Jets ‘hopeful’ Scheifele will be in lineup against Ducks

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This article was published 14/03/2024 (572 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Barring something unforeseen, the expectation is Mark Scheifele will centre the Winnipeg Jets top forward line Friday night.

Scheifele, who was sidelined Wednesday owing to an illness, made a brief appearance for the team photo Thursday but wasn’t feeling well enough to participate in the on-ice session.

Jets head coach Rick Bowness used the word “hopeful” when asked about Scheifele’s availability when the Anaheim Ducks visit Friday. The same goes for Vladislav Namestnikov, who took a shot off the foot in the second period of Wednesday’s 4-2 loss to the Nashville Predators.

Scheifele has missed five games due to injury and one to illness, and it’s safe to say the Jets’ offence was impacted in those outings.

“That’s quite obvious, that he drives the bus up front,” said Bowness. “He makes the other players around him better. He’s been doing a great job at both ends of the ice. And when he’s not there, you definitely notice that.

“When Mark’s not there and we don’t get the best version of the other players, then it looks like it did (on Wednesday) night.”

Bowness also confirmed that Laurent Brossoit will get the start in goal on Friday against the Ducks, which will be his 18th of the season.

APPLETON ROLLING:

Jets right-winger Mason Appleton has collected at least a point in five of the past six games and he’s up to 11 goals and 30 points in 65 games.

Appleton has already hit a career high for points and is one off his goal total from 2020-21, when he had 12 goals and 25 points in 56 games (during the shortened season).

He’s an important cog on the Jets checking line with captain Adam Lowry and Nino Niederreiter.

“Yeah, it’s good to see. That line has been so good for us all year. You like to see them rewarded with goals,” said Bowness. “They know their role, they know the job and they’re very good at it. Everyone wants to contribute offensively.

“Listen, when you get into this time of year and you get into the playoffs, you need your third and fourth lines to contribute. It’s not always the top lines that make the difference in the games. In a lot of playoff games it’s that third and fourth line. You look at Vegas last year and how good and dominant their fourth line was. They did a lot of great things, they started every game, they started every period and they set the tone.”

Appleton’s marker with 10.2 seconds to go Wednesday was the first power-play goal of his NHL career.

IAFALLO HITS DOUBLE DIGITS

When Jets winger Alex Iafallo tipped home a point shot from Brenden Dillon at 13:12 of the third period Wednesday, he halted the shutout bid by Predators goalie Juuse Saros.

Iafallo also became the 12th forward on the Jets roster that is in double-digits in goals — an impressive number that reinforces the team isn’t relying on one or two lines to win hockey games.

“It’s good. Just trying to score goals and be more productive,” said Iafallo, who has 10 goals and 23 points in 65 games this season but endured a drought of 20 games without scoring. “Obviously, the last few months have been tough, I’ve been trying to put the puck in, but I’m just going to keep trying to score and get to the net. Hopefully good things happen.”

Iafallo has hit double-digits in six consecutive seasons after scoring nine as a rookie with the Los Angeles Kings during the 2017-18 campaign.

VILARDI STILL SIDELINED

Jets right-winger Gabriel Vilardi has been ruled out of Friday’s game, making it eight consecutive games on the shelf. Bowness wasn’t sure if Vilardi will travel with the team on the upcoming five-game road trip, noting he should have an answer Friday.

ken.wiebe@freepress.mb.ca

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