GAMEDAY: Jets at Mammoth

SALT LAKE CITY – The gift of two points in the standings would be exactly the way the Winnipeg Jets (15-17-2) would want to go into the holiday break. However, they’re well aware that unlike a regular gift at this time of year, those valuable points won’t be just given to them.

No, they’ll have to earn it against their third Central Division opponent on the trip – the Utah Mammoth (17-17-3) – a team Winnipeg is trying to chase down in the standings.

“Game 2, game 53, it doesn’t matter. It’s two big points,” said Gustav Nyquist. “We feel like we’ve been doing a lot of good things lately and hopefully we can put that together for 60 minutes (Sunday) and feel good about our game going into the Christmas break.”

With the 6:00 pm CT puck drop at Delta Center, the Jets didn’t hold a morning skate but used Saturday’s 40-minute session at Utah’s practice facility to try and build from the positives of a 3-2 loss to Colorado on Friday.

“Gloom and doom and hanging our heads here isn’t going to help (Sunday),” said Arniel. “We’ve been going through a tough spell. We’ve been getting the quiet anger type of days. I just think there were some good things last night against a really good hockey team that we have to take. There are lots of things as a coach I didn’t like, but there were also some positives. But it’s not going to do us any good if we don’t focus on Utah and try to get that done (Saturday) in practice.”

Warm-up will still be the best indication of the line-up the Jets will use against the Mammoth, but the rushes in Saturday’s practice hinted at a couple changes.

Nyquist, who assisted on Mark Scheifele’s power play goal in the third period against Colorado – just seven seconds into Nyquist’s assignment to that unit as part of a mid-game adjustment by Arniel – skated alongside Scheifele and Kyle Connor.

“It’s super exciting too play with those guys, two of the best players in the league,” said Nyquist. “Obviously I want to produce more offence here. This will be a great chance for me. At the end of the day, I’m worried about winning right now. We need to win games. That’s all I’m focused on.”

Arniel says he’s been looking to try and get more minutes for Nyquist, who played 12:24 against the Avalanche.

“He’s a guy that has great vision and can make plays,” said Arniel. “Playing with those two, hopefully that’s a spark for him and a bit of a spark for those guys as well. It helps me maybe get some more offence on some other lines with Gabe dropping down one. We’ll see.”

On the back end, Colin Miller – who last suited up on December 1 – was paired with Logan Stanley at practice and could draw in against the Mammoth. The 33-year-old wasn’t in the line-up in the first meeting between the Jets and Mammoth this season (which saw Utah score late in the third for a 3-2 victory) on October 26, but knows they can be every bit as dangerous as Colorado in transition.

“They’re a much-improved team. A lot of skill and a lot of speed,” said Miller. “They’re creative off the rush. It’s going to be another tough test.”

Utah is also coming off a loss, a 2-1 defeat at the hands of the New Jersey Devils on Friday. The Mammoth opened the scoring in that game thanks to the first National Hockey League goal for 20-year-old forward Daniil But, and tried to build on that lead in the second by outshooting New Jersey 18-6.

That didn’t happen, however, as Connor Brown tied the game for the Devils at 11:21 of the middle frame, and Stefan Noesen’s power play parker 4:20 into the third proved to be the eventual game-winner.

“A lot like the Colorado game, we have to stay away from trading chances or getting people caught on the wrong side and allowing numbers to come the other way,” said Arniel. “They’re good at that. Like a lot of teams, everybody recognizes that defending is huge in this league and they’ve done a better job of that as well.”

While there is still over half the regular season to go, every point is critical at this juncture for the Jets who are five points back of Utah and looking to gain ground.

“We have one big game here before Christmas,” said Gustav Nyquist. “Even though we haven’t got the results we’ve wanted, I think we feel as a group we’ve done a lot of good things. Big game here, then reset for Christmas and come back with a great push here.”