Winnipeg Free Press https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/hockey/jets/laine-loses-teenager-tag- 480309243.html

Laine loses teenager tag

By: Mike McIntyre

Nobody gave Patrik Laine the bumps. And there was no rousing rendition of Happy Birthday sung in the locker room.

But did give Laine a shaving cream pie to the face, while offered up a barb about the gift he was planning to give his buddy.

"My company. It’s pretty priceless," Ehlers deadpanned.

Laine said goodbye to his teens on Thursday by turning 20. He had no big plans to mark the occasion, save for spending some time with family in town and playing some video games, of course.

"We gave him a couple hugs and high-fives. He's not a teenager anymore, so that's positive," said forward Bryan Little.

So does Laine feel any wiser now that he's one year older?

"I don’t think so. I’ve always been wise. It’s not going to just change for the day. I’m still wise. I like it this way," said Laine, who sits third all-time for regular-season goals scored by a teenager with 80.

"I’m happy with my numbers as a teenager. Now I’m disappointed that it’s over but I’m happy what I was able to do before my 20th birthday. It’s nice to be here," Laine said Thursday.

He's got two goals already in this playoff series and said he's looking forward to lighting the lamp for a first time as a 20-year-old.

"I think it feels the same, hopefully," he said.

Winnipeg Jets head coach Paul Maurice said he thinks the best is yet to come for his Finnish star.

"I don’t want to put a ceiling on the guy, so I don’t want to tell you how important he is to us just yet. I think he’s got a lot of room to get better," said Maurice. ______

Maurice didn't hide his frustration with the fact the NHL suspended defenceman Josh Morrissey for one game following his unpenalized cross-check to the neck of forward in Game 4.

Maurice believed it was an accidental play worthy of a fine, at most.

"I’m disappointed, and then you just move on. I’m not holding anything back from you, biting my tongue. I’m not. I was disappointed with the way it went. And there wouldn’t be a coach in the NHL who had a guy taken out of his lineup that wouldn’t be. So you just, nothing more. Move on," he said Thursday.

"The NHL’s got a job to do, and it’s an important one. I do think they weigh it heavily. They don’t want take players out of the lineup. They’re trying to sometimes be real consistent with a moving target and it’s not always easy. Like I said, we’re disappointed that he’s out. Josh has played two years in the league and he’s had two cross-checking penalties, one of them was coincidental. So it’s not his game. But it’s dealt with and over."

Morrissey skated with the Jets on Thursday but was not made available to speak after practice about missing Game 5. ______

Don't give the Wild any life.

That was the universal message coming out of the Jets dressing room following Thursday's practice.

"You know what, you say it all the time, but it’s just another game for us. We’re pretty excited, we love playing in front of our own fans. It’s a pretty tough place for opposing teams to play. A chance to close out the series here is pretty exciting. We’re going to be hungry (Friday)," said defenceman Ben Chiarot.

Little said Minnesota will likely come with their strongest effort as they try to keep their season alive.

"We're going to expect their best. Those last games to close out a series are the hardest. It's another part of the learning process. We've got to figure out a way to beat these guys and move on," he said.

Ehlers said nobody is getting ahead of themselves at this stage.

"You want to win the series. You don’t want to give them anything. You want to win Game 5 and move on. Everybody wants to do that. But it’s not going to be as easy as it sounds," said Ehlers, who is looking for his first playoff but has potted a pair of assists and looked dangerous at times.

He isn't fretting about not lighting the lamp yet.

"We're up 3-1 in games right now. I honestly couldn't care less. It'd be nice to score. It'd be nice to help this team even more, but we're up 3-1. I'm just going out there and playing the best game I can to help this team win," said Ehlers. "I felt really good in my last game. I felt really confident and comfortable, and thought it was the best game I've played in these four games. Even without getting points a good game and be happy with the way you played." ______

Winnipeg Jets' Matt Hendricks during team practice last Tuesday. Hendricks has now shed the yellow non-contact jersey and has been cleared to play.

While the status of defencemen Tyler Myers, Toby Enstrom and Dmitry Kulikov and forward remains somewhat of a mystery, Maurice did offer up some information on another wounded player Thursday.

