Jets confident ahead of clash with Avs

WINNIPEG – The Winnipeg Jets took to the practice ice one more time before leaving for Denver this afternoon.

The Jets skated for about an hour at hockey for all centre and will face the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday to start a four-game road trip.

“We know what they are capable of. They got a tremendous team, they’re really deep. They’re obviously the team, them and Dallas are the teams that we’re chasing in our conference right now,” said Kyle Connor.

“It’s going to take our best. They play a complete game, they’re very lethal. I mean they get their D’s up; they’ve got a couple great players up front that can put the puck in the net. So, it’s going to take a full team effort. Nothing that we’re not prepared for, we’ve got all the confidence in the world that if we play the right way, we’re among those top teams in the league.”

Connor’s confidence is understandable. After all, the Jets have had one of, if not the hardest schedule in terms of opponents faced this year but they are just four points out of first in the Central.

Carolina came here on Monday night 11-4-1 in their previous 15 games, the Jets won 2-1. The Hurricanes ran into a hot Laurent Brossoit especially in the first and third period, with the Jets netminder recording a season high 42 saves. Jets head coach Rick Bowness said he liked the fact that his team bent but didn’t break that night. However, allowing the first 12 shots of the game isn’t a recipe that Brenden Dillon wants to repeat tomorrow.

“Hopefully we won’t have to bend, and we can impose our game on them. I mean, two really high-quality teams (Carolina and Colorado) that you talk about as basically the bar that you want to get to, a Stanley Cup winner and a Stanley Cup contender. Something that we can take from that game (Carolina) they just played to their identity right from the drop of the puck,” said Dillon.

“We knew what to expect from them. They are a hard forechecking, super aggressive team and they play to that. That just shows when you play to your system and you play to your strengths, you’re a tough team to play against. Fortunately, we were able to get two points from that one and another tough test with Colorado.”

Another reason for Connor’s confidence is the offence that he, Mark Scheifele and Nikolaj Ehlers have been creating since being reunited. The line combined for six points in the win over the Hurricanes.

“We've played with Nik before, we've had this combination for a little bit, so we knew what to expect. Last year, we started off the training camp with me, Mark and Nik until Nik got hurt,” said Connor.

“You can see how much promise there is in that line if we play the right way, and how much potential there is. I'm looking forward to building on that. It seems like we are only getting better. We've had tons of chances. We were lucky to pop a couple of there the last game. Hopefully, we can build on it."

The second line of Cole Perfetti, Gabriel Vilardi and Alex Iafallo looks like it’s going to start producing very soon. Vilardi has looked better each and every shift since he returned from a sprained MCL last week. He has given the Jets aa boost so far especially on the power play.

"Just in general, having him back it's been awesome. It seems like he dangles one or two guys each game. He's got that, very craft. Even down low, he's very good in tight and he finds a lot of space,” said Connor.

“In the breakout, too, he made the play to Scheif the other day. He's just got that type of vision, that type of ability. We're excited, everybody is. The power play helps out."