Winnipeg Free Press https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/hockey/jets/maurice-wants-production-from-third- fourth-lines-452913503.html

Maurice wants production from third, fourth lines With nine players in the mix, bottom six looks crowded

By: Mike McIntyre

It’s getting awfully crowded at the bottom for the Jets. But the team’s growing list of depth players — believed to be a strength headed into this season — have provided next to nothing when it comes to offence.

That’s creating a frustrating situation for Paul Maurice as he tries to figure out his lineup card these days, especially with a pair of injured forwards set to return and further cloud the situation.

Consider this: the Jets' third and fourth lines have yet to score a in five-on-five play through seven games this year, in which they've managed to go 4-3-0.

Brandon Tanev and Joel Armia each have a short-handed tally, while Andrew Copp assisted on a shorty scored by defenceman Tyler Myers.

As for the rest of the lot, has no points through seven games despite ample chances. Nic Petan has been blanked in his six games, which has included plenty of power-play time. Marko Dano has nothing through five and was kept off the scoresheet for four games prior to being injured.

Brendan Lemieux has one game under his belt since being recalled from the Moose, while veteran Matt Hendricks has yet to play this season but is expected to be in the lineup Thursday when the Jets battle the Penguins in Pittsburgh.

Add it all up and the Jets have just three points this season from nine players competing for those bottom-six forward spots.

By contrast, they have 39 points from the seven forwards who have played in the top six (, , , Nikolaj Ehlers, Bryan Little, and his injury replacement, ).

That kind of scoring imbalance is not going to cut it for any team, let alone one with playoff aspirations.

"Feel free to score," Maurice said Tuesday when asked what he wants to see going forward from his bottom-six group.

Question is, how are those two lines going to look once everybody is healthy?

"There’s obviously a lot of internal competition going on now," Copp said following Tuesday’s practice.

Hendricks is likely to be activated off injured reserve prior to Thursday’s game, which will require the Jets to send a player down to the , their AHL affiliate. It could be a forward, or perhaps rookie defenceman Tucker Poolman, who faces limited playing time with seven healthy defenceman on the roster.

For what it’s worth, Dano and Armia were the extra skaters at Tuesday’s practice. Matthias was skating on a line with Copp and Tanev, while Hendricks was between Lemieux and Petan. The top-two lines of Scheifele-Wheeler-Connor and Ehlers-Little-Laine were unchanged from last game.

Lowry wasn’t part of the main practice group and is unlikely to play prior to this weekend. Once he’s activated off IR, another player will have to come off the roster. The same would have to happen in another three weeks once Perreault is declared fit to play.

Maurice said it’s not a question of just throwing the most skilled forwards into the lineup.

"We need guys who can kill penalties. And then (it's about) intensity and style of play. It’s not an easy job sometimes to come off the bench and play six or eight (minutes) and be sharp and strong. But we need guys who can do that," he said. "It’s usually a simpler game, pucks to the net and grinding. Having skill in your bottom six is what we’d all shoot for, but we gotta kill penalties and need guys who can win faceoffs to do that."

That likely means good news for players such as Lowry, Hendricks, Matthias, Copp and Tanev. Maurice has also spoken highly of Lemieux and what he can offer in terms of physical play and aggression, but whether he gets more action with the Jets or is returned to the Moose remains to be seen.

Players such as Petan, Armia and Dano, while offering plenty of offensive upside, could be under further scrutiny if they don't start notching up points.

"Versatility is huge for me, playing all three forward positions is important for me going forward. Being able to play any role is really important," Copp said.

He said defensive responsibilities are key when playing in the bottom six, so trying to force offence can be a mistake.

"We don’t want to concentrate on that because it can feed into other issues, such as turnovers. That’s how you end up decreasing your ice time. You’re trying to earn the coach’s trust. Playing the right way, as soon as turnovers happen, that’s when they end up in the back of your net," Copp said. "As a depth guy, that’s not your game. We’re trying to be real solid coming up the ice and not take too many chances. But when you do get chances you gotta take advantage and bury them."

Tanev said he’s not getting caught up in the numbers game.

"You just need to go out there and play your game, ultimately just helping the team any way you can. Things can happen to guys at any in time, you gotta be ready when you’re called upon," he said. "Ultimately, go out there and compete and do what you need to do and put yourself in a position to succeed."

