All-but-dead Jets now in show-and-tell mode

Transcription

1 Winnipeg Free Press All-but-dead Jets now in show-and-tell mode By Paul Wiecek NASHVILLE Mathematically, the Winnipeg Jets are alive in the NHL playoff race. Realistically, it s a very different story for a team that one website currently lists as having a 0.2 per cent chance of making the post-season, and even then only if they win at least 12 of their remaining 13 games. And so the best question for this maddening hockey team heading into a Central Division battle here Monday night against the Predators is no longer "what if?" It s "what now?" "I don t think that you re looking at these last (13) games to tell you something completely different than you re already learning," Jets head coach Paul Maurice said here Monday following his team s morning skate. "We ve got players who ve been in the league a while and we have a pretty good understanding how they play. "But the younger group and that s about half our team is still defining what they re good at and now they ve got a little different set of pressures. We re going to ask them to do the hard things as we have all year. And their ability to do that will give us an idea of where they slot in next year. "We ve scored some goals this year, so we feel we have enough firepower... but we haven t kept enough out of our net so we need those guys to prove that they can put the puck in the net and still be good defensively." The Jets are currently ninth in the NHL in goals scored this season, but just 27th in goals against. The biggest culprit to blame for that disparity? A penalty kill that ranks 28th in the NHL and has been even worse than normal lately, extinguishing just five of 10 over the last two games in losses to Pittsburgh and Calgary. Still, Jets centre Mark Scheifele says the bottom line for his teammates now remains the same as it was when they were still in the hunt. "Wins. That s what we re going for. That s what we have to focus on and that is our focus here." It s been a while the Jets head into Monday s game riding a three-game losing streak that all but killed what slim hopes the team had of climbing back into the playoff race. They trail the St. Louis Blues by nine points for the final wildcard spot in the Western Conference and the Blues have two games in hand.

2 The Jets are scheduled to fly out immediately following Monday night s game to the New York area, where they are scheduled to play the New Jersey Devils Tuesday and the New York Islanders on Thursday. But there is now some uncertainty surrounding that schedule, with a massive blizzard expected to hit the region late Monday and continue through Tuesday. Airlines have pre-emptively cancelled 1,000 flights into New York airports on Tuesday and the Jets have made alternative travel arrangements in case their charter flight is unable to land in New York early Tuesday. The Devils issued a statement on their official Twitter account Monday afternoon saying that their game with the Jets "is still currently scheduled... Follow us, as the most updated info will be posted here. #BlizzardWatch." The Jets will be without defenceman Jacob Trouba Monday night against Nashville. Trouba was cut on the head during a fight with Calgary s Sam Bennett Saturday night. Trouba took the morning skate in Nashville but Maurice said he won't be in the lineup and is listed as day-to-day. Connor Hellebuyck is expected to make his 14th consecutive start in net for the Jets. Jets refuse to wave white flag despite setbacks Head down to Nashville to begin three-game road trip By Mike Sawatzky There may not be much more to say about their almost non-existent playoff hopes, but the Winnipeg Jets aren't willing to declare surrender on the season. The Jets, still smarting after a demoralizing 3-0 loss to the visiting Calgary Flames Saturday night, put in considerable time on the practice ice at the MTS Iceplex Sunday before boarding a flight for Nashville. Winnipeg, losers of three straight and nine points out of the final wild-card playoff spot in the Western Conference, kicks off a three-game road trip against the Predators Monday night. And how was the mood in the locker room? "I think it could be better," said right-winger Patrik Laine. "It wasn't the homestand we were looking for and we didn't play like we wanted to play. But it's a good thing that there's always going to be a next game, so now we just need to be better and hopefully we get a couple of wins from the road trip." The Jets, with 13 regular-season games remaining, would need to come close to running the table for even a miracle shot at catching the eighth-place St. Louis Blues, who also have two games in hand.

