Jets’ injuries, poor play spark impending lineup changes

Rick Bowness wasn’t ready to show all of his cards, but the hints he offered left little to interpret.

With his team pushed to the brink of elimination, the head coach of the Winnipeg Jets conceded there would be changes to both the forward group and the defence corps, regardless of whether Brenden Dillon (left hand) is ready to return to the lineup or Vladislav Namestnikov makes what would be a miraculous recovery after taking a deflected puck to the face in the third period of Sunday’s 5-1 loss to the Colorado Avalanche.

“There will be lineup changes. Let’s put it that way,” said Bowness, who was asked a follow-up question about whether the moves would be limited to the injuries sustained. “Performance related.”

With that in mind, the door is open for forward Cole Perfetti to jump into the lineup for the first time since the final game of the regular season against the Vancouver Canucks.

“Nothing really changes for me. I’m just going to try to keep the same mindset of always being ready,” Perfetti said before the series began. “You never know when your opportunity is going to come, you never know when you’re going to be called upon.”

Perfetti had 19 goals and 38 points in 71 games this season and is set to make his Stanley Cup playoff debut.

David Gustafsson is also expected to draw back in as the fourth-line centre, while Colin Miller is a possibility to suit up on defence.

Miller was limited to five games with the Jets after being acquired from the New Jersey Devils, but has 40 playoff games on his resume and is known as a good puck mover.

Brenden Dillon, who suffered a cut on his left hand at the end of Game 3, sounds like he’s going to be a game-time decision.

“You know what a competitor (Dillon) is. We’re not going to put him in harm’s way, let’s put it that way,” said Bowness. “He’d play with two broken hands if he could, if we let him. We’ll make the right decision based on what’s best for him. We’re not going to put him out there unless we’re 100% sure there can be no more damage done.”

Seeing Namestnikov get hit with the slapshot was scary.

“Honestly, it’s terrifying,” said Jets captain Adam Lowry. “You hear the sound being so close to it and he goes down instantly and then there’s the pool of blood. First and foremost, you’re hoping that it avoids his eye. You know there’s going to be some damage. From all the reports, we still haven’t seen him, but from all the reports he certainly avoided the worst.”

Namestnikov was scheduled to fly to Winnipeg on Monday afternoon.

“He has a fractured cheekbone. There’s no orbital damage but they kept him overnight and he’s on his way back,” said Bowness, noting forward Morgan Barron hasn’t resumed skating and remains sidelined with a lower-body issue.

Hellebuyck nominated for Vezina

Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck was revealed as a finalist for the Vezina Trophy on Monday morning along with Thatcher Demko of the Vancouver Canucks and Sergei Bobrovsky of the Florida Panthers.

The award is voted on by the NHL general managers and will be announced later.

Hellebuyck was 37-19-4 this season while posting a 2.39 goals-against average and .921 save percentage and recording five shutouts in 60 starts. He also led the league in goals saved above expected, according to Money Puck and helped the Jets capture the William M. Jennings Trophy for allowing the fewest goals (199) in the NHL this season.

“I think we all kind of knew that was coming,” said Lowry. “He’s been tremendous for us all year and I’ve said it before. I think he should be in the Hart (Trophy) conversation, he’s so valuable to our team.”

Hellebuyck won the Vezina Trophy in 2019-20 and this is the fourth time he’s been a finalist for the award.

“He’s No. 1, for me. It’s very well deserved,” said Bownesss. “Every great team has a great goaltender and this guy is a great goaltender. He deserves it. I just spoke with him about it and he’s pretty excited. He’s been outstanding all year long. Night in and night out, you know exactly what you’re going to get from him. But in terms of the Vezina, there couldn’t be a better nomination than him.”

ken.wiebe@freepress.mb.ca

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Ken Wiebe
Sports reporter

Raised in the booming metropolis of Altona, Man., Ken Wiebe grew up wanting to play in the NHL, but after realizing his hands were more adept at typing than scoring, he shifted his attention to cover his favourite sport as a writer.

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