Tanev said the lack of offensive production from the bottom six would be more frustrating if they weren’t getting opportunities.

"Chances are being had. It’s just a matter of putting the puck in the net and capitalizing on those chances" he said. "If you’re not getting the chances in the first place you might second-guess yourself and think twice. But at the end of the day, you’re getting chances, it just takes a couple to get on a roll."

Winnipeg Sun http://winnipegsun.com/sports/hockey/nhl/winnipeg-jets/jets-enstrom-bears-no-ill-will-toward- penguins-after-hit-ended-his-season

Jets' Enstrom bears no ill will toward Penguins after hit ended his season

By Ted Wyman

It was March 8 and bad blood filled the MTS Centre as the took on the with payback on their minds.

Jets captain Blake Wheeler fought Penguins star Evgeni Malkin to avenge a hit to the head three weeks earlier in Pittsburgh.

And then things got really ugly.

Tom Sestito, a dying-breed-of-a player, known mostly for his work with his fists, illegally crunched Jets defenceman Toby Enstrom into the boards, earning a major , a game misconduct and an eventual four-game suspension.

Enstrom was injured for the rest of the season, missing the Jets final 14 games.

Though it was obvious the Penguins inserted Sestito — who played a grand total of 13 games last year — in the lineup that night to stir up trouble with his physicality, Enstrom bears no ill will toward a Pittsburgh team the Jets will face on Thursday night.

“Not at all,” he said Tuesday after the Jets practised at MTS Centre. “It’s hockey. It’s a tough sport and we all know it.

“Unfortunately, sometimes it happens. I left that behind and I’m looking ahead. I have no hard feelings at all. It’s been a long time and it’s a new year.”

Of course, the Jets and Penguins said something similar last March in the rematch of a rugged affair in Pittsburgh on Feb. 16.

Everyone suggested the two points were more important than payback, and yet the Penguins saw fit to dress Sestito and Wheeler initiated the fight with Malkin.

Clearly there is ill will between the two teams and some carry over is possible this year. Sestito has been in the minors all year and the Jets don’t have a fighting major yet through seven games this season, but teams have long memories.

“I don’t think Toby’s going after anybody in a game,” Jets coach Paul Maurice joked.

“But those were physical games and I would expect they’ll be the same. There’s an edge when both teams play. Our team looks different, they’ve added (Ryan) Reaves to their team … it will still be a physical affair.”

It has been quite a tumultuous seven-month stretch for Enstrom since suffering that injury. He spent months rehabbing, while constantly hearing talk that the Jets needed to get him to waive his no-movement clause so they could expose him in the expansion draft.

In the end, they did so, and he agreed to take one for the team. The Jets moved draft picks to the Knights to get them to stay away from Enstrom and other players.

The 32-year-old Swede returned to training camp this season on the last year of his contract, knowing his window to win with the only NHL organization he’s ever played for may be closing.

He’s an 11-year veteran on a team full of young talent, like Patrik Laine, Nikolaj Ehlers, Kyle Connor and and he wants to win now.

“It’s great being around younger players, the way they want to move forward and push themselves to get better,” Enstrom said. “But it feels like we’ve been saying the team is young for a few years now and every year we get one year older so I feel like we have a good team and we have to prove it now too.

“We like a little bit of pressure on our team. It will keep us on our toes.”

Maurice said Enstrom is coming off his best game of the season, in a 4-3 win over the Wild last Friday night.

He made a great play to set up Ehlers for a goal, and did his usual good job of moving the puck. His offensive production has dropped in recent years — he had 51 points in 2010-11 with Atlanta and just 14 last season in 60 games — but he still provides stability on the blue-line when healthy.

“His consistency stands out,” Maurice said. “He doesn’t like staying off the ice but he’s fought through injuries, last year especially.

“He’s a pretty calming influence when you bring a player like Tucker (Poolman) in. him with him and he can explain the game to him. He’s got a lot of experience. He’s played all of it. He was a power play guy early in his career, he’s morphed into a guy who stays at home a bit more when he plays with Dustin (Byfuglien) or Tyler (Myers). He’s got a great amount of experience and he’s willing to share that with the younger players.” http://winnipegsun.com/sports/hockey/nhl/winnipeg-jets/jets-defenceman-morrissey-has- learned-a-lot-from-enstrom

Jets defenceman Morrissey has learned a lot from Enstrom

By Ted Wyman

Jets defenceman Josh Morrissey has learned from veteran teammate Toby Enstrom.Kevin King / Kevin King/Winnipeg Sun From the moment he was drafted by the Winnipeg Jets, Josh Morrissey started watching one player in particular.