3 Improvements to special teams play would be welcomed and Sunday's focus was just that. The Jets are 3-for-22 (13.6 per cent) on the power play in their last five games and have gone 5-for- 10 on penalty-killing situations in the last two games. "It was less about the power play today and quite a bit more about the penalty kill," said Jets head coach Paul Maurice, whose club leads the NHL with the most short-handed situations (278), including a league-worst 78 times in the third period. "We used a bunch of different people. It's just a bit of change, structure for us." Centre Adam Lowry would like to see better rhythm on the power play. "I don't think relaxing is the right word. I just think composure..." said Lowry. "It's not necessarily about scoring goals a good power play fails 75, 80 per cent of the time so you've gotta go out there and generate some shots. If you're not scoring goals, at least generate some energy for the team." Lowry wasn't willing to put losses to the San Jose Sharks, Pittsburgh Penguins and Calgary out of his mind. "You can't just forget and move on, you've gotta look at those games and see what was the difference in those games," said Lowry. "I think we liked the way we played against San Jose, we liked our start against Pittsburgh and we weren't really happy with our effort last night against Calgary. There's different areas in each game you're going to want to look at an improve." Despite the gloomy outlook, Maurice liked what he saw during Sunday's high-tempo workout and what it said about his players. "We've got a group of guys fighting to stay in the NHL, to get them out of that limbo... and we've got young guys trying to develop games and veteran guys that are trying to develop a hockey team," said Maurice. "So there's lots of very important reasons why, aside from the simple fact that you are a professional and you're not out of it til the end. But that's not what we're selling today. We're selling today is how are we going to handle each day. They worked hard today, they did it right. That's all they could get done today." AILING TROUBA Jacob Trouba did not practise Sunday after being bloodied during a fight Saturday with Calgary's Sam Bennett. The 23-year-old, who has combined with Josh Morrissey to form Winnipeg's best defensive pairing in recent weeks, returned to the ice after his injury but required further medical attention for an unspecified issue after the game. Trouba joined the team charter to Nashville but his playing status was unknown. "I'll have a better answer for you tomorrow," said Maurice. "I can't tell you much yet." NOTEWORTHY Despite being held off the scoresheet in consecutive games, Winnipeg's Laine continues to lead NHL rookies with 32 goals and 59 points in 61 games. His closest pursuer, Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs, has 31 goals and 55 points while having played six more games.

4 Retro game a blast from the past Moose downed by Marlies 5-4 in raucous affair By Mike McIntyre They rolled back the clocks at MTS Centre Sunday afternoon for the annual Manitoba Moose "retro" game, complete with old-school graphics and videos, a rockin' 1990s soundtrack and vintage original uniforms. And the trip back in time also produced an entertaining, wide-open game reminiscent of a different era when offence often took precedence. The Moose and Toronto Marlies went back-and-forth all game with Toronto pulling out a 5-4 win in front of a raucous crowd of more than 8,400, which also hearkened back to the days when the Moose were the only pro hockey show in town. "I love playing a game like that. Just full on go go go," said Manitoba forward Ryan Olsen. Moose defenceman Nelson Nogier got the party started just 2:23 into the opening period when his knuckler got past Toronto goalie Antoine Bibeau. It was the second goal of the year for Nogier. The Marlies responded barely a minute later as Mike Sislo ripped a shot past Moose netminder Eric Comrie. Brandon Tanev put the Moose back in the lead later in the period when he banged home a rebound for just his third goal in 20 games since being sent down by the Winnipeg Jets. It would again be short-lived as the Marlies tied it up just before intermission when Brett Findlay scored. Kerby Rychel gave Toronto their first lead 2:57 into the second period, but Moose captain Patrice Cormier made it a 3-3 game when he scored his 11th of the year on the power play moments later. The teams took a breather for a bit, but William Wrenn would put the Marlies back in front when he snuck past a Moose defender and beat Comrie seven minutes into the third. Manitoba rallied once again, as Olsen streaked in from the wing and scored on a beautiful deke at the midway point of the period. "(Linemate Jimmy) Lodge made a great backhand saucer pass there and I just drove as fast as I could. He found my stick and I just beat him with a backhand," Olsen said of his fifth goal of the season. Back came the Marlies, as Rychel scored on the power play with just over seven minutes remaining. His second goal of the game would prove to be the difference, as Manitoba's frantic final push fell just short.

5 Defenceman Brenden Kichton rang one off the crossbar with 1:15 left as he came painfully close to tying the game on what would have been his first goal of the season. Kichton is counted on for offence from the back end but has struggled in an injury-plagued year, with just 16 assists in 51 games. "Right now he just can't buy a goal. I certainly feel for him because he's anxious, obviously," Moose coach Pascal Vincent said following the game. "He's got chances, so that's the good thing He's such a good pro, I think things will fall in place for him and he will be fine." Vincent wasn't happy with his team's play earlier this week as they dropped a pair of home games to Charlotte, but he said Sunday's effort was a complete reversal against a strong Toronto club expected to contend for the Calder Cup. "We didn't cross the finish line first but we battled hard against a very good team. I really like the way the guys worked. We fought hard for pucks. We made some mistakes, obviously, but the battle level was right," he said. Moose defenceman Kevin Czuczman said it was important for his team to respond in this particular game. "The (fans) pay good money and you want to give them a good show. You can just control how hard you work and I think we did that. It was a good atmosphere, they were in it the whole game and it was cool putting those jerseys on," said Czuczman. "We pushed back, we always fought, we were never out of it. Proud of those guys." Connor Cruising: Rookie forward Kyle Connor had two assists on Sunday and now has 11 goals and five assists in his past nine games for the Moose. Winless Week: The Manitoba Moose and Winnipeg Jets combined to go on home ice during an extremely busy seven-day stretch at MTS Centre. The only day one of them didn't play a game was on Tuesday night, when country-music star Eric Church was in concert. Missing Moose: Manitoba was without forward Quinton Howden (illness), forward Scott Glennie (injury), forward Brandon Denham (injury) and forward Anthony Peluso (injury). Defenceman Jake Baker was the lone healthy scratch on Sunday. Playoff Picture: It's not pretty. The Moose are 12 points back of the final playoff spot currently held by the Iowa Wild and have just 14 games remaining. Up Next: Manitoba ( ) continues its eight-game homestand with a rematch against Toronto ( ) on Tuesday night at the MTS Centre. The Moose then welcome Rockford and Milwaukee for a pair of two-game sets before hitting the road again at the end of March. Winnipeg Sun Trouba out for Jets vs Predators Blue line takes another hit with latest injury By Ken Wiebe

