Practice Notebook - Jan. 27, 2023

WINNIPEG -At the 50-game mark of the season, the Winnipeg Jets have certainly hit the heavy grind of the National Hockey League schedule.
They're tied with multiple teams for the second most games played in the league (behind Washington's 51) with 29 of those coming in the last 56 days - 53 days if the three-day break at the holiday is removed.
So the lack of pace, a foundation to Winnipeg's success so far this season, has been tough to come by some nights. However, it's also something that can be fixed, which is why Josh Morrissey remains as confident as ever in what the group is capable of.
"We have a great hockey team here and we believe in ourselves," said the defenceman. "It's time to just learn from each game, learn from yesterday, and be good in these next two. I don't know if there's any two situations or two seasons that are the same but we're certainly not pushing the panic button in our locker room, that's for sure."

The Jets skated for 40 minutes at Canada Life Centre on Friday, a session that came after a disappointing 3-2 loss to the surging Buffalo Sabres on Thursday.

The loss snapped a five-game win streak on home ice for the Jets, and head coach Rick Bowness met with the players prior to Friday's practice to get a sense of how the room feels with two games to go before the All-Star break.
"They know how we have to look, they know when we're playing well, what we look like. That came out very clear," said Bowness. "The foundation of how we need to play is in place, we've lost it a little bit - no question - but they know where that foundation is and they know we're going to have to work harder to get that back."
Blake Wheeler, who had two assists as the Jets tried to mount a late-game comeback against the Sabres, felt that the speed and quickness that make the team so difficult to play against hasn't quite been there - and that was especially the case against Buffalo.
"There's definitely a wear and tear factor, that the guys have been through a pretty rigorous schedule here in December and January," Wheeler said. "We're a team that really thrives on playing aggressively. And our ability to attack and sort of make teams play under those terms. I think that's what's made us difficult to play against this year."

Bowness also noted a small disconnect between the forwards and the defencemen on some occasions, which makes it difficult to play as a five-man unit.
"If we all get back on the same page and thinking in terms of pace, it'll come back for us," he said. "We want to skate, we want to pressure, we want to get the puck, we want to go. They get it, we want to pressure them. That's hard work. It's hard work every shift. Hard work and pace are the same thing. We just have to get that back, and we will."
That's how Morrissey sees it as well. He looks at the next two games - Saturday against Philadelphia and Monday against St. Louis - as opportunities for the Jets to get into the break with some momentum.
"It's about finding ways to win," he said. "There's going to be nights you feel great and the other team feels terrible and you blow the doors off of them and everyone's happy, but those nights are pretty seldom. So you have to find ways to win with your structure and playing the game the right way when you don't have that jump."

The Jets have shown they're more than capable of finding ways to win. Ideally, they're able to do so against the Flyers and Blues to head into the 11-day break with some momentum. While the break is enticing to look at, the game isn't going to get any easier when the Jets get back.
"When we really get going again, I think the best hockey is still ahead of us, and it has to be," said Bowness. "It's hard to get to the top of this league where we were, and it's harder to stay there. Everyone is gunning for you. It's some harsh reminders as we go through this - that's what we're facing every night.
"The things we got away with in October or November, some of those bad games, we straightened out. Now we have to straighten out some other issues. We'll get back to where we want to be."
ICE CHIPS
Four players didn't take part in Friday's practice: Connor Hellebuyck, Pierre-Luc Dubois, Nikolaj Ehlers, and Dylan DeMelo.
Bowness said all of them missed for maintenance purposes.