Niederreiter a veteran of playoff stage

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This article was published 16/04/2023 (876 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

LAS VEGAS — If you’re simply going by the odds, as they love to do here in Sin City, then it’s a coin flip every season as to whether a particular NHL player will make it to the playoffs. Sixteen teams get in. Sixteen teams do not.

How, then, to explain the fact Winnipeg Jets forward Nino Niederreiter will be making a remarkable 10th straight appearance at Lord Stanley’s annual spring gala?

Good to be lucky? Lucky to be good?

“Fortunate to be on really good teams, let’s put it that way,” the 30-year-old forward told reporters in Winnipeg following Sunday’s practice.

With 82 post-season games under his belt — that’s an entire extra regular-season! — Niederreiter is a seasoned veteran of hockey on a big stage. And that makes him an even more valuable addition to the team that traded a second-round draft pick to the Nashville Predators in exchange for his services earlier this year.

“It’s always fun to give yourself a chance to obviously win a Cup, and obviously now we have a great chance to do it,” said Niederreiter, who has made it as far as the third round (with the Carolina Hurricanes) but never to the big dance.

Niederreiter, who is signed for one more season, was a rock-solid addition for Winnipeg and posted 13 points (six goals, seven assists) in 22 regular-season games. He’s currently skating on what was arguably the Jets’ most effective line over the last couple weeks, with Adam Lowry and Mason Appleton.

Expect the trio to get a healthy dose of the top Vegas line centred by Jack Eichel, at least when Winnipeg coach Rick Bowness can get them out for the match-up.

So will the wise old owl be passing on some of his acquired wisdom to his new teammates?

“You live with experience, but there’s a lot of guys in here who’ve been in the playoffs a bunch of times,” said Niederreiter. “For the players who haven’t been in the playoffs it’s going to be an exciting time for them.”

After an up-and-down season which included holding off both the Calgary Flames and Nashville Predators for the final Western Conference wildcard spot, Niederreiter said they’re relishing the fresh start and unlimited potential the playoffs bring.

“The excitement level is just a lot higher than probably we’ve seen in the last few weeks,” he said. “Now we’re in, now the fun time begins. You can tell in the locker-room, everyone’s excited to get going. You work the whole year to get to this point. And now you’re in and now anything, everything’s possible.”

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Managing emotions is a key in every playoff series, especially with every shift, every goal and every game magnified. Don’t get too high. Don’t get too low.

That was certainly the message being conveyed by Jets players and coaches on Sunday as they prepare to go into what will surely be a raucous T-Mobile Arena for the first two games on Tuesday and Thursday.

“There are going to be calls that go against us. You can’t let that affect you. There are going to be calls that you’re going to get that you shouldn’t have got. Don’t get to excited about it,” said Bowness.

“They’re going to score goals, we’re going to score goals. There are going to be shifts we’re hemmed in our zone, so we try to bend and not break a little bit. There are going to be shifts where we hem them in their zone. They’re a good hockey team we’re playing, the best team in the West. There are going to be ebbs and flows to the game.”

Forward Kyle Connor recalled how his team didn’t handle that so well when facing Vegas in the Western Conference Final in 2018, bowing out in five games.

“One of the thoughts that always stuck with me was how good they responded off a goal,” said Connor. “We get one in their place, they respond within two or three minutes and would score right away or have a great shift.”

Bowness said the importance of being ready right off the hop can’t be understated.

“Every shift you get in the playoffs could determine the outcome of the game which could determine the outcome of your season,” he said.

“So you’ve got to pay much more attention to details, you have to pay much more attention to your shift to shift. It’s not like ‘I had a bad game tonight I can get it back next game.’ You can’t have bad games now. That puts you behind the eight-ball.”

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Special teams are typically another big storyline, and the Jets spent plenty of time working on their power play and penalty killing before boarding the charter.

The PP started showing signs of life over the last couple weeks following a prolonged drought, while the PK has been terrific for the majority of the year.

“I think the penalties are way down in the playoffs, so I’m sure they’re going to let us play,” said Connor. “But with that being said, when you do get the opportunity you’ve got to make an impact. As a power play, we’ve got to be able to score that big goal.”

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You’ve heard of the saying “defence win championships?” Two of Winnipeg’s best blue-liners believe they’re ready for battle.

“This is what we work so hard for, what we train so hard for, a chance to be in the playoffs, and we’re really excited to get going,” said Dylan DeMelo.

“Obviously it was an up-and-down kind of year and we’ve had a lot of adversity, so for us to get here, we’re happy but not satisfied. This is just Step 1 of our plan for the year and we’re really looking forward to Game 1 in Vegas.”

The bruising Brenden Dillon, who will likely be involved in plenty of net-front brouhahas, said it’s all about making the most of a golden opportunity.

“We’ve earned the right to be here and the right to be in the playoffs. Sixteen teams are going home and getting ready for golf today. Here we are still practising and getting on a plane to go play Game 1,” said Dillon.

“I think if you’ve punched your ticket you’ve got belief. There’s 16 teams that want to win the Stanley Cup, that think they can win the Stanley Cup. We feel we’ve got the depth, we’ve got the size, the skating, the ability up and down the lineup, so we’re just going to have to believe it.”

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There’s likely no reason to panic, but it’s notable that Nikolaj Ehlers did not join the Jets for practice Sunday, despite declaring himself healthy and ready to go one day earlier.

Ehlers suffered an upper-body injury last Tuesday after receiving a blindside hit from Minnesota Wild forward Ryan Hartman, who was subsequently slapped with a one-game suspension.

“He’s day-to-day. He did skate prior to us going out,” said Bowness. “He’s just not in a position yet to practice with the team. We’ll see how he feels (Monday).”

The Jets are slated to skate in Vegas at noon central. Fourth-line centre Kevin Stenlund, who was hurt in Thursday’s finale against the Colorado Avalanche, didn’t take the ice at all on Sunday and remains a question mark.

Forward Cole Perfetti continues to skate on his own and could be an option later in the series after suffering a shoulder injury in mid-February.

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @mikemcintyrewpg