6 NASHVILLE The Winnipeg Jets will be without another key defenceman as they face the Nashville Predators on Monday. Jets defenceman Jacob Trouba took part in the morning skate but stayed on the ice for extra work and will be out of the lineup for at least one game with an upper-body injury. The loss of Trouba (six goals, 27 points in 52 games) can't be understated as he's been one of the best players for the Jets this season. Trouba was involved in a fight with Calgary Flames forward Sam Bennett, but returned to finish the game with 25:24 of ice time. (Trouba) is not in today, said Jets head coach Paul Maurice. He had a little bit of a skate and we'll see. Day-to-day is (how) we'll list him. Maurice didn't have a time line for Trouba's potential return and isn't sure he'll be back before the end of this three-game road trip, which continues with games against the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday and the New York Islanders on Thursday. Yeah, we can be hopeful, said Maurice. We'll see how he feels tomorrow. Trouba joins Toby Enstrom (concussion) and Tyler Myers (lower body) defencemen on the sidelines. Julian Melchiori replaces Trouba in the lineup. Maurice is making one other lineup change, as Chris Thorburn returns to the fourth line and Nic Petan is a healthy scratch for the fifth time in the past six games. Connor Hellebuyck makes a 14th consecutive start in goal for the Jets, while the Predators counter with Pekka Rinne. While the Jets are essentially in next-year country nine points behind the St. Louis Blues with just 13 games left to play in the regular season (with the Blues holding two games in hand) the Predators are battling to hang onto third place in the Central Division standings. It's going to be tough, said Jets centre Mark Scheifele. Obviously, it's down to crunch time and we have to be at our best. By going 2-4 on a critical homestand, the Jets might soon be embracing the role of spoiler though they'll continue to hold out hope until being mathematically eliminated. We're going to try our best, said Jets forward Marko Dano. At this point, we want to go out there and try to feel good about ourselves and prove that we're a good hockey team. The playoffs are a little far now, but you never know. I saw my first year in Columbus ( ), we had nothing to lose so we played well and went on a (nine-game) winning streak. You never know what's going to happen. We're going to go from game to game.

7 The Jets ( ) nd Predators ( ) have split the two meetings this season, with Nashville winning 5-1 on November 25 and Winnipeg responding with a 3-0 win on November 27. One of the many areas the Jets will be looking to clean up is the penalty kill, since they've given up five goals in 10 opportunities during the past two games to drop to 28th in the NHL at 76.6 per cent efficiency. As for Myers, Maurice said he is on a schedule of skating on alternate days, so while he's making progress, his return is not imminent. Here's how both teams are expected to start on Monday: Winnipeg Jets FORWARDS Nikolaj Ehlers-Mark Scheifele-Blake Wheeler Mathieu Perreault-Bryan Little-Patrik Laine Shawn Matthias-Adam Lowry-Joel Armia Marko Dano-Andrew Copp-Chris Thorburn DEFENCE Julian Melchiori-Dustin Byfuglien Josh Morrissey-Ben Chiarot Mark Stuart-Paul Postma GOALTENDERS Connor Hellebuyck Michael Hutchinson Nashville Predators FORWARDS Filip Forsberg-Ryan Johansen-Viktor Arvidsson PA Parenteau-Mike Fisher-Craig Smith Colin Wilson-Calle Jarnkrok-James Neal Cody McLeod-Colton Scissons-Austin Watson

