EDMONTON – Tonight marks game number 798 for Mark Scheifele in his National Hockey League career, but the opening game of every regular season still has the same emotions as back in 2011.
“I feel like training camp just felt forever. It’s taken forever to get to this game. We’re very excited to get going. Nervous, excited, everything,” said Scheifele. “Once there is something on the line, subconsciously something switches inside you. You know it’s the start of the season. It’s game time now.”
The same can be said for linemate Gabriel Vilardi – who happens to be playing his 200th career NHL game – and for head coach Scott Arniel.
“In camp you’re trying to work on your systems, get veterans up to speed, trying to evaluate younger people,” Arniel said. “Now to get going with the real thing, coming into Edmonton against a team that went to the Stanley Cup Final, you don’t have to say a whole lot. You know the guys are going to be ready to go and to kick this season off.”
Tonight’s regular season opener between the Winnipeg Jets and the Edmonton Oilers marks the beginning of the journey for both teams trying to get back to where they were a few months ago.
For the Jets, they want to get back to the postseason and try to take the next step and avenge the first round loss. Edmonton felt the sting of losing Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final to the Florida Panthers, and despite adding another banner to Rogers Place, they’re just as hungry to put themselves back in that position.
But both teams have enough experience to know they can’t get back to those spots immediately. Certainly not on October 9.
No, they have to prove themselves through the grind of the 82-game season first.
“It’s a matter of managing your excitement level. Don’t get too excited too early and try to do everything in one shift,” said Scheifele. “Just let the game come to you and go from there.”
Connor Hellebuyck will get the start in goal for the Jets, who made no changes to their lines at Wednesday’s morning skate. As such, the line-up is expected to look like this:
Connor-Scheifele-Vilardi
Perfetti-Namestnikov-Ehlers
Niederreiter-Lowry-Appleton
Barron-Kupari-Iafallo
Morrissey-DeMelo
Samberg-Pionk
Fleury-Miller
Last season, the Jets had 11 forwards with double-digits in the goal column, and that type of production would once again be a huge asset – especially if Winnipeg remains as stingy as they were defensively last season.
Of course, any time five-time Art Ross Trophy winner Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl are involved, a team will be tested defensively.
“There are a lot of things we’ve laid out that we want to do against this team that maybe we wouldn’t do against other teams,” said Arniel. “You have to take away time and space from 97 and 29. The more they have the puck, they’re extremely dangerous. It’s no disrespect to anyone else on the team, but those two guys, we have to get the puck out of their hands as much as possible. We’ve seen a lot of them and we have a lot of history with those guys as well.”
But that’s the exact type of test Scheifele wants to start the season. It’s part of what makes every night in the NHL special.
“They’re fantastic players over there. We know it’s going to be a tough test,” said Scheifele. “We’ve played them a lot of times over the years, but it’s always a tough test playing against those two guys and a great team over there. We have to be ready from the get go and have fun.”
Puck drop is set for 9 pm CT.
-- Mitchell Clinton, WinnipegJets.com
