VANCOUVER – Kyle Connor knew the milestone day was coming, but in the grind of the National Hockey League season, he admits he kind of lost track.
But the 28-year-old forward was reminded after Monday’s 30-minute skate in Vancouver that when the puck drops between the Winnipeg Jets (47-14-4) and Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday at Rogers Arena, he’ll be playing in his 600th NHL game.
“You just think about who has helped you along the way. It’s a long journey,” said Connor. “At the end of the day, it’s a big match-up (Tuesday) night and I’m focused on that.”
It’s that kind of focus that has helped propel Connor to where he is today. He reached 500 career points earlier this season in Detroit with family and friends in the crowd. He represented the United States at the 4 Nations Face-Off, and his 85 points are the most by an American born player so far this season (five points more than Jack Eichel).
Of course, Connor’s focus remains on the team’s success, but that doesn’t mean his individual performances haven’t inspired teammates along the way.
“There are things he does that not many people can do, so it’s hard to replicate,” said Cole Perfetti. “Just trying to find out ways he goes to the net. He can score in all different ways. He’s one of the league’s best goal scorers. Being able to sit back and watch what he does on a daily basis to find ways to score – he’s not a one-dimensional guy.
“He’s one of the league’s best goal scorers. It’s fun to sit back and learn from him.”
The goal scoring and playmaking will always stand out. Connor’s breakaway goal against Seattle in the first stop on the current three-game road trip was just the latest example.
But for Jets assistant coach Davis Payne, it’s Connor’s complete game that has helped him continue to find another level.
“Coaching against him from afar, you recognize what a dangerous threat he is offensively,” said Payne. “Coming in here this year and seeing him play this year, he’s brought an all-around game that’s really been impressive – with and without the puck. Defensively he’s involved in penalty killing minutes. Even though it’s 600 games, he’s still evolving as a more complete player – with the ability to score when he gets a small chance.”
The Jets will try and make Connor’s milestone night a memorable one in the second meeting of the season with the Canucks (31-25-11). Connor had a natural hat trick in a 6:38 span in the first meeting, a 6-1 Jets win.
But Payne remembers something else about that first period, something his team will want to remember.
“There is a hunger and an intensity that we have to make sure we recognize and match. The last time we played them, if you look at the first four or five minutes, it was probably tilted toward our net,” said Payne. “They’re a hungry and desperate team. We’re trying to establish our level of play each and every game. This is no different.”
It was an optional skate for the Jets on Tuesday, but based on Tuesday’s full practice, the projected line-up looks like this (with Connor Hellebuyck expected to start in goal):
Connor-Scheifele-Vilardi
Ehlers-Namestnikov-Perfetti
Niederreiter-Lowry-Appleton
Tanev-Barron-Iafallo
Morrissey-DeMelo
Samberg-Schenn
Fleury-Miller
While the Jets have won three games in a row to open up an 11-point lead in the Central Division, the Canucks are 5-5-0 in their last 10 games and are coming off a 3-1 setback against Utah on Sunday.
It was the second game in as many nights for Vancouver, who have completed two sets of back-to-backs in six days, with tonight’s game against Winnipeg finishing off a stretch of five games in eight days.
The Canucks hold the final wildcard spot in the Western Conference, but their 73 points are tied with the St. Louis Blues (who have played one more game) and just two ahead of Calgary and Utah.
They’ll be a desperate group with just 15 games remaining in their schedule, and the Jets know that.
“It’s their last game here at home and they take off for six games out East, and they end with us on their way back,” said head coach Scott Arniel. “It keeps us sharp too that we’re going against a team like this that’s putting everything on the line.”
As the days continue to wind down on the NHL schedule (Winnipeg’s final regular season game is just under a month away) the outside focus starts to look at possible playoff match-ups.
But just like Connor isn’t focused on an individual milestone, he’s also not putting much stock into potential opponents in the postseason.
It’s all about getting the Jets where they need to be.
“We can build on moments here. We can learn from our success and failures,” said Connor. “We have to use the regular season as an opportunity to learn and we’ve done a pretty good job I’d say.”
Puck drop is set for 9 pm CT.