Hendricks, who shed his non-contact jersey earlier in the week, is good to go. However, he is likely to be a healthy scratch, joining forwards Marko Dano and Shawn Matthias. https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/rookie-sami-niku-ready-to-play-if-jets-need-him- 480298763.html

Rookie Sami Niku ready to play if Jets need him Defenceman will see action in Game 5 if Tyler Myers and Toby Enstrom not ready

By: Mike McIntyre

There is plenty of mystery and intrigue surrounding the Winnipeg Jets blue line as they sit on the cusp of putting the Minnesota Wild out to pasture.

Rookie defenceman Sami Niku says he's ready to make his NHL playoff debut if needed.

"I think I'm not guy who is nervous. It's normal game for me," the smooth-skating 21-year-old Finn said following Thursday's team practice.

"I'm pretty confident. I know I can play here."

A one-game suspension to top-pairing defenceman Josh Morrissey will keep him out of the lineup for Friday's Game 5 at Bell MTS Place, in which the Jets have a chance to win their first playoff series in franchise history. They've taken three of the first four games against the Wild, who will be desperately fighting to keep their season alive.

Niku's number is likely to be called if one of Tyler Myers and Toby Enstrom can't go. The two veteran defencemen are sidelined with lower-body injuries and didn't skate Thursday. Enstrom has yet to play in the series, while Myers was knocked out in Game 3 and missed Game 4. Dmitry Kulikov is also injured but isn't believed to be close to a return.

Jets coach Paul Maurice wasn't offering any hints Thursday as to what his blue line might look like when the puck is dropped just after 6:30 p.m.

"I wouldn’t rule anybody out," said Maurice.

Niku has but one NHL game under his belt, a late-season appearance in Montreal in which he scored his first goal on his first shot. He's had a remarkable pro debut with the Moose and was just named the AHL's top defenceman. He's only the second rookie in the 60-year history of the award to win it.

"He has one game, one goal, so you have to think he’s going to score if he plays," good friend and fellow countryman Patrik Laine said Thursday with a smile. "It would be huge for him but it’s a whole different game he played in Montreal. I think he’s always liking challenges and he’s played in big games before. It will be exciting for him and for me as well."

If Niku plays, he'd be joining a group that includes fellow rookie (who made his playoff debut in Game 4), plus depth defencemen in journeyman Joe Morrow and Ben Chiarot. Dustin Byfuglien and would be the only members of Winnipeg's regular top six to dress.

"I think you hear every year teams talking about needing eight or nine defenceman when you make the playoffs. I think that’s the thing here. We have great depth," Chiarot said Thursday. "We just have good players. In the room, when everyone kind of conforms to the same system. Everyone knows what they’re doing out there. It’s not like the new guy isn’t on the same page. Match that with good depth and it makes us pretty successful."

Maurice said not having a player like Morrissey available for such a big game is not ideal, but it isn't keeping him awake at night.

"For sure, it’s a hole. We’ve, unfortunately over the past four years, gotten to be pretty good at having defencemen out. We’re gonna put six guys that played in the NHL on the ice tomorrow and we expect them to be good," he said.

And if one of those six happens to be Niku?

"Doesn’t seem to be overly fazed by the stage. It’s a good thing. Run the right risk, right. If you skate real well and think you can get into a hole then skate as fast as you can and get into that hole. Do the things that you normally do. I think in all of the games you see, there’s a tremendous amount of excitement and tension in that first 10 minutes and then everybody settles in — the crowd, the teams, the game itself settles — and then it will be a game of hockey," said Maurice.

"You’d say the same thing we start with each player: 'What are you good at?' And make sure you have the confidence to bring that. We wouldn’t [be] looking for him to go out and decide to be a grinder now. He’s good at getting the puck quick and then moving it quick and then he can find those holes. That’s going to be true his whole career. Having the confidence to do it in a game that has more weight to it, that’s all part of that experience that so many of these young players have gone through, and they’ve all been able to do it."

The Jets had more than 280 man games lost to injuries throughout the season, including extended ones to key players such as , Adam Lowry and Jacob Trouba, and yet they still put together their best-ever regular season and finished second overall in NHL standings.

"That’s a big number, but there was something really good. Staying healthy all season and then suffering them late, we haven’t had to deal with it. We’re so used to this," Maurice said.