“Toby (Enstrom) is a guy that you can learn so much from,” Morrissey said.

Morrissey quickly established a relationship with Enstrom, identifying with his smaller stature and his focus on positioning and puck moving, and picked the older player’s ear at every opportunity.

“He’s not the biggest guy and neither am I,” said Morrissey, who is 6-feet, 195 pounds compared to Enstrom’s 5-foot-10, 180.

“He’s not a guy that’s very loud in the locker room and he’s not going to necessarily come up to you and give you that piece of advice, but any time you go talk to him he wants to help. When you watch him play, he’s like a machine, he’s the same every day and has found a long way to that for a long time.

The two have become friends and have found they share similar personalities as well.

“We’re not the loudest guys, so we’ve kind of clicked that way,” Morrissey said. “If I ever need to talk about anything or have any questions, he’s always there. He’s awesome for all of us young guys.” http://winnipegsun.com/sports/hockey/nhl/winnipeg-jets/jets-players-love-games-but-maurice-is- relishing-the-practice-time

Jets players love games, but Maurice is relishing the practice time

By Ted Wyman

After a cruel early-season schedule last year, you will hear no complaints from Winnipeg Jets coach Paul Maurice about having a five-day break after just seven games of the 2017-18 NHL regular season.

A year ago the Winnipeg Jets were plagued by injuries and a lack of practice time while slogging through a cruel early-season schedule.

They played a ridiculous number of games in the first two months of the season — 25 in 47 days — and the schedule contributed to a poor start they could never recover from.

That’s why you will hear no complaints from Jets coach Paul Maurice about having a five-day break after just seven games of the 2017-18 NHL regular season.

The players might not like it. They would always rather play than practice, but Maurice is taking full advantage.

“Our schedule is fair now, so much better than it was last year,” Maurice said Tuesday as his team prepared for Wednesday’s night’s game against the champion Penguins in Pittsburgh.

“Especially early in the year and really with a young team. We didn’t have any practice time for about two straight months last year, or you’re on the ice far more than a body should be. This is much better. Early in the season I like to get some practice time in so I don’t have any complaints over the five days.”

The Jets last played Friday night against the , practised Saturday, had Sunday off and then planned three straight days of practice before heading to Pennsylvania.

Many players said they don’t like having so much time off but understand they can put the time to good use.

“I prefer getting out there and playing the games,” leading goal scorer Nikolaj Ehlers said. “That’s what’s the most fun and if you ask anybody in this league, they want to play. It’s not bad getting this practice week. We haven’t been completely happy with our first seven games so it’s given us some time to work on some things and try to correct them.”

The Jets are 4-3 so far this season and will play three games in four nights — including at Columbus on a back-to-back Friday and at home to the Penguins on Sunday.

Second-year defenceman Josh Morrissey believes the break will give the Jets a chance to be more successful in the first half of the season. The early schedule last year was an eye-opener, he said.

“It was crazy last year,” he said. “Obviously every player likes playing games, but the schedule was insane. I don’t think we had two days in a row of practice until December. Especially, for me, in my first year, there wasn’t a whole lot of teaching time in practice, where you are taking what you saw in the game the night before and you are trying to work on that in practice.

“It’s definitely nice having six days between games. The bumps and bruises can be healed a little bit better and we’ll be a stronger team.”

Defenceman Tyler Myers figured the NHL’s schedule-maker owed the Jets one.

“I’m sure they took a look at our schedule (last year) and said ‘Not again’ with that,” he said.

PICKING UP THE PACE With so much practice time on their hands, the Jets decided to come up with a theme for their sessions at Bell MTS Iceplex this week.

Play fast.

“It’s not easy to manage a long break like that sometimes, but we picked a theme and that theme was our speed game,” Maurice said. “We’ve really focused this week on going as fast as we can and trying not to slow practice down by bringing in too many coaching drills.”

The goal, of course, is to be skating into a matchup with the defending champions — and a Columbus team that beat the Jets 5-2 just last week — at full pace.

