Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - January 6, 2025, Winnipeg, Manitoba WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COM ● C3 H OW much were the Winnipeg Jets fighting the puck on Sat- urday night as they faced the Detroit Red Wings? Let us count the many painful ways. Josh Morrissey took an early shot to the face and was left bloodied, while Colin Miller was forced out of the game after getting hit in the throat. To add insult to injury, Cole Perfetti hit iron twice, while Logan Stanley and David Gustafsson each put one off the pipe as the Jets struggled to generate offence. Meanwhile, Red Wings forward Lucas Raymond had his one-timer hit the stick of Jets defenceman Neal Pionk to beat a surprised Connor Hellebuyck, and then Alex DeBrincat scored the game-win- ner when Patrick Kane’s pass attempt hit either his stick or skate — or maybe both — and ended up in the back of the Winnipeg net. Yeah, it was that kind of night at Can- ada Life Centre, where the home team ultimately fell 4-2 in front of 14,527 fans. “Sometimes you’re not going to get those bounces,” said Perfetti. Of course, a valid argument can be made that the Jets didn’t do nearly enough on the night to create their own good fortune, especially while facing a team that was 20 points behind them in the standings when play began. “Being around this league, throughout my career there’s never an easy two points in the NHL. We just saw that, obviously,” said Morrissey. Winnipeg is now winless in the last three (0-2-1) and 27-12-2 overall as they hit the midway mark of the 82-game regular-season schedule. Detroit im- proves to 17-18-4, including four straight victories under new head coach Todd McLellan. Let’s break this one down further: Frantic first It was quite the high-event first pe- riod, with the Jets looking to rebound following a disappointing 4-3 overtime loss to the Anaheim Ducks on Thurs- day night to kick off a season-long eight-game homestand. Some poor puck management let to a Morrissey hooking penalty just 1:58 into the game. Winnipeg killed it off, only to lose Morrissey for a spell shortly after he stepped out of the box and got hit with a puck. “It doesn’t feel great,” said Mor- rissey, who required at least eight stitches. While he was getting repairs, Alex Iafallo was given a rare “throwing equipment” minor after he picked up teammate Vlad Namestnikov’s loose stick and tried to toss it his way, which is a no-no under NHL rules. Dylan Larkin then opened the scor- ing on the subsequent man advantage as he was given plenty of time and space to rip a shot past Hellebuyck. At that point, just 6:25 into the game, the Jets were being outshot 8-1. “I didn’t love our start, obviously,” said Morrissey. “We get behind the eight-ball with a couple of penalties early. It kind of takes a little bit of flow out of the game there for the forward lines, and the D.” It got worse. Although Morrissey returned to action later in the frame, Miller suffered a scary injury when a redirected Detroit shot struck him in the neck. He immediately skated off the ice in distress, then went down on one knee in the tunnel area as trainers came to his aid. “Pretty serious. We’ll just wait and see,” head coach Scott Arniel said following the game. “He’s got to get looked at here a little bit more and then we’ll have a little bit more of an idea.” That left the Jets with just five blue-liners the rest of the night. Stabilizing second It wasn’t a banner start to the middle frame, either, as Jets forward Gustafs- son took a tripping penalty and Ray- mond extended the Detroit lead to 2-0 on the ensuing power play at 4:33. But the Jets began to carry the play, and Morrissey quickly cut the deficit in half just 65 seconds later as his slap shot went through a maze of traffic and beat Alex Lyon. There were plenty of other good chances, too, with the Jets outshooting the Red Wings 10-3 (after being outshot 17-7 in the first). But both Lyon and the iron behind him had other ideas. “Obviously if some of those go in, a different game,” said Morrissey. “But there’s posts every game. Sometimes you’re on the right side of it, sometimes you’re on the wrong.” Arniel had got the line blender out in an attempt to spark his sleepy club, breaking up the top line of Mark Scheif- ele, Kyle Connor and Gabe Vilardi for a spell. Nikolaj Ehlers took Vilardi’s