Jets need to score early for success
Ehlers’ early marker first time Jets open scoring in six games
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 20/03/2023 (373 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
It was a welcome sight for fans and a breath of fresh air rarely experienced by the Winnipeg Jets as of late.
A little more than four minutes into Tuesday’s tilt against the Arizona Coyotes, Nikolaj Ehlers broke free from the ‘Yotes defence and beat goaltender Karel Vejmelka, drawing a thunderous roar from the Winnipeg faithful.
The Dane’s reaction said it all. His cry was as much jubilant as it was that of relief. The Jets had opened the scoring in a game for the first time in six contests.
Conceding the game’s first goal has become a bad habit the Jets have been unable to shake during their woeful stretch. In the last 14 games, the club has drawn first blood just twice, both of which they won.
Falling behind early has forced the team to chase the game at times and press for goals during a time they are struggling to bludge the twine at all. The problem certainly hasn’t been lost on the players, as they’ve clawed for any lifeline with the playoff push hitting its home stretch.
“We talk about having good starts and I think that we’ve been able to do that in the last four or five games,” Nikolaj Ehlers said after Tuesday’s morning skate.
“There’s two teams on the ice. We’ve come out and we’ve had three, four, five shots before they’ve had their first, and they’ve gotten a lucky bounce or the first one has gone in.”
Ehlers said the team needs to “play a little more relaxed and not grip (their) sticks as tightly,” but that they aren’t putting any more emphasis than normal on the importance of striking first.
“When you’re not doing as well, as we are right now, it maybe hits you a little more. Rather than when you’re going and you get down one, it doesn’t even matter. So you maybe think about it a little more, and that’s just the way it is even if you don’t know it,” he said.
Head coach Rick Bowness’ primary concern appeared to lie with how the team has responded after dropping a goal. A drop in energy has led to careless efforts with the puck, often compounding the issue and putting the team even further behind the eight-ball.
“I mean every game is different. We had a great start in St. Louis and they come down and we give up a goal. There’s two teams; they want to score first, we want to score first. Lately, it’s been them scoring first. It’s how we respond. We responded really well in Nashville. We did not respond really well in St. Louis,” he said.
“We have to come out like we did against St. Louis, but not get careless and not let up, because these teams are loose, and not give them the easy first goal that we’ve been giving up.”
Niederreiter reaches 800 games
A late-season mid-week tilt against the Arizona Coyotes was unlikely to be circled on the calendar by many people. Unless you’re Nino Niederreiter.
The Jets’ trade-deadline acquisition played in his 800th NHL game on Tuesday, becoming the second Swiss-born player to reach the milestone, Nashville’s Roman Josi is the other.
“It’s a cool accomplishment. There’s not many Swiss guys that have been able to reach that milestone so that’s very cool and I’m definitely proud of it,” Niederreiter said.
“Every once in a while you look back at who was in your draft class. Definitely came a long way and I’m happy and fortunate to be here now.”
It’s been a steady career filled with adequate production for the fifth-overall pick in the 2010 draft. Niederreiter, enjoying his 12th season, on his fifth team, is third all-time in points among Swiss-born players (403) and tops the list with 203 career goals.
The 30-year-old has seven points in 11 games with the Jets this season.
Ehlers willing to drop the gloves
Nikolaj Ehlers surely earned his stripes (if he hadn’t already) when he fought St. Louis Blues forward Brayden Schenn following a cross-check that sent Ehlers into the boards in the second period on Sunday.
The shades of purple and blue around Ehlers’ left eye will tell you how things shook out, though.
Schenn, who is listed at 6-1 and 199 pounds, not only outweighs the 6-0 172-pound Dane, but he’s well-regarded as a tough customer with vast experience when it comes to chucking knuckles.
“He’s got a pretty heavy right, I’ll tell you that,” Ehlers said with a grin.
While Ehlers was visibly outmatched, his fight was thought to provide a spark for the grounded Jets, who were trailing 2-0 at the time. The response was underwhelming, though, and it appeared one of the club’s best players had risked his hands for nothing.
“It can be (deflating),” Ehlers said. “Obviously, at this point, when you’re not doing well and you’re getting close to the playoffs and you’re struggling, you try to do anything you can to help the team in some way. We weren’t getting much done and I tried to do that and absolutely nothing happened, so, it sucks.”
It was the sixth fight of Ehlers’ career — eighth if you include the two he had in junior hockey with the Halifax Mooseheads. He hasn’t shied from anyone either. The likes of Corey Perry (6-3, 208 pounds), Ryan Getzlaf (6-4, 220 pounds) and Brad Marchand (11 career fights) have shared the card with him.
“There’s been a couple of fights where you’ve just jumped in to help somebody else out and it’s ended up in a fight and there’s been some stuff where they do something on you and you stand up for yourself. I think the last game was a mix of both. So it kind of ended up like that but it was also trying to get something going.”
jfreysam@freepress.mb.ca
Twitter:@jfreysam
Joshua Frey-Sam
Reporter
Joshua Frey-Sam happily welcomes a spirited sports debate any day of the week.
History
Updated on Tuesday, March 21, 2023 9:53 PM CDT: fixes spelling of Niederreiter