WINNIPEG – After suffering their first regulation loss of the season, the Winnipeg Jets stayed off the ice Saturday, opting for an off-ice workout at Canada Life Centre.
Following Friday night’s game, head coach Scott Arniel said that if his team had to face anyone during a stretch of five games in eight nights, the Anaheim Ducks wouldn’t have been his first choice. Arniel pointed to Anaheim’s size and speed as two of the challenges the Jets faced against a team that can make life difficult for opponents.
Dylan DeMelo described what he saw from a game where both teams combined for just 34 shots (both teams had 17).
“I don’t know. They scored off the rush, capitalized on their opportunities. I think it was a pretty uneventful game both ways, both teams had less than 20 shots, so maybe not the cleanest game both ways,” said DeMelo.
“You’ve got to give some credit to them, they obviously exploited us off the rush there and we weren’t able to score off our chances. Maybe the opponent, but also a little bit of us as well.”
Arniel also said Friday morning that DeMelo’s usual defence partner, Josh Morrissey, is day-to-day with his upper body injury and that the Olympian was feeling better yesterday.
“Absolutely. He’s a huge, huge part of this team. One of our best players, one of the best defencemen in the league,” said DeMelo. “He affects our game in so many ways, and in the room as well being the leader that he is. So, any time he’s out we feel bad and we try to fill that void the best we can collectively as a group, because he’s such a crucial part of this team.”
With the Jets not playing again until Tuesday, the team will have Sunday off before returning to the ice Monday to prepare for their next game.
“It’s nice for sure. We’ve been going pretty hard here, five in eight. We started the season kind of late, with some teams starting on the Tuesday or Wednesday,” said DeMelo.
“We were a little late to the party, but we played a lot of good hockey in that five-game stretch. So, a lot of good things to work on, a lot of things to build off.”
The extra day off should give the Jets an opportunity to recharge after a demanding stretch of games, while Monday’s practice will allow them to focus on the details they want to sharpen heading into Tuesday’s matchup. The Jets will play divisional opponents in four of their next five games starting with two in a row, Minnesota (Tuesday) and Chicago (Thursday).
“Teams that we know, teams that we’ve had a lot of hard battles against,” said DeMelo.
“We’re going to be have to be really good, be at our best in this stretch coming forward.”