spot, while Vilardi moved down to play with Perfetti and captain Adam Lowry, who had swapped spots with Namestnikov to centre the second line. That left Namestnikov, Iafallo and Nino Niederreiter as the third line. “I thought it was good. We created lots, and after the first period we didn’t really give up too too much,” said Perfetti. “That’s the strength of our team, our depth and our ability to have different guys play with different guys all the time. From top to bottom there’s a lot of talent and a lot of playmaking ability.” Comeback incomplete DeBrincat restored the two-goal buf- fer with the redirect at 7:14 of the third period on a play where defenceman Ville Heinola failed to tie up the Red Wings winger. The Jets didn’t go quietly, with Ehlers tipping a Pionk shot with 3:15 left in reg- ulation to bring them back within one. Winnipeg had several more quality looks once Hellebuyck was pulled for an extra attacker, but Larkin would thwart the comeback attempt by scoring into an empty net with 29 seconds left in regulation. “There were a lot of things happening in that first period — (and) it got us out of whack,” said Arniel. “We took over the second and we took over the third, there were a lot of chances. We outchanced them. We had chances. We had some posts, we had some looks, but at the end of the day they came out on top.” Arniel cited his team’s busy run — Saturday was their fifth game in eight days — as a potential factor in this recent swoon, which began with a New Year’s Eve loss in Colorado and has now included back-to-back setbacks against teams well out of playoff spots in Ana- heim and Detroit. “I have never used the schedule as an excuse,” said Arniel in explaining some of his juggling. “(But) we had some guys that were a little bit tired or fatigued and I was trying to use everybody and get guys their rest between shifts and then throw them back out when they’re ready to go.” Key play The Kane to DeBrincat play that produced the game-winning goal in the final frame. ● Three stars: 1. Detroit LW Lucas Raymond: 1 goal, 2 assists; 2. Detroit D Moritz Seider: 3 assists; 3. Detroit C Dylan Larkin: 2 goals. Extra, extra The Jets lost the special teams battle in this one, going 0-for-2 on the power play and killing off just 1-of-3 penal- ties. Hellebuyck finished the game with 25 saves on 28 shots and remains one win short of becoming just the 30th goalie in NHL history with at least 300 wins and 40 shutouts. Lyon turned aside 21 of 23 pucks that came his way. Jets healthy scratches were once again defenceman Dylan Coghlan and forward Dominic Toninato. Defence- men Dylan Samberg and Haydn Fleury and forward Mason Appleton are all currently on the injured list. The Jets return to action on Tuesday night when they host the Nashville Predators, which is their only game in a five-day span. mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca X and Bluesky: @mikemcintyrewpg SPORTS I HOCKEY MONDAY, JANUARY 6, 2025 RED WINGS 4 JETS 2 JOHN WOODS / THE CANADIAN PRESS Red Wings’ Dylan Larkin scores on Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck during a Detroit power play early in the first period Saturday in Winnipeg. Strange start sets up another setback MIKE MCINTYRE Jets winless in last three as they reach midway mark with 27-12-2 record ● F Connor Levis (7th round, 2023) — The 20-year-old winger is start- ing to heat up and now has 33 points (14G, 19A) in 35 games this year with the Vancouver Giants — including 12 points (6G, 6A) in 10 December contests. OHL ● F Kevin He (4th round, 2024) — He had a terrific December which included signing his pro contract with the Jets and putting up 16 points (5G, 11A) in 10 games with the Niagara Ice Dogs. The 18-year-old from Beijing is up to 49 points (25G, 24A) in 35. That’s only four fewer points than he had all last year — in 29 fewer games. ● F Kieron Walton (6th round, 2024) — Like He, the 18-year-old might prove to be an absolute steal. The 6-6, 216 pound centre is now third-overall in league scoring with 62 points (23G, 39A) in 35 games. That includes an incredible December in which he had 19 points (7G, 12A) in eight games with the Sudbury Wolves. ● F Colby Barlow (1st round, 2023) — The 19-year-old just hasn’t really hit his stride this year, with 29 points (19G, 10A) in 35 games with the Osha- wa Generals. A rough first training camp with