ST. LOUIS – With everything that happened over the course of the 4 Nations Face-Off, the eight-game win streak the Winnipeg Jets put together prior to the tournament might be a bit of a distant memory.
That isn’t the case in the team’s room, just ask Dylan DeMelo. That streak embodies the level of play the Jets (39-14-3) want to get right back to when the puck drops tonight against the St. Louis Blues.
“We’ve got to get off on the right foot here just like how we ended going into the break,” said Dylan DeMelo. “We were playing really well, it’s not going to just replicate itself, we feel like we’ve had a good week of practice here and we need to try to get our mindset right and get things ready to go for a big game. We want to keep this thing going, we want to see how far we can take it and continue to improve on our game.”
Winnipeg’s line-up will look a bit different than in the last regular season game they played, which was a 4-3 victory over the New York Islanders back on February 7.
Connor Hellebuyck, who played that night and backstopped the USA in three of their four games at 4 Nations, and Josh Morrissey won’t be in Jets colours just yet. Both players are in Winnipeg resting – for Hellebuyck after the physical and mental grind of the best-on-best tournament, while Morrissey handles that same challenge while also recovering from the illness that kept him from playing in Canada’s final game.
That illness made its way through the entire tournament.
“(Hellebuyck) had it earlier in the week. The Swedish team got hit heavy. Every team got hit,” said Jets head coach Scott Arniel. “And so it was just unfortunate that it happened when it did for Josh. For him to go through that experience would have been great. But at the end of the day he's still part of that group that won that gold medal.”
Kyle Connor, who suited up in three of USA’s four games, met the team in St. Louis and will suit up for the divisional tilt.
“He was the one right away wanting to play,” Arniel said of Connor, who was scratched from the championship final by the USA coaching staff. “He wanted to play in St. Louis. I don't ever want to take that option away from the guys.”
Even if the experience at 4 Nations didn’t end the way Connor had hoped, Arniel said his chat with the Jets forward indicates just how positive of an experience it was for Connor.
“He’s still fired up in the sense of the experience for him, he felt that it was so beneficial being around that atmosphere,” said Arniel. “He mentioned just the media swarm in Montreal and Boston, how it was so ramped up with the pressure, and how much he enjoyed being around those guys and being able to participate.”
There were no line rushes as part of the optional morning skate at Enterprise Center. Arniel indicated after Friday’s session there were still some decisions to make on the blue line in terms of who would go in (Ville Heinola or Haydn Fleury) with Morrissey unavailable. Eric Comrie – a winner in each of his last two starts – gets the start in goal against Joel Hofer, who will counter for the Blues.
The Jets are an impressive 14-5-0 against the Central this season, a number they want to improve tonight in St. Louis.
“We know these guys, they know us, it’ll be a good one,” said Colin Miller. “Just get into it as quick as you can. Being off this long is a little weird for all of us. Get a bump in early, get your legs going, and try to feel more comfortable as you go.”
The break may have been long, but it’s been even longer for Adam Lowry. The Jets captain will return to action for the first time since January 20, when he was injured in Winnipeg’s last defeat in Utah. He’s liked how the team has responded since that disappointing loss.
“I don't want to come back into the lineup and things to change, but I'm really excited to be back,” Lowry said on Wednesday. “It's been awesome to watch, contributions up and down the lineup, (David Gustafsson), (Alex Iafallo), (Cole Perfetti), (Rasmus Kupari), they've all stepped up. (Mark Scheifele)'s line's continue to hum. The back end they've been playing awesome, and Helle and Coms kind of continuing what they've done all year.”
Before the break, the Blues – who sit sixth in the Central Division at 25-26-5 – picked up a 6-5 shootout win over Chicago. However, they’re 3-6-1 in their last 10, though you won’t catch the Jets reading too much into that.
“They got us in our building, we got them in their building,” said Arniel, reflecting on the split of the season series so far, which still has one more contest in April after tonight’s game. “It's a team that, they're always hard and they're right there again. They're always competitive games when we run into St. Louis.”
Puck drop is set for 6 pm CT.