8 DEFENCE Roman Josi-Ryan Ellis Matthias Ekholm-P.K. Subban Anthony Bitetto-Yannick Weber GOAL Pekka Rinne Jusse Saros What reason do fans have to believe Jets will be better under Maurice next year? By Ted Wyman They stood or sat at their locker room stalls, saying words they ve uttered all too often before. They talked about being professionals, taking pride in their jerseys, being men who stand up and do their jobs even in the bleakest of times. Even as members of the Winnipeg Jets spoke the words, they knew they were hollow. The right thing to say, yes. But also hollow. They said the same things last year and near the end of every season but one since the Jets moved from Atlanta six years ago. They are the kinds of words one says when putting on a brave face. Even though, on the inside, disappointment is gnawing at one s gut. And with the next breath, it pours out. There s no beating around the bush about it, defenceman Ben Chiarot says. It sucks at this time of year when you re not in a playoff spot or you know your chances are pretty slim of playing past the end of the regular season. It s not fun and it s easy to get really negative at this point of the year but you come and do your job. The Jets know their playoff dream is dead, once again, even though they are not yet mathematically eliminated from the NHL post-season. They are nine points out of a playoff spot with 13 games left starting Monday night in Nashville against the Predators and it would take a miracle for them to get in.

9 The disappointment was palpable after the Jets lost their third straight game 3-0 to the Calgary Flames on Saturday night. Coach Paul Maurice said it looked like they were carrying it around on the ice. It wasn t much better in the stands at MTS Centre, where fans are getting frustrated by the team s lack of success. There s been only one playoff appearance in six years and even that only extended the Jets season by four games. Like many of the players, the fans have been through all this before and expected it to be better by now. They ve been patient with the draft and develop mantra preached by general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff and the rest of the organization and now want to see some results What reason do we have to believe that next season will be any better? one fan asked me on Twitter Sunday morning. That s a good question. I did not expect the Jets to make the playoffs this season when I did my pre-season predictions. I thought they were too young, and had big question marks on defence and in goal. I don t think the organization really expected to make it either, seeing this as more of a learning year. Their actions at the trade deadline reinforced that thinking. The Jets have also suffered through significant injury problems. They have the second most man-games lost in the NHL and that needs to be considered. But a lot of people around the NHL expected much more of this team when it added a stud rookie in Patrik Laine to an already-decent lineup featuring Blake Wheeler, Mark Scheifele, Bryan Little, Dustin Byfuglien and Jacob Trouba. They see a big, talented, fast-skating, hard-hitting team and envision success. There s no question poor goaltending has been the biggest detractor from those positive attributes. That has to be addressed by management in the off-season. Which brings us to the the real elephant in the room for many people. The organization seems intent on giving Maurice a contract extension at the end of the season. It s admirable that the ownership group led by Mark Chipman is loyal to people like Cheveldayoff and Maurice in the general manager s own words, they are in it for the long haul but surely some re-evaluation is needed after this season of discontent. The Jets need 12 more points just to be as good as they were last season, when they finished 25th in the NHL. They are 23rd right now and are looking at another lottery pick in the June draft. Meanwhile, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Edmonton and Calgary are all currently in playoff position. Like the Jets, they all missed the playoffs last year.

10 Calgary (Glen Gulutzan), Ottawa (Guy Boucher) and Montreal (Claude Julien) all have new coaches this year, while Edmonton (Todd MacLellan) and Toronto (Mike Babcock) have coaches in their second years. Paul Maurice is a good man and a good teacher, who has been a big part of the development of the Jets draft picks. He has been an NHL coach for 20 years for a reason. But what proof have we seen in Winnipeg that he can mould this group into a winning team? And how much longer can he possibly get before the Jets are forced to give someone else a chance? If the same disappointment is prevalent at this time next year, we ll surely have an answer. Five keys to Jets vs. Predators By Ted Wyman FIVE KEYS TO THE GAME ALL ABOUT SPECIAL TEAMS The Jets went 0-for-8 on the power play in their last two games, while their opponents went 5- for-10. Those numbers alone tell you they lost both games. Though there s just 13 games left in their season, the Jets have recently re-tooled their power play and will try something new on the penalty kill as well. We used a bunch of different people and just a bit of change of structure for us, Jets coach Paul Maurice said. CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE The Jets are against Central Division opponents this season, including on the road. Nashville is currently third in the division with a record and they are at home, so the deflated Jets squad will be in tough to come away with any points. PATRIK S POINTS Jets rookie Patrik Laine has not scored in the last three games and has only one assist. He has not looked as good as he did in February, when he was named the NHL s rookie of the month. Laine hasn t had the same kinds of chances and hasn t been burying the puck when he does get it on his stick. The Jets are when Laine scores, so a breakout game would be a big help.

