ST. PAUL – Now it’s time to take this show on the road.
That’s likely the mentality of the Winnipeg Jets, who rattled off three straight victories to end a five-game home stand with a 3-1-1 record. Wins over Los Angeles, New Jersey, and – most recently – the New York Islanders have pushed Winnipeg’s record to 18-22-5, and now it’s key the group brings that momentum into Minnesota against the Wid.
“Keep climbing. Keep taking steps. Climb the ladder,” head coach Scott Arniel said after Wednesday’s practice at Canada Life Centre, referring to the climb Winnipeg wants to make in the standings to close the gap on the Western Conference wildcard spots.
“We're not looking at whoever it is right now, is it San Jose, Utah, whoever, that's sitting up there. Pick off the next team above us,” Arniel said. “Keep trying to do that, and hopefully other things will have to happen with other teams as well. And hopefully when you win, they lose and you gain ground.”
That mission doesn’t change, no matter who is in the line-up. Although, the injury news the Jets received prior to hopping on the plane for a short flight to Minnesota won’t make things any easier.
Three defencemen – Colin Miller, Haydn Fleury, and Neal Pionk – are all week-to-week with their respective injuries. Fleury is still recovering from the broken nose, bruised back, and other ailments that resulted from his scary collision with the end boards against Vegas. Miller was injured in a crash into the boards against New Jersey, while Pionk – who played against the Islanders despite missing the morning skate – racked up 22:56 of ice time but has aggravated an injury he’s been playing with.
“When you lose anybody, we've been going through it all year, you get into your Top-4 that's a big impact,” said Arniel. “The depth of what we had, with our schedule and how heavy it's been, and not having Fleur and Millsy around, it's a grind. When we get these three in fours and four in sixes, it's nice to put new bodies in, fresh legs in there, and we can't really do that. So look to the kids coming in, getting an opportunity.”
Elias Salomonsson was recalled from the Manitoba Moose for the second time this season. The 21-year-old played his first four National Hockey League games earlier this season and spent two of them in a top-four role (paired with Dylan Samberg) while Pionk was injured earlier this season.
Isaak Phillips, recalled on January 12, has 56 games of NHL experience with the Blackhawks and another 271 games in the American Hockey League on his resume.
It will be up to Arniel and his staff to determine how to navigate the injuries and assemble the line-up to keep the momentum rolling. The message is hitting home though. As Nino Niederreiter – who played for the Wild from 2013 to 2019 – puts it, the ‘one game at a time’ mentality is critical for the Jets.
“There's no option right now, right? So we put ourselves in quite a hole. And you take day by day, game by game, and try to find a way to get out of it,” he said. “You got to focus on the process on the ice and try to put a few games together, which we did, and go from there.”
The Jets will hold a morning skate at Grand Casino Arena, so stay tuned for line-up information as it comes available.
As for the Wild (26-12-9), they’ve been the league’s second-best team since the start of November (going 23-6-6 in that span), but have had their struggles of late. They’re 1-2-2 in their past five games, but the Jets expect the best from their divisional rivals in the season series finale.
“We could be one point apart or as far apart as we are right now, it brings out the best in both of us,” said Arniel. “We want to keep ourselves rolling. Did some good things here. We ended up 3-1-1 in these last five games. And just continue to build, gain points. We've had success in there, but we're going to have to play a really solid 60 minutes. They're a good hockey team.”
Puck drop is set for 7 pm CT.
ICE CHIPS
Morgan Barron skated in a regular jersey for the first time since his injury, which he sustained in the 4-3 loss to Edmonton on January 8.
He’s been on the ice in non-contact a few times since, but could be inching toward a return after missing the last three games.
“He could be a player (Thursday),” said Arniel. “I've got to see how he makes out after (Wednesday). Wakes up tomorrow, see if he's good to go.”