the Jets, a snub by the World Junior selection committee and a step backwards in offensive produc- tion — he had 58 points in 50 games last year — is not ideal. ● F Jacob Julien (5th round, 2023) — After posting 78 points in 67 games with the London Knights last year, Julien has just 23 points (8G, 15A) in 37 games this year. College ● F Zach Nehring (3rd round, 2023) — The 19-year-old from North Dakota has been a bit streaky in his first col- lege season at Western Michigan but had a solid December (2G, 3A in four games) and is now up to 12 points (5G, 7A) in 18 games. ● D Garrett Brown (4th round, 2022) — Brown is finally healthy after suffer- ing a torn ACL last year after just eight games with the University of Denver. The 20-year-old son of former NHLer Curtis Brown has been held without a point through 18 games this year. Europe ● D Alfons Freij (2nd round, 2024) — He’s the other piece from the Los Angeles Kings for Pierre-Luc Dubois (along with Gabe Vilardi, Alex Iafallo and Rasmus Kupari), and the 18-year- old defenceman has eight points (2G, 6A) in 28 games with Bjorkloven IF of the top Swedish men’s league. ● F Dmitry Rashevsky (5th round, 2021) — It might be time for Winnipeg to take its best swing at getting him out of the KHL, where his role has been greatly reduced this year on a Moscow Dynamo team. After posting 43 points in 67 games last year, the 24-year-old has 18 points (11G, 7A) in 38 contests this year. Manitoba Moose The AHL club is languishing near the bottom of the league standings with a 7-19-2 record through 28 games prior to facing the Calgary Wranglers on Sunday night. They also recent- ly terminated the contracts of two under-producing forwards — Daniel Torgersson (2nd round, 2020) and Hen- ri Nikannen (4th round, 2019) — who have gone back to Europe to play. ● G Thomas Milic (5th round, 2023) — A big sophomore slump for the young netminder, who is just 2-9-2 record, a 3.63 GAA and .865 SV%. ● F Brad Lambert (1st round, 2022) — He got a brief look with the Jets (no points in four games) and currently leads the Moose in scoring with 14 points (3G, 11A) in 25 games. That’s a big projected drop from the 55 points (21G, 34A) in 64 games as an AHL rookie last year. ● D Elias Salomonsson (2nd round, 2022) — Winnipeg’s top blue-line pros- pect has been out of the lineup since suffering a shoulder injury on Dec. 6 but is expected to return soon. He’s been a bright spot on the strugging squad, with 12 points (3G, 9A) through 17 games. ● F Danny Zhilkin (3rd round, 2022) — He’s recently returned from an extended injury absence but has just one assist through 11 games. ● Fabian Wagner (6th round, 2022) — After going 16 games without a point for Linkopings HC in the top Swedish men’s league, the 20-year-old defensive forward recently joined the Moose and is still looking for his first point after nine AHL games. ● F Chaz Lucius (1st round, 2021) — He’s finally healthy and playing a run of hockey, with six points (3G, 3A) through 14 games this year. ● F Nikita Chibrikov (2nd round, 2021) — The young Russian had a nice stint with the Jets in December (2G, 1A in four games) but is now back on the farm where he has 13 points (5G, 8A) in 24 games. ● D Dmitry Kuzmin (3rd round, 2021) — He spent some time in the ECHL last year after struggling at the AHL level but has shown some growth, with three points (1G, 3A) in 18 Moose games so far. ● D Tyrel Bauer (6th round, 2020) — The rugged defenceman has one as- sist in 23 games this year to go along with 37 penalty minutes. ● D Simon Lundmark (2nd round, 2019): One of the final cuts from Jets camp has seven points (2G, 5A) in 25 games so far. ECHL ● G Dom DiVincentiis (7th round, 2022) — He had impressive numbers this year as he began the season with the Moose — a 2-3-0 record, a 2.24 GAA and a .930 SV% — but was sent down to the ECHL affiliate (Norfolk Admirals) once the Jets reclaimed vet- eran Kaapo Kahkonen on waivers. The first-year pro has been terrific, with a 12-3-0 record, a 2.71 GAA and a .903 SV%. Given the struggles of Kahkonen and Milic with the Moose, perhaps a promotion will soon be in order. mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca X and Bluesky: @mikemcintyrewpg PROSPECTS ● FROM C1 MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS FILES Markus Loponen has 23 points through 36 games with the WHL’s Victoria Royals. ;