11 DEFENDERS DOWN The Jets are already without Toby Enstrom and Tyler Myers on the back end and now blue-liner Jacob Trouba is questionable for Monday s game. Trouba was badly cut in a fight with Calgary s Sam Bennett on Saturday and while he did travel with the Jets to Nashville, Maurice said he wouldn t know until Monday whether the stalwart blue-liner will be available. SHUT DOWN The Jets were shut out for only the second time all season on Saturday the other was back on Oct. 23, when the Edmonton Oilers won the Heritage Classic 3-0. Prior to that they scored at least three goals in eight of nine games and had two in the other. Scoring has not been their problem, although Maurice did shuffle the lines for Saturday s game. THE BIG MATCHUP Connor Hellebuyck vs. Pekka Rinne Hellebuyck played reasonably well against the Flames on Saturday but he has been yanked seven times this season, which is an obvious concern. He ll have to be great against Nashville, a team that has historically been getting great goaltending from Rinne and this year is getting even better performances from backup Jusse Saros. JETS LINES Nikolaj Ehlers-Mark Scheifele-Blake Wheeler Matthieu Perreault-Bryan Little-Patrik Laine Andrew Copp-Adam Lowry-Joel Armia Shawn Matthias-Nic Petan-Marko Dano DEFENCE Josh Morrissey-Jacob Trouba Ben Chiarot-Dustin Byfuglien Mark Stuart-Paul Postma GOAL

12 Connor Hellebuyck Michael Hutchinson PREDATORS Filip Forsberg-Ryan Johansen-Viktor Arvidsson P.A. Parenteau-Mike Fisher-Craig Smith Colin Wilson-Calle Jarnkrok-James Neal Cody McLeod-Colton Scissons-Austin Watson DEFENCE Roman Josi-Ryan Ellis Matthias Ekholm-P.K. Subban Anthony Biletto-Yannick Weber GOAL Pekka Rinne Jusse Saros SICK BAY Jets D Toby Enstrom (concussion), D Tyler Myers (lower body), G Ondrej Pavelec (lower body) Predators LW Miikka Salomaki (upper body) STATS

13 Power play Jets: 17% (23rd) Predators: 20.4% (12th) Penalty kill Jets: 76.6% (28th) Predators: 80.2% (21st) Winnipeg Jets at Nashville Predators, 7 p.m. TV: TSN3; Radio: TSN Jets trying to shore up special teams By Ted Wyman After allowing five power play goals in the last two games, the Winnipeg Jets spent much of their Sunday practice working on penalty killing. On the season the Jets are killing penalties at a 76.6% success rate, third worst in the NHL. It s been a sore point all season along with a floundering power play that is 23rd at 17% and it was especially noticeable in losses against Pittsburgh and Calgary this week. We ve been losing the special teams battle, Jets centre Bryan Little said. We re going to try to be a bit more aggressive (on the PK). Once we let other teams get set up it kind of gets easy for them and they move the puck around on us pretty good. We re going to try and disrupt that as much as we can. The Jets power play went 0-for-8 in the last two games and that s not helping matters. All the best teams, they are very good at power play, Jets rookie Patrik Laine said. They re always dangerous and they just score. We have some problems with our power play and we haven t scored so the confidence is not as good as it could be. Calder Trophy debate: Will East Coast bias hurt or help Auston Matthews?

14 By Michael Traikos TORONTO The question did not mention Auston Matthews, Patrik Laine or the whole Calder Trophy debate. There was nothing said about whether playing in Toronto, rather than Winnipeg, helped or hurt a player s popularity. The words Eastern Conference bias were not uttered at any point. Mike Babcock was simply asked if he felt any animosity from his coaching fraternity for being in the quote-unquote, centre of the hockey universe. I can t think of one thing that would be bad about playing in Toronto except if the team s bad, said the Maple Leafs head coach, who a week earlier had been name-dropped by Jets head coach Paul Maurice for spinning losses as life lessons. I guess if you want to play where they don t know about hockey, then go and play somewhere else. But to me, if you want to play in the best hockey market in the world this is where you want to be. I think it s fantastic. As Babcock spoke, you could picture fans in Vancouver rolling their eyes. Toronto may or may not be the best hockey market in the world, but it s certainly the biggest. There s strength in numbers, with more reporters covering the sport here than in any other place in the NHL. Because of that, the daily plight of the team s seventh defenceman often receives more attention than star forwards in some other markets. So when there is a genuinely good player to talk about, such as Matthews or Mitch Marner or William Nylander, the rest of the world hears about them. Ad nauseam. But does that help Matthews chances of beating Laine for the Calder Trophy? Or might it actually hurt him? I am a little sick of hearing about him, Postmedia hockey reporter Jim Matheson, who covers the Edmonton Oilers, said in an . But I think people in Toronto are trying too hard to inform us how special he is. Look, you can't escape the Toronto hype machine, wrote Ottawa-based Postmedia hockey columnist Bruce Garrioch in a direct message on Twitter. That's just the reality of Matthews being in a big market. But the amount of press a guy gets won't have any weight in how I fill out the ballot box. I do think Toronto writers have gone completely nuts, but I don't really blame them, given what they've had to watch the last decade, said Jason Brough, a Vancouver-based writer for NBC s ProHockey Talk. At any rate, it won't affect my vote one way or the other. Laine gets plenty of attention himself. When comparing Matthews to Laine, there are a number of things to consider.

