All hands on flight deck

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This article was published 18/01/2022 (1331 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

WASHINGTON — The schedule indicates the NHL is nearing the middle of the 2021-22 regular season, but the scene on the ice Tuesday morning at Capital One Arena looked like something straight out of September training camp.

Sixteen forwards, eight defencemen and three goaltenders were put through their paces under the watchful eye of Winnipeg Jets interim head coach Dave Lowry, who made the curious choice to combine his playing roster, scratches and the taxi squad into one big sea of hockey humanity.

Normally, those entities would be kept apart, especially on a game day. Turns out, a clear message was being sent by the bench boss.

“I think it’s a great thing for internal competition. There is a reason why the taxi guys are skating with our group. I want our guys to know that there are extra bodies here,” Lowry said, following the morning skate.

Yeah, it’s getting a little crowded around here, especially with the Jets seemingly through the worst of COVID-related absences now that the majority of the team has already tested positive at some point this season. The numbers could swell even more when they get to Nashville on Wednesday, with defenceman Brenden Dillon and backup goalie Eric Comrie meeting them in Music City after finishing up their quarantines after entering pandemic protocols last week in Detroit.

Add it all up, and something’s got to give.

Only 20 of the 27 morning skaters suited up Tuesday night against the Capitals, but it’s clear no player should be getting too comfortable with his spot. Veteran winger Blake Wheeler is nearing a return from a knee injury suffered on Dec. 10, and the captain could be an option as early as Thursday against the Predators.

“We’re getting close. The big thing with Blake is he’s out of gold (non-contact) and now into a regular jersey. It’s going to be a couple more practices to get him up to speed, then it will be a medical decision,” said Lowry.

Veteran forward Paul Stastny was also held out of the lineup as he works his way back from a positive test last week. And winger Evgeny Svechnikov also needs another practice or two before he can return from an injury. Mikey Eyssimont, who has spent the season with the Manitoba Moose and is now on the taxi squad, was the lone healthy scratch up front.

That meant another game for 20-year-old Cole Perfetti playing in an elevated role on a scoring line with leading Winnipeg scorers Kyle Connor and Pierre-Luc Dubois. Mark Scheifele, Nikolaj Ehlers and Andrew Copp formed the other top offensive trio.

“If I’m Cole, I’m extremely fortunate,” said Lowry. “He has a great opportunity, not only to play with two world class players but to get to learn from them. I know they spend time with him on the bench, they talk to him quite a bit. They want him to be a comfortable player. They want him to play to his potential as well.”

Perfetti, the 10th overall pick in the 2020 draft, says he’s taking nothing for granted.

“Any opportunity and any minutes that I’m getting here, I’m just super grateful and it’s been an awesome experience so far,” he said. “Any game has been an honour and it’s been awesome.”

Austin Poganski was also given another look on Tuesday after making his Winnipeg debut last week in Detroit, skating on a checking unit with Adam Lowry and Jansen Harkins.

“This year, COVID and injuries, things are changing every day with guys in and out. I think the competition’s good,” Poganski said, hours before puck drop. “It keeps guys honest, it keeps guys working a little bit harder off the ice and getting ready to go back in. I think it’s a healthy competition. It’s also an opportunity for different guys to show what they can do and, hopefully, stay in the lineup as possible and help the team win.”

Two other young forwards in David Gustafsson and C.J. Suess are currently shelved with injuries and not skating.

On the blue line, depth defenceman Nathan Beaulieu and taxi-squad member Ville Heinola were the scratches against Washington. That meant a second NHL game for Dylan Samberg, who is playing in Dillon’s usual spot next to Neal Pionk.

Once Wheeler, Stastny, Svechnikov and Dillon are back, one would think the likes of Perfetti, Poganski, Samberg and forward Kristian Reichel (who was on the fourth line Tuesday with Kristian Vesalainen and Dominic Toninato) would be the four most likely displaced, if you apply the “last in/first out” mentality. Those four skaters had combined for just 17 career NHL games heading into action against Washington.

But Lowry has made it clear he’s giving everyone a clean slate, so perhaps it’s not as simple as it seems.

“It’s pretty clear that if you deserve to play, you’re going to play,” he said. “Injuries and COVID have forced some guys into the lineup and their performances for a couple other guys have kept them in the lineup.”

There’s less mystery in the crease, where Comrie will assume his usual spot behind Connor Hellebuyck once he has the green light to get back on the ice. Mikhail Berdin (who dressed as the backup Tuesday) and Arvid Holm (currently on the taxi squad) will be pushed down a notch, with one returning to the Moose.

Of course, further injuries or illnesses could throw things out of whack, but it’s quite a reversal for the Jets who barely had enough bodies to scrape together a roster just a couple of weeks ago.

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @mikemcintyrewpg