PITTSBURGH - The Winnipeg Jets will play their first two games coming out of the All-Star weekend on the road beginning tonight against the Penguins at PPG Paints Arena.
The Jets (30-12-5) went into the break with a 4-1 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs, but tonight's line-up in Pittsburgh will look much different than that night at Canada Life Centre.
Newly acquired forward Sean Monahan is expected to make his Jets debut on a line with Cole Perfetti and Nikolaj Ehlers - based on how practice lin rushes have looked the last two days - and Mark Scheifele, who has missed the last six games with a lower-body injury, is also "ready to rock," as he said following practice on Sunday in Winnipeg.
Pittsburgh went into the break with three losses in their last four games, but did earn a 3-2 overtime victory over Monahan's former team - the Montreal Canadiens - in their last outing before the All-Star festivities.
Monahan didn’t take the morning skate, but head coach Rick Bowness has no doubts that the 29-year-old Brampton, Ontario product will be in the line-up.
“I told the guys this morning that I don’t care if they morning skate anymore from here on out or not. I’m surprised as many guys went out as they did,” said Bowness. “Sean obviously didn’t feel he needed to go. I told him, if you don’t ever have a morning skate, I’m fine with that.”
With two practices under his belt with a new centre, Ehlers is looking forward to getting into game action with Monahan - especially with how those first two skates have gone.
“It’s been easy, to be honest. He’s a very smart player, very skilled, great passer,” said Ehlers. “He reads the game really well and can shoot. For me and for (Perfetti) it's a matter of finding the open spaces he can lay it into and we skate. It’s been really good, he’s a great player, obviously.”
Many aspects of Monahan’s game fit with what the Jets need - including his ability to play the bumper spot on the power play - but Brenden Dillon said the centre’s ability in the defensive zone is also something that stands out.
“Centres are as close to D-men as they can be. They can actually skate backwards. We joke with the forwards that it’s a lot tougher on the back end,” said Dillon.
“For Sean, I’ve played against him for many years. I respect his game. He’s a 200-foot player that offensively and defensively is going to help us.”
PROJECTED LINE-UP
Here is how the Jets are expected to look tonight against the Penguins, with Connor Hellebuyck getting the start in goal:
Connor-Scheifele-Vilardi
Perfetti-Monahan-Ehlers
Niederreiter-Lowry-Appleton
Barron-Namestnikov-Iafallo
Morrissey-DeMelo
Dillon-Pionk
Samberg-Schmidt
OUT OF THE BREAK
While some players left for some sunshine and vitamin D, others stayed a bit closer to home during the player break and All-Star weekend.
But regardless of where they were, rest was an important aspect of the week.
“The break came at a good time for us. We were obviously a little banged up with some of the guys that were missing,” said Dillon.
“We’re a healthy team, I think. It might be the healthiest we’ve been since game one of the regular season here. It was nice to recharge - whether with friends and family or just time away from the rink - and we’re excited for this push.”
Dillon left Winnipeg’s last game before the break, a 4-2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs, with an upper-body injury. He’s been a full participant in both practices and Tuesday’s morning skate.
“You’re never 100 percent in this league when you’re playing 82 games over a stretch,” Dillon said. “I feel great now, I feel as close to 100 percent as I can be.”
This is one of the milestone moments in the season when the game takes another step up as the regular season enters the third quarter. Points are harder to come by, puck battles are more difficult to win, and goals are tougher to score.
“Tonight is a perfect example. Pittsburgh has to start winning some games to get back in the playoff picture,” said Bowness. “There are going to be a lot of those games. It’s more now a battle for positioning, both to get in and keep your position where you are. The games get tougher.”
RESPECT FOR A FELLOW DANE
Nikolaj Ehlers has played 570 games in his National Hockey League career, but a fellow product of Denmark - who happens to be on the opposing side tonight - hit a big milestone in Pittsburgh’s overtime win over Montreal.
Lars Eller, who won a Stanley Cup with the Washington Capitals in 2018, played his 1,000th NHL game that night, becoming the first player from Denmark to do so.
Ehlers and Eller were teammates at the 2016 IIHF World Hockey Championship.
“We’re not a big country, and hockey wise we’re a very small country. To have guys like Frans Nielsen - he was just shy of 1,000 (925 games) - and Lars now being the first Danish guy to hit 1,000 games is pretty impressive,” said Ehlers. “Lars has obviously been through it all in this league. He’s a very good two-way centre that you can throw in anywhere. He’s a guy that all the young kids in Denmark look up to, and have looked up to - including myself. It was a pretty cool moment.”
-- Mitchell Clinton, WinnipegJets.com