15 The obvious one is production. Laine leads all rookies with 32 goals and 59 points heading into Monday night's games. He is tied for third in the Rocket Richard Trophy race, has scored three hat tricks and five game-winners. When he scores, the team is Matthews is ranked second among rookies with 31 goals and 55 points. He scored four times in his NHL debut, has six game-winners and leads the league in even-strength goals heading into Monday's games. But it s not just about goals and points. Is it more impressive that Matthews is a centre, seeing as Laine plays on the wing? Is Matthews at an advantage because he is seven months older? Is he at a disadvantage because he s on a line with rookies? Does being on a playoff team matter? Somewhere on the list is geography. Despite Ilya Bryzgalov s claims about Winnipeg, it is not actually more difficult to play there. But is it more difficult to get recognized? The Professional Hockey Writers Association votes on the Hart, Norris, Calder, Selke and Lady Byng Trophies. Of the 169 votes that the PHWA cast for awards last year, 69 came from reporters covering teams in the Eastern Conference where the Toronto chapter is one of the largest 57 came from the Western Conference, and 43 were from at-large voters, many of whom reside in Toronto. In the last 10 years, the vote was split right down the middle, with 25 of the 50 total winners coming out of each conference. None came out of Toronto. In fact, aside from a Lady Byng Trophy in 2003 and a Selke Trophy in 1993, Toronto players have been shut out from the major awards. Of course, it s not without effort. With four daily newspapers in Toronto, compared with two in Winnipeg, Matthews gets written about and talked about more than any other rookie. While most of the press is justified, there are times when it goes overboard. During TSN s trade deadline broadcast, Toronto-based analyst Jeff O Neill, who played for the Leafs, said he wouldn t trade Matthews for Edmonton s Connor McDavid. That s not to say that Laine has been ignored. Laine s play really speaks for itself, Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff told Postmedia at last week s GM meetings. It s not a media blitz or a media campaign or anything like that. You do see the fact that he s 18 years old and one of the youngest players in the National Hockey League right now and doing the things that he does with a very young hockey team. The thing to remember is that this is not a case of one player being artificially propped up. Matthews and Laine are very much equals. Even if Matthews were playing in Arizona, he would be in the Calder conversation although it is worth mentioning that had 19-year-old defenceman Zach Werenski (nine goals, 41 points) been playing in Toronto versus Columbus, the debate would be a lot more interesting.

16 It just happens that (Matthews) is in a market that lives and breathes the team, said Postmedia reporter Kristen Odland, who covers the Calgary Flames. If anything, it helps his bid because there are a million more stories and coverage on him and I really don't think they are blown out of proportion or over-exaggerated. He's really that good. Laine has been just as good, if not better. But that might not be enough. It took scoring 50 along with a highlight-reel goal scored while sliding on his back for Alex Ovechkin to edge Sidney Crosby for the Calder back in For Laine to pull ahead of Matthews, he might have to do something equally extraordinary. The race is neck and neck to me, Postmedia hockey reporter Ken Wiebe, who covers the Jets, wrote in a direct message on Twitter. I don't think playing in Winnipeg has prevented people in other markets from knowing who Patrik Laine is or how good he is, to be honest To me, two excellent players and the final games will determine who wins the award. It's a great race and both players should be celebrated. Winnipegjets.com GAME DAY: Jets begin road trip in Nashville By Mitchell Clinton, WinnipegJets.com NASHVILLE, TN - It was a good news/bad news situation for the Winnipeg Jets this morning. The good news is they've picked up points in seven of their last eight road games (5-1-2 in that span), with a three-game trip beginning tonight in Nashville. The bad news is the team will be without defenceman Jacob Trouba tonight. He joins Toby Enstrom and Tyler Myers as defencemen out of the line-up. "Missing those guys, it's always tough to lose key players," said Marko Dano. "Myers has been out for a long time, and now those two guys are out. We're just going to try and help them out as much as we can, and hopefully it's going to work." The Jets ( ) didn't do full line rushes at Bridgestone Arena during morning skate, but head coach Paul Maurice did say that Andrew Copp will shift to centre the fourth line, and Nic Petan will come out of the line-up. Despite not being in the line-up tonight, Trouba did take part in the skate this morning. "We can be hopeful. We'll see how he feels tomorrow," Maurice said of Trouba's possible availability for tomorrow night's game in New Jersey. "We're going to need that centre ice to be real strong down low. We may spend a little more time there, but (it's) a good opportunity for all these guys to play meaningful minutes against some really good players." Trouba missed the team's practice on Sunday at MTS Iceplex, which came the day after the Jets lost their third straight game to finish off a six-game home stand, 3-0 to the Calgary Flames.