“When you have this much time off you want to keep that pace up,” Myers said. “That’s a big part of our identity with this team. We like to play fast and I think we’ve been doing a pretty good job of it.”

Maurice was asked there’s still a challenge to have that jump immediately after an extended break.

“There really is,” he said. “In a lot of ways you’re fortunate going into Pittsburgh because you know you’re playing the Stanley Cup champions and you’re going to be buzzing, because they’re going to make you look bad if you’re not.

“It’s probably good that we’re going in at this time when we’re rested. Fear’s a great motivator. You’ve got to be on your game against those elite teams.”

YEAH, THEY’RE ALL RIGHT Ehlers is known for having a good sense of humour, and he showed in on Tuesday when asked about the Jets’ opponent Thursday night, the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins.

“They’re not a bad team,” he said. “They’ve got some pretty good players over there.”

DECISIONS COMING Centre Adam Lowry missed practice again Tuesday and is questionable to play in Pittsburgh and Columbus.

He skated on his own for the second straight day.

“He’ll make the trip but I would have to put him as possible for playing on the trip,” Maurice said. “I wouldn’t list him as probable yet. He’s got to get into a full-contact practice and feel strong before we do that.”

Centre Matt Hendricks skated on the fourth line Tuesday between Nic Petan and Brendan Lemieux, while Shawn Matthias centred a line between Andrew Copp and Brandon Tanev.

That left Marko Dano and Joel Armia as the extra forwards. Assuming Hendricks gets activated of injured reserve for Thursday’s game, the Jets will need a corresponding roster move.

They could send a forward to the Manitoba Moose or could send defenceman Tucker Poolman down for some playing time.

Lemieux, Petan and Kyle Connor are the only two forwards on the roster right now — not counting Patrik Laine and Nikolaj Ehlers — who could be sent down without requiring waivers.

Though Lemieux played well in his NHL debut Friday, Maurice wouldn’t commit to having him in the lineup Thursday.

“He gets a good look this week and we’ll make decisions on health after (Wednesday’s) practice,” he said.

Sporting News http://www.sportingnews.com/ca/nhl/news/winnipeg-jets-preparing-for-busy-upcoming- schedule/14fe7ounczx9k1ethkale9hu53

Winnipeg Jets preparing for busy upcoming schedule

By Scott Billeck

There were times last year early on in the Winnipeg Jets season that they'd have killed for a break and a little time to practice.

Roughly 365 days later and the tables have turned, with some Jets players just wanting a team in front of them that will play some hockey in a meaningful fashion.

"For me, I don't like this," Patrik Laine told TSN on Monday at Jets practice. "Five days, it's too much for me. I just want to play every day. I don't care."

As Laine pointed out, the 4-3-0 Jets are in the midst of a five-day layoff between games, the longest stretch they'll see before their six-day bye week in the middle of January.

"Everyone in this locker room would rather play than practice," Laine said. "Sometimes there's times like this that there's five days off and we need to work on some things on the ice so, I think, that's the only good thing."

One of those things needing work is Winnipeg's lousy second-period play. Easily the worst frame for the Jets this season, Winnipeg has given up one-half of their goals against —13 of 26 — in the second period thus far this season.

By comparison, they've scored just six goals in the 20-minute slot and are a minus-seven in that frame through seven games this year.

"We haven't been so good in second periods this season and (want to) try not to give the opponent so many giveaways," Laine said, noting they can't afford to do that against the Pittsburgh Penguins when they meet them in Pittsburgh on Thursday night to begin a quick two- game road trip.

Not everyone in the organization is complaining about the time off, however.

Jets head coach Paul Maurice will lead his team into a busy schedule beginning on Thursday night, where the Jets will play seven games in the next 12 nights, including three games in four days between Thursday and Sunday.

Not surprisingly, a coach missing a few players due to injury and others dealing with bumps and bruises wasn't complaining about the time off.

"We'd like to take that seven-in-12 and maybe spread it over those extra days, we'd have been fine with that," Maurice said Tuesday. "But our schedule is fair now, so much better than it was last year.

"We have a real tough stretch and it starts really this week. We get into a real tough November and December schedule, everybody has that stretch, so getting rested and healthy now is important."

