Practice Notebook - Feb. 15, 2023

WINNIPEG - Adam Lowry had five shot blocks in Tuesday's 3-2 shootout win over the Seattle Kraken, but two of them stand out above the others.
They came in rapid succession, on the same penalty kill, in the first period, and Lowry had no stick. The first, a kick save with the right foot, was met with applause from the Canada Life Centre crowd.
The second, another kick save, ended up in the netting and forced a whistle. That block earned Lowry a much bigger ovation from Jets fans as he made his way to the bench.
As he revealed after the game, he comes by those skills honestly.
"I could have been a goalie. I played it when I was young, for a bit," Lowry said. "Growing up playing on the lake or the outdoor rinks or road hockey, with the older brother I got thrown in net and then kind of fell in love with it."

He remembered loving goalie pads and masks, but ultimately made the decision to follow his hockey dream as a forward - that's certainly worked out for him - but how would a National Hockey League goaltender rank Lowry's saves?

David Rittich has thoughts.
"I would say some things he can work on," he said, the sarcasm noticeable in his voice. "Putting out a better rebound, maybe kick it out of the zone."
All kidding aside, though, the Jets goaltender says that's just the type of teammate Lowry is.
First, he gives his stick to a defenceman in Brenden Dillon, then comes up with two big blocks to help out his goaltender and his teammates.
"It was huge what he did on the kill without a stick. He's unbelievable," Rittich said. "He sacrifices his body. He's a huge part of this team. He's doing the right things most of the time. He's an unbelievable player."

When Lowry wasn't kicking aside shots, Rittich was doing it. He made 27 saves on 29 shots and won his fourth consecutive start. It's his longest personal winning streak of the season (he had three straight wins from October 28 - November 21), and felt very comfortable between the pipes, even if he only found out he was starting against Seattle that morning.
"I know my role and I'm doing the same thing the night before the game, it doesn't matter if I'm playing or not," said Rittich. "My preparation is the same, so the transition isn't huge. Usually you have some things you're doing before the game, and it worked out."
The nine wins and 13 starts Rittich has this season have already surpassed his output from the last two seasons, and are his best numbers since the 2019-20 campaign when he appeared in his first NHL All-Star Game.
That year, he started 48 games for the Calgary Flames, and has spent the last three seasons primarily in a back-up role, something he had to get used to.
"It took me a time to figure out how that role goes, and what's included in that," said Rittich. "It wasn't an easy transition, but I'm pretty confident where I'm at right now. The guys are awesome, helping me out every day in practice. If I need some drills, they're here for me, and I'm here for them if they need me."
Jets head coach Rick Bowness senses that his team is confident whether it's Rittich or Connor Hellebuyck in goal this season, especially once the skaters got used to Rittich's tendencies.
"He's given us that confidence," said Bowness. "Again, you put a goalie into a team that hasn't played here before, it takes a little while to understand him and what he brings, and develop that confidence in him. That's where we are."

And off the ice? Let's just say Rittich is an easy teammate to find.
"He's vocal. We know where he is in the locker room, we know where he is at all times," said Bowness. "What you love about a guy like David is he loves coming to the rink, he loves hockey, and he loves playing the game and loves being around his teammates. That's infectious. We love that easy going, let's have some fun attitude in the locker room. It's a great balance for us."
Now, as the Jets head out on a four-game road trip - one that Hellebuyck will travel on after missing the game against the Kraken due to illness - Rittich is confident he'll be ready whenever his number is called.
"The league is getting tighter and tighter with getting closer to playoffs, everybody is trying to make a push for the playoffs," Rittich said. "That's the kind of game it's going to be. It's going to be tight, it's going to be one-goal games. I'm glad we found a way to win (on Tuesday), that's what good teams do."
LINE RUSHES
The Jets line rushes in Wednesday's practice remained the same from the end of the game against the Kraken. The only exception was that Nate Schmidt missed the skate for maintenance reasons.
Perfetti-Scheifele-Wheeler
Connor-Dubois-Ehlers
Barron-Lowry-Appleton
Maenalanen-Stenlund-Kuhlman
Gagner (rotating in)
Morrissey-Pionk
Dillon-DeMelo
Samberg-Stanley
Capobianco (rotating in)
NEW FACE
With assistant coach Brad Lauer still recovering from a herniated disc in his back, Manitoba Moose assistant coach Eric Dubois -father of forward Pierre-Luc - will join the Jets on the road trip through Columbus, New York, and New Jersey.
"Eric will be the eye in the sky for now. With three in four coming up, we don't want to miss anything on the pre-scout, so Eric is going to focus on the pre-scout," said Bowness. "Then all of us will keep doing what the rest of us have been doing all year. Eric's main focal point will be the pre-scout of the opposition."