Lineup Decisions Continue to Control Jets’ Narrative

The Winnipeg Jets have had a rather ‘up-and-down’ opening week to the 2022-23 season. Skating in four games thus far, the team has seen a dominant victory in its home opener against a tired Rangers squad, before heading out on a three-game road trip with stops in Dallas, Colorado and Vegas.

Dealt an early blow in the form of a COVID infection to new head coach Rick Bowness, the team was without its prized offseason signing for each of its four games to this point. He made his return to the ice of Canada Life Centre on Saturday for the team’s morning skate in advance of its game against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Rick Bowness sighting at #NHLJets practice from @CanadaLifeCtr in advance of Jets/Leafs tonight on @hockeynight.

The Jets’ biggest off-season addition looks to make his regular season debut on Winnipeg’s bench tonight at 6:00 PM.

— Carter Brooks (@CBrooksie84) October 22, 2022

“Very disappointing and very frustrating to sit at home and watch the games,” said Bowness, who sat at home with a 102-degree fever watching his club play on television. “But I’ve got a great staff. Those guys did a wonderful job preparing the team.”

“Weak. I don’t think I’d win too many fights right now,” he chuckled when asked how he’s feeling following his very first bout with COVID. “…I went for a walk yesterday, that was the first time out of the apartment in a week and it felt good. So right now no symptoms, it’s over 10 days so I’m not contagious, I know I’m not spreading anything so we’re all good.”

New associate coach Scott Arniel stepped in and helped guide the team – under the play of Bones’ new systems – to a respectable 2-2-0 record.

The two wins? Yeah, they came against two of the league’s very best teams in the New York Rangers and Colorado Avalanche.

The losses? Well, Dallas heavily outplayed Winnipeg in the road trip opener, before Vegas came out guns blazing in a dominant 5-2 victory on Thursday. The Jets were, however, playing three games in a span of just four nights. But as we all know well, that is no excuse.

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With 12 sets of back-to-back games on the season, three contests in a span of four nights is something Winnipeg will need to get used to.

“We had self-inflicted wounds all over the rink,” blueliner Nate Schmidt said following the Jets’ 5-2 defeat in Nevada. 

“We weren’t really ready to go,” said coach Arniel said. 

“Frustrating. That’s not how I imagined my first Jets game is going to look like,” said goaltender David Rittich. 

Not the kinds of things one enjoys hearing following the final game of a Western Conference road trip.

How does a team put together decently lopsided wins over the Metropolitan Division leading Rangers and reigning Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche, while giving up four-straight goals in a loss to the Stars and then seeing the Golden Knights put up another four goals in the first period alone in their most recent contest?

“We’re just coming off four tough teams and we want to be in that conversation with the teams that are elite teams like that and are considered to be Stanley Cup contenders,” Bowness said. “So if we want to be in that conversation, then we’ve got to find some ways to win some of these games.”

Winning those important games could seem from the use/non-use of certain players. In making the decision to waive Johnathan Kovacevic, Winnipeg has rolled with Josh Morrissey, Neal Pionk, Nate Schmidt, Brenden Dillon and Dillon DeMelo in each of the four games, while Logan Stanley began the season with two contests for the Jets, before being subbed out for Dylan Samberg in game No. 3. Samberg, who played well in relief of Stanley, hurt himself in that game and has been working his way back to full health ever since. Stanley drew back into the lineup for the Vegas game, but didn’t do much to impress the staff.

Pionk has scored three goals in two games since being elevated onto a line with Morrissey, so that change has certainly been a positive one with immediate impacts. The pairing of Dillon and Schmidt has also seemed to fare alright in both the offensive and defensive zones for the Jets.

Offseason signing Kyle Capobianco has remained on Winnipeg’s active roster, operating as the team’s eighth defenceman. Opting to place – and subsequently lose – Kovacevic on Waivers to Montreal, Winnipeg’s front office followed in the steps of last season’s Eric Comrie blunder, to which the young netminder skated in two less games than required in order to remain under club control. He signed this past offseason in Buffalo as a restricted free agent and has put up back-to-back 40-save victories for the Sabres this past week.

Other personnel decisions that may or may not play a role in generating wins is that of sending former Jets regulars Jansen Harkins and Dominic Toninato to the Moose via Waivers and keeping David Gustafsson and Saku Maenalanen on the active roster. No one is doubting the play of Gustafsson or Maenalenen – at least in the early going – but picking up Axel Jonsson-Fjallby off Waivers via Washington all but eliminates the option for Harkins or Toninato receive a call-up, that is, of course, unless injury strikes.

And as luck would have it, Nikolaj Ehlers hurt himself in the game against Dallas. He has been missing in action ever since. Recently placed on the injured reserve retroactive October 18, Ehlers’ anticipated timeframe is still somewhere within the coming week. The aforementioned Toninato received a call-up and will serve as the extra forward with Ehlers out.

“It’s not as bad as it could have been. Not as bad as the worst fears,” Bowness said of Ehlers’ injury. “He’s going to be okay. We’re hoping a week to 10 days. There’s nothing underlying there that it’s going to make this go a lot longer. At this stage, we’re still thinking the original time frame.”

Thrown into action the past two games on the team’s top line has been Mason Appleton. Also a product of the Jets’ mis-management in the form of Seattle’s expansion draft selection (later traded back to Winnipeg at last season’s trade deadline), Appleton has filled in handsomely for the hurting Ehlers. Skating alongside Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor, he has seen his offensive product come into the fold on a few occasions. He picked up two assists in the game against Colorado, and seemingly has played his position as well as one could imagine when trying to fill in for the Dashing Dane.

“Yeah. It’s a huge loss; he’s such an offensive threat,” Bowness said of missing Ehlers. “He’s so dynamic coming through the neutral zone, so much speed. There’s a trickle-down effect, guys have to step up and try and replace him. He does so many little things well. Some nights it feels like we don’t have our legs and then Nikky starts skating and we kind of follow. It’s a tough loss for us. It’s going to be important that we find a way to try and fill his void in the meantime.”

With the always-dangerous  Maple Leafs (3-2-0) popping into Canada Life Centre on Saturday evening, the Jets’ elite players will need to step up and play like elite players, CC: Sheldon Keefe.

Barring something unexpected, Winnipeg will line up like this on Saturday night:

Connor-Scheifele-Appleton
Perfetti-Dubois-Wheeler
Barron-Lowry-Maenalanen
Jonsson-Fjallby-Gustafsson-Gagner

Morrissey-Pionk
Dillon-Schmidt
Stanley-DeMelo

Hellebuyck