Rink rust is an ever-present issue for teams coming off long stretches without any action, but Maurice said playing a high-calibre team like the Penguins could help shake that off quickly.

"In a lot of ways, you're fortunate going into Pittsburgh because you know (that) you play the Stanley Cup Champions, you're going to be buzzing because you know they'll make you look bad if you're not.

"Fear is a great motivator."

TSN 1290 (AUDIO LINKS) http://www.tsn.ca/radio/winnipeg-1290/beyak-jets-have-decisions-to-make-with-players-coming- off-ir-1.894749

Beyak: Jets have decisions to make with players coming off IR

Jets on TSN play-by-play announcer Dennis Beyak joins the Afternoon Ride to discuss the work being done by the Winnipeg Jets in practice during a 5-day gap between games, including sharpening special teams, and building confidence in the Jets’ bottom 6 in the hopes to produce scoring. www.winnipegjets.com https://www.nhl.com/jets/news/jets-health-improving-with-six-day-break-between-games/c- 292226318 (INTERVIEWS INCLUDED)

Jets' health improving with six-day break between games Myers returns to practice, Hendricks takes line rushes, Lowry will travel by Mitchell Clinton @MitchellClinton / WinnipegJets.com

WINNIPEG - Three practices in four days have the Winnipeg Jets longing for game day.

"I personally don't like having this many days between games," said defenceman Tyler Myers. "When you have this much time off, you want to keep that pace up. That's a big part of our identity with this team. We like to play fast. I think we've been doing a pretty good job of it. We have to make sure with these practice days to keep that pace up."

Even head coach Paul Maurice, who loves to get his team on the ice for practices like today's 45-minute session, would like to see one of the team's seven games over the next 12 days sprinkled into this six-day stretch.

"You're going to get some rest, not so much that they were fatigued, but any one that's got a minor injury, we were able to work on that for the week and get guys pretty healthy," said Maurice. "Our schedule is fair now - so much better than it was last year. We have a real tough stretch, and it starts this week…. Getting rested and getting healthy now is important."

The overall health in the Jets dressing room continues to improve. Matt Hendricks was a participant in regular line rushes today, between Nic Petan and Brendan Lemieux.

Myers, who missed practice Saturday (maintenance) and Monday (personal appointment) was also back on the ice, paired with Dmitry Kulikov.

"What I had going on was really minor," said Myers, referring to missing practice for maintenance. "If we were playing that night I would have jumped in."

The full line rushes on Tuesday looked like this:

Connor-Scheifele-Wheeler

Ehlers-Little-Laine

Tanev-Copp-Matthias

Lemieux/Petan - Hendricks - Armia

Dano

Morrissey-Trouba

Enstrom-Byfuglien

Kulikov-Myers

Chiarot-Poolman

Only Mathieu Perreault (injured reserve) and Adam Lowry (upper-body) weren't with the main group of skaters. For the second straight day, Lowry skated with Director of Fitness Dr. Craig Slaunwhite prior to the team taking to the ice.

Maurice lists the forward as "not probable" for Thursday's match-up against the Pittsburgh Penguins, but said the forward would travel with the team.

Thursday's game will be the first of three games in four nights for the Jets, and Maurice says the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions could be the best possible opponent for a team coming off a break like the Jets are.

"You play the Stanley Cup champions, you're going to be buzzing, because you know they'll make you look bad if you're not," said Maurice, who added Connor Hellebuyck will start in goal against the Penguins. "It's probably good that we're going in there at this time. We're rested. Fear is a great motivator. You have to be on your game against those elite teams, and that usually gets you skating, which is what we need to do."

Before getting to game action though, the Jets have one more day of practice Wednesday at Bell MTS Iceplex, after which they'll travel to Pittsburgh to prepare for game day.

"It's definitely different, but we've been having some good practices and doing some things that are going to help our game," said Mark Scheifele. "You focus on some more team-oriented things early, and as the practices progress, you try to get a little more speed into your practice and a little more battle.

"We've all taken this rest as a weapon here. The biggest thing for us is making sure we're taking care of our bodies. We have a bunch of tough games coming up, and we have to be ready for them." https://www.nhl.com/jets/video/practice--paul-maurice/t-277437442/c-53786603

PRACTICE | Paul Maurice

Jets Head Coach Paul Maurice talks about having three straight days of practice before heading to Pittsburgh on Wednesday