Return of Bowness, Vilardi provides boost Jets head coach back behind bench, top winger back on his blades By: Ken Wiebe Posted: 11:56 AM CDT Tuesday, Mar. 26, 2024 Last Modified: 9:06 PM CDT Tuesday, Mar. 26, 2024 Updates

Gabriel Vilardi was back on the ice Tuesday morning, although it was simply the next step on his road to recovery and not a sign a return is imminent.

The 24-year-old forward hasn’t skated with his Winnipeg teammates since the second period of a game against the Dallas Stars on Feb. 29 and he’s missed 14 games in March (and counting) with an upper-body issue, along with an enlarged spleen.

“He’s skating around and he looks good,” said Jets head coach Rick Bowness, who also rejoined the team after being away for a week and receiving treatment for a minor medical condition. “Now, we need to take (Vilardi) every day and get our coaches pushing him and find out where he is conditioning-wise and playing through any discomfort.

“But we won’t know those things until we get him on the ice, like (Tuesday) and push him and keep pushing him and see where he is.”

Finding out where Vilardi is in his recovery and nailing down a firm timeline won’t be easy, since the Jets won’t practise much between these final 10 games of the regular season.

The expectation is Vilardi should return by the playoffs, if not sooner.

“He’ll skate with us every day now,” said Bowness. “It’s one thing to work him out on your own and everything else, but when you get one of our coaches pushing him we know how far we can push him. We’ve got to find out.”

When healthy, Vilardi has been a force, notching 16 goals and 30 points in 38 games, often occupying the first-line right-wing spot alongside Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor while playing an important role on the top power-play unit.

Bowness flew home last week for a procedure, but he ran Tuesday’s morning skate and declared himself good to go.

“We had to deal with a couple of things,” said Bowness, who didn’t share the details of the procedure. “Just the body reminding me that I’m 69 and not 39.”

Having Bowness back behind the bench for the first time in five games and Vilradi on the ice for the first time in a long time provided a boost for the Jets.

“It’s huge. He’s our head coach. Our coaching staff and the whole organization has been really great this year with certain situations that we’ve had to overcome,” said winger Nikolaj Ehlers. “Everybody has just tried to dig in and do our best. You want everyone together.

“We come back and we’ve got (Vilardi) out here skating again today and it lifts your mood a little bit, seeing these guys come back. It’s exciting.”

Still much to prove

For those wondering if complacency might be at the root of the Jets’ inconsistent play lately, Bowness was quick to swat away the theory.

“There’s absolutely no way this team should be complacent. We haven’t done anything, yet,” said Bowness, prior to Winnipeg’s clash with the Edmonton Oilers. “So, I think that’s part of the message as well. No, there’s absolutely nothing (accomplished). And we’re still fighting. We’re still in a fight. And the other teams are desperate, yeah, well so are we. So, we have to play that way.”

The Jets’ issues against playoff teams since the Christmas break have been well documented and this five-game homestand presents an opportunity for them to tighten up their structure and build winning habits.

“We have to be a 3-2 team and that’s the thing we struggle with sometimes,” said Jets defenceman Nate Schmidt. “If we can play that way and not get discouraged. It’s more a matter of whether or not we want to do it. The mindset is that we’re going to make mistakes and when we’re making them going a million miles an hour, that’s fine. You look slow when you’re trying to think too much and worrying about everything that’s going on, on the ice.”

The foundation the Jets built was based on being a dominant team at even strength.

“Our five-on-five game has been very different from when we had the good stretch,”said Ehlers. “The special teams, you want to get that going too, but overall you want your five-on-five game to be right and we know what we’re able to do when we play the right way and when we play well. It’s not as easy as saying, ‘Hey, let’s go and play like we did during that 30-game stretch.’

“It’s harder than that. But we want to find a way to get back to that game because we were a pretty good team back then. The least we can do right now is to go out and work our asses off and play for each other and this group in here is excited to go out and do that.”

Ehlers said his team recognizes the time to get things turned around is now.

“We need to play better. Call it whatever you want, we’re not happy with our last road trip,” said Ehlers. “If you lose a game and you play the right way, you can deal with that. But if you lose games and you’re not playing the right way, not playing for the logo on your jersey, you want to correct that and that’s what we’re planning on doing on this homestand.”

Praise for Pickard

Winnipegger Calvin Pickard has been one of the best under-the-radar stories in the NHL this season.

Signed by the Oilers to be the No. 3 guy on the depth chart, he was promoted from the Bakersfield Condors of the American Hockey League when Jack Campbell struggled early in the season.

Instead of providing a momentary safety net, Pickard stabilized the backup goalie position, spelling off Stuart Skinner and posting a record of 10-5 with a 2.32 goals-against average and .913 save percentage in 17 appearances.

Pickard, who turns 32 next month, hasn’t spent an extended period of time in the NHL since appearing in 17 games split between the Philadelphia Flyers and Arizona Coyotes during the 2018-19 season and he’s far removed from his time as the starter for the Colorado Avalanche when he made 50 appearances in 2016-17.

“He’s been incredible, not only on the ice,” said Skinner. “He’s making such an impact whenever he plays a game, but in the room in general. He’s such a high-spirited man. A guy with really good emotional control. When he comes into the room, you’re always smiling, you’re always laughing and you’re always having a good time with him. He’s a very positive guy to have in the room.”

Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch echoed those sentiments when asked about the contribution Pickard has made this season.

“The stats say a lot, if you look at his save percentage and his goals against. His win-loss record has been outstanding, especially for a backup goalie,” said Knoblauch. “You’ve also got those guys in the room that everyone appreciates and wants to be around and cheer for. He’s cheering for other guys and giving out that positive energy.

“Not too often (does) the backup goalie have as much influence on the rest of the team as he has. But Calvin has (that).”

Pickard was chosen in the second round of the 2010 NHL Draft by the Avalanche and has 133 NHL games on his resume.

A pending unrestricted free agent, Pickard has done a great job of putting himself into a strong position to generate interest on the open market if he doesn’t sign an extension with the Oilers.

kwiebe@freepress.mb.ca

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