17 "Obviously we weren't happy with how that home stand ended," said Paul Postma, who says the team has turned the page and is focusing on Nashville, the Central Division's third-ranked team. "They play with a lot of speed. They've got some top-end skilled guys," said Postma. "We're going to have to stay out of the box tonight, special teams have been hurting us a little bit. Those are the things we have to worry about, but for us, we just have to play a better solid team game, stay disciplined, and play a full 60 minutes." Despite devoting most of Sunday's practice to working on the penalty kill, the Jets know discipline will be important tonight against a Nashville power play clipping along at 20.4 per cent, just outside the top 10 in the NHL. The teams have split their two meetings this season, which came way back in November. The home team won each match up, and while the Jets come in looking to snap a three-game skid, the Predators ( ) have points in nine of their last eleven games, including a 3-1 win over San Jose in their last outing. "It's down to crunch time. We have to be at our best. Nashville is a good team, and we have to be ready for a grind tonight," said Mark Scheifele. "They're quick, they have lots of skill, but they play a hard game. They're hard on the puck, they skate really well, (and) they're good down low. They have a lot of big bodies that like to hold on to the puck. We have to be ready for that." Connor Hellebuyck ( ,.908 save percentage) is expected to start in goal for the Jets, and Pekka Rinne ( ,.915 save percentage) will counter for the Predators. Puck drop is set for 7 pm CT on TSN 3 and TSN On the road again Jets focus on special teams ahead of three-game road trip By Mitchell Clinton WINNIPEG - Following a season-long six-game home stand that produced four of a possible 12 points, the Winnipeg Jets are eager to get on the road to begin a three-game trek that starts in Nashville tomorrow night. But before getting on the plane, there was work to do. For the majority of the 45-minute practice at MTS Iceplex, the focus was on special teams - the penalty kill, specifically - which is ranked 28th in the NHL and has given up five goals in the last two games. "That's definitely been a big part of the last couple games. We've been losing the special teams battle and it's been playing a big part of our games," said Bryan Little. "The first thing we have to do is try to stay out of the box as much as we can." Out of the 17 penalty minutes handed out to the Jets in Saturday's 3-0 loss to the Calgary Flames, eight of them came from high-sticking infractions. Head coach Paul Maurice said those

18 penalties, especially in the second period when the Jets were gaining momentum, were the difference in the game. Maurice worked a number of different players into penalty killing roles throughout the skate, and Little said the message was clear. "We're going to try and be a bit more aggressive. Once we let other teams set up it kind of gets easy for them and they move the puck around on us pretty good," said Little. "We're going to try and disrupt that as much as we can." Three losses in a row to close the home stand dropped the Jets to this season, nine points back of St. Louis for the final wildcard spot in the West. "It's quiet coming into the building this morning, and then you have to get out and get your day's work done," said Maurice. "There's a lot of important things that are going to happen here, and first is handling that adversity in a game and in terms of where you are in your season. "We've got a group of guys that are fighting to stay in the NHL, to get them out of that limbo that they feel. We've got young guys that are trying to develop games, and veteran guys that are trying to develop a hockey team. There are a lot of really important reasons why, aside from the simple fact that you are professional and you're not out of it until the end. But that's not what we're selling today. We're selling how we're going to handle each day. They did it right today." Now the Jets hit the road for the first time since a four-game road trip in mid-february, a trip that saw the team pick up points in each game en route to a record. "It's been a tough home stand for us and hasn't gone the way we'd like," said Little. "I think we're excited to get back on the road and try and get some points." LATE HITS Jacob Trouba didn't take part in the skate on Sunday. Maurice didn't have an update on the defenceman, but said he'll know more about Trouba's status tomorrow. PREGAME Paul Maurice Head Coach Paul Maurice says Jacob Trouba will not play tonight due to injury, watch his entire pregame press conference from Nashville PREGAME Paul Postma Paul Postma talks about getting back on the road, and what the Jets hope to accomplish on this three-game trip

