WINNIPEG – The Winnipeg Jets look to push their win streak to three games when they host the Tampa Bay Lightning at Canada Life Centre on Sunday (TV: TSN3, Radio: 680 CJOB/Power 97). Winnipeg played a complete game on Thursday night beating Vancouver 6-2.
There’s a good chance that they could be getting back their top defenceman Josh Morrissey as he practiced in a normal jersey on Saturday beside usual partner, Dylan DeMelo and was also quarterbacking the top power play unit.
“He’s one of the elite guys in the league. I’ve said before, every team has one of those guys that both offensively and defensively, he can play against top lines. Defensively, with his quickness and ability to check,” said head coach Scott Arniel.
“Certainly, we know what he does with the puck and whether he’s out with (Scheifele’s) line or some of the other lines offensively, he (brings) another dynamic that the opposition has to pay attention to. If he’s with that top group, he’s the power play quarterback and he’s got lots of experience there. We were clicking pretty good at the start of the year when he was there. There’s some chemistry there with those other guys that has been there for a couple of years.”
There is no denying the Jets have missed Morrissey as they have gone 3-8-2 in his absence.
“He was there when we were all playing really well at the start. Obviously, we had a little bit of a dip as a team. But even when he was out, we still played a few really solid games as a team,” said Stuart Skinner.
“It kind of dipped back down a little bit and then we got right back up. It is just one guy and he is a huge part of this team. And it takes every single guy to win games here. But we'll be very excited when he comes back.”
The Jets are facing a Lightning team that played last night in St. Paul, Tampa Bay came back to beat the Central Division leading Wild 5-4 in overtime. Tampa also beat the Jets in their first meeting of the season back in late October.
“They’re a dangerous group. A lot of them have been together for a while and they don’t beat themselves. They defend really well. If you look at the analytics side of things, they’re real good with the puck and they’re really good without the puck. They don’t give you a lot of (room) to play a wide-open game,” said Arniel.
“They clog up the neutral zone and then when it comes to their transition, they play a wide attack game, and they’ve got some people that certainly can score. But at the end of the day, if you go toe-to-toe and you play hard, heavy hockey against them.”
Winnipeg also has to be happy with the fact they have started to see some secondary scoring with the likes of Dawson Mercer and Alex Iafallo who opened the scoring on the power play against the Canucks.
“Just helps momentum. I think obviously we haven't been that productive in that area, and we just wanted to help offensively in that aspect,” said Iafallo on his power play goal.
“And I think going forward, I think we're just talking today, just trying to get pucks to the net and do the right thing to get momentum offensively.”
The Jets have won their last five games against the Lightning at Canada Life Centre, last losing to Tampa Bay at home on Jan. 17, 2020. Winnipeg’s current streak against the Lightning is tied for their second longest active winning streak against an opponent at home.
