (876 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Nikolaj Ehlers never saw it coming.

A blindside hit from Minnesota Wild forward Ryan Hartman last Tuesday night was quite the rude awakening, one that left the Winnipeg Jets winger gasping for breath and led to a one-game suspension from the NHL’s department of player safety.

“I honestly have no comment on it. The league takes care of that,” Ehlers said Saturday at Canada Life Centre. “You know, I think he’s a pretty good player, and he’s had a really good year. It’s hockey. Sometimes stuff like that happens. But we’ve got playoffs to get ready for. I’m not worried about that.”

And that’s the biggest takeaway, that Ehlers wasn’t seriously hurt and expects to be in the lineup for Game 1 on Tuesday night in Las Vegas.

“I was trying to catch my breath. It knocked the wind out of me and I was trying to get my arms up. So, it looked like my head, but it had nothing to do with my head,” Ehlers said of his upper-body injury that sidelined him for an otherwise meaningless regular-season finale on Thursday in Colorado.

“I’m good to go. You know, personally for me, there really hasn’t been much concern. I feel ready to go.”

Jets coach Rick Bowness declared Ehlers as still being “day-to-day.” Same goes for fourth-line centre Kevin Stenlund, who didn’t finish the game against the Avalanche due to an undisclosed injury.

Forward Cole Perfetti continues to work his way back from a shoulder ailment suffered in mid-February. He could be an option at some point in the series against the Golden Knights.

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The Jets have already announced sellouts for Game 3 next Saturday afternoon, and for Game 4 on Monday night.

The prospect of playing before a raucous “whiteout” was a major talking point Saturday.

“It’s amazing. That’s where playing in Winnipeg, we’re fortunate with the history of the whiteout, seeing all the different outfits, seeing how much fun the fans have getting behind us with their support. We’ve certainly missed it,” said forward Adam Lowry.

It’s been four long years since the last one, with the Jets playing before an otherwise empty building during the 2021 playoff campaign during the pandemic.

“It’s a small rink, and fans feel like they’re on top of you. They’re relentless. Seeing videos of the street party and memories from that 2017-18 run kind of gives me chills,” said Lowry.

Bowness said he’s spoken with the players about what to expect, especially those who are relatively new to the Jets.

“I didn’t tell the players I was here for the first one, though,” he said with a laugh.

“This is a great hockey city. We have knowledgeable fans and I love that. The atmosphere they they can create in this arena is huge. That’s all part of hockey, the passion and the emotion. That’s a healthy pressure on all of us that we have to perform. I don’t mind that one bit. I think it’s fantastic we’re sold out. I hope we can sell out game (four), and I hope we have a lot more home games in the playoff run.”

Nate Schmidt joked that he’d likely be joining the street party festivities in downtown Winnipeg if he didn’t have important games to play.

“I’d like to be outside in the mix, roughing and tumbling, mucking and grinding, sweating, cheering, yelling,” he said. “That’s the kind of thing we need.”

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Connor Hellebuyck is looking forward to seeing an old friend. That would be Laurent Brossoit, his former understudy for three seasons with the Jets who has now taken over the No. 1 goaltending job in Vegas.

“I know we’re going to talk about this for many years. I’m going to enjoy myself,” said Hellebuyck. “I might send him (a text) telling him to look out, because I’m coming for him.”

Hellebuyck has arguably been Winnipeg’s most valuable player this season, especially down the stretch when he made 13 straight starts with their playoff hopes clinging by a thread.

“I was definitely playing the best hockey of my career,’ said Hellebuyck.

“Tomorrow will be better, and the next day will be even better. I still feel that there’s lots of improvement coming in my game and that’s what excites me. That’s what I live for and that’s why I love the game. That’s why I’m not happy to be around all the time. Playoffs, it just brings out a new level of adrenaline. Details are so important. Mess-ups are amplified. I am very confident in myself.”

Hellebuyck’s play has generated plenty of buzz around the league, and it will be interesting to see how much Vezina Trophy consideration he gets. Lowry went one step further.

“You look at the amount of games he’s played, I think he deserves consideration for the Hart,” said Lowry.

“Obviously Connor McDavid is going to run away with that one, but I think what Helly means to our team, he definitely should be in that conversation. Any time you have one of the best goalies in the world you have a chance to win every night. Fortunately he’s in this room. Some nights we took off and we were lucky was there and was able to get us the win. I think coming down the stretch, he played magnificent.”

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It’s not just the big club in the playoffs. The Manitoba Moose punched their ticket earlier this week, and dates for their Central Division semi-final series have been announced.

The best-of-five will open at Canada Life Centre, with Game 1 on Friday, April 28 at 7 p.m. and Game 2 on Sunda,y April 30 at 2 p.m.

Manitoba finished third in their division and will take on the second-place team, which will either be the Texas Stars or Milwaukee Admirals depending on how games this weekend play out.

That team would then host Game 3, along with Games 4 and/or 5 if necessary.

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @mikemcintyrewpg