19 PREGAME Mark Scheifele Mark Scheifele talks about the need to improve on special teams as the Jets kick off a threegame road trip tonight in Nashville PREGAME Marko Dano Marko Dano talks about what the Jets need to do to get a win tonight in Nashville Manitoba Moose Toronto Marlies ( ) at Manitoba Moose ( ) Sunday, March 12, 2017 MTS Centre, Winnipeg, MB Scoring Summary F Toronto Marlies Manitoba Moose Shots By Period F Toronto Marlies Manitoba Moose Special Teams PP PK PIM Toronto Marlies 1/3 4/6 12 Manitoba Moose 2/6 2/3 16 Goaltender Summary Goaltender MIN SA SV Toronto Marlies Antoine Bibeau 59: Manitoba Moose Eric Comrie 58: Goal Summary PER TIME TEAM GOAL ASSIST ASSIST STR SCORE 1 2:23 MB Nelson Nogier (2) Ryan Olsen (3) ES 1-0 MB 1 3:37 TOR Mike Sislo (8) Andreas Johnsson (18) Travis Dermott (18) ES :38 MB Brandon Tanev (3) Brendan Lemeiux (8) Scott Kosmachuk (13) PP 2-1 MB 1 17:54 TOR Brett Findlay (8) Seth Griffith (21) Kerby Rychel (28) ES :57 TOR Kerby Rychel (14) Seth Griffith (22) ES 3-2 TOR 2 5:32 MB Patrice Cormier (11) Kevin Czuczman (17) Kyle Connor (14) PP :00 TOR William Wrenn (2) Mike Sislo (16) Andreas Johnsson (19) ES 4-3 TOR 3 10:08 MB Ryan Olsen (5) Jimmy Lodge (9) Kyle Connor (15) ES :25 TOR Kerby Rychel (15) Andrew Nielsen (22) Kasperi Kapanen (19) PP 5-4

20 Game Story The Manitoba Moose ( ) turned back the clock on Retro Jersey Day against the Toronto Marlies ( ) on Sunday afternoon. The Moose opened the scoring in their throwback jerseys as Nelson Nogier s point shot found its way through a crowd in front for the 1996-born player s second goal of the season. Toronto tied the game just 1:14 later when Mike Sislo dug the puck off the side of the Moose net and forced it over the line. Manitoba regained the advantage on the powerplay courtesy of Brandon Tanev sneaking a shot past Antoine Bibeau at 15:38. Toronto had a quick reply again as Brett Findlay tallied on a two-onone to put the score at 2-2 after one period. The Marlies took their first lead of the game 2:57 into the second. Kerby Rychel called his own number on an odd-man rush and snapped a shot to the back of the net. Manitoba had a quick answer of its own at the 5:32 mark. With the Moose on the powerplay, Kevin Czuczman wired a shot off Bibeau s pad and Patrice Cormier flicked the rebound into the goal on his backhand to tie the game 3-3. Eric Comrie made sure the score stayed that way with a jaw-dropping pair of saves late in the frame. The Moose held a edge in shots as the teams went to the third tied. Toronto pulled back in front seven minutes into the third off the stick of defenceman William Wrenn. Continuing the trend of fast responses, the Moose tied it up 3:08 later. Jimmy Lodge sent Ryan Olsen a step ahead of the defence and Olsen cut across the crease on a nice backhand finish to tie the game 4-4. The back-and-forth continued when Kerby Rychel was able to strike for the Marlies on the powerplay with 7:35 left in the third. The Moose came within inches of tying the contest late, but Brenden Kichton s shot went bar down and out with 1:15 remaining. The hosts couldn t find a way to tie the game as Toronto came away with the 5-4 win. Quick Hits Patrice Cormier s 11th goal of the season was his first powerplay marker. Kyle Connor has points in two straight games with three points (1G, 2A). Brendan Lemieux has points in three of his last four games with four points (2G, 2A). Game attendance was announced at 8,458. Quotable Head Coach Pascal Vincent The process was right. If you run a marathon and you only think about the finish line, the first 10 (kilometres), if you forget to breathe you re not going to finish the race. The process was right. We didn t cross the finish line first, but we battled hard against a very good team. We bounced back. I really liked the way the guys worked, there was a pushback in the game. We fought hard for pucks, made some mistakes obviously, but the battle-level was right. We didn t make it easy on them. Defenceman Kevin Czuczman - Working hard is a skill. Guys learn it and to be a pro you ve got to be able to work hard. You can only control so much in pro hockey like your attitude and how hard you work. I think that s something our team is really working towards and part of the culture inside the entire Winnipeg Jets organization. Linked Up Game Summary: Highlights and Post-Game Coverage: Photo Gallery:

21 What s Next? The Moose and Marlies take a day before returning to action in a Tuesday night matchup at MTS Centre. Tickets for the 7 p.m. CT game are available at