"I’m not trying to send my message to my players through the media. We’re used to it. It doesn’t cause a ripple in there when a guy goes down or a guy goes out. We’ve had players come in and be good. And almost to the point…Jack Roslovic’s been a real good player this series. It creates a little competition to get back in the lineup."

Indeed, Roslovic took the place for forward Mathieu Perreault following his upper-body injury in Game 1. Perreault has also not resumed skating.

Niku said Thursday getting one game under his belt will certainly help should he be required.

"So now I know what kind of game it is in the NHL. And it's much easier now. I always have good confidence. I have to have that with my game style. I have always had that," he said.

"Of course, it's really nice to know that I can play in the Stanley Cup playoffs before I play AHL playoffs. Of course it's always different in playoffs, and, like, more hits and more physical game, but it's still the same game." https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/jets-blue-line-blues-notwithstanding-wilds-best-likely- not-enough-480300563.html

Jets blue-line blues notwithstanding, Wild's best likely not enough

By: Scott Campbell

The verbal jousting between Paul Maurice and Bruce Boudreau has dominated the days between games 4 and 5 of their teams' opening-round playoff series.

When I look at the good and bad moments in the Jets-Wild series, comments by the two head coaches were triggered by a bad situation — the Josh Morrissey cross-check to Eric Staal’s neck.

Morrissey’s suspension for Friday's Game 5 just made things a lot more difficult for the Jets. He’s been rock-solid and leaves a huge hole, considering the tough minutes he plays.

He deserved the suspension. While you might point to some Wild transgressions as being worthy of a phone conversation with the NHL’s player safety department, that doesn't change that they got this one right.

The media fireworks amped up after the missed call and Boudreau used the ill-advised words "it cost us the game." However, every play after that would not be the same if Morrissey had been thrown out of the game.

However, coaches are human and to judge him too harshly for using an absolute in that emotional moment isn’t fair.

Maurice was much more artistic in his approach. His defence of Morrissey was wonderfully poetic. While the NHL ignored him, it was a solid effort.

The Jets may now have to ice a top-four defence that has both Ben Chiarot and Joe Morrow in it (Tyler Myers and Toby Enstrom are possible starters). I’m concerned every time a defenceman takes this big a leap from their normal position in the lineup — they often get in over their heads. However, it’s not nearly as frightening for just one game.

While they’re extremely unlikely to win three games in a row, let’s give the Wild credit. They were excellent in their Game 3 win and hung in there until an empty-net goal sealed a 2-0 shutout loss Tuesday.

While the Jets deserve to be up 3-1, they’ve had some struggles with the Wild’s game plan at times.

One concern I had coming into the series is something I’ve mentioned a few times during the season. I couldn’t understand why the opposition’s penalty-killing units would continually let Blake Wheeler set up and give him an option to pass to one of his snipers, Patrik Laine or Mark Scheifele.

Boudreau has answered: his short-handed units are taking away those options, forcing Winnipeg’s power play into rotating, trying to find a setup that works. His disruption has been successful so far, but it’s a small sample.

This is a bit worrisome moving forward, as teams they face in the future get to see what works now, unless the Jets find an answer quickly.

Minnesota also made a nice even-strength adjustment in Game 3, igniting the win.

By having their defencemen whip the puck up the ice quickly right off the hop, and having the puck directed quickly into the Jets' zone, it allowed the Wild to establish a strong forecheck.

This basically killed any chance of the Jets getting into their usually strong offensive rhythm.

Naturally, the Jets adjusted last game — livelier legs, better puck placement and gaps all helped.

As predicted, the Wild’s ability to take away the slot area and most dangerous scoring chances has been successful most of the time. This would cause more anxiety if the Jets weren’t doing the same to the Wild at even-strength. To me, it’s maybe the most underrated (as talking points go) part of the series, as far as the Jets are concerned.

I mentioned last week that the coaching battle will be interesting to watch, as both Boudreau and Maurice have something to prove statistically — the former’s playoff record, the latter overall. They haven’t disappointed.

When you’re in a position like the Jets are, there are obviously some good things going on.

You can start in goal with Vezina finalist Connor Hellebuyck and talk about team defence. I don’t believe there’s any skater that’s carried the team abnormally; it’s been pretty much as expected from most players.

With Patrik Laine leading the team with four points, it’s easy to see it has taken many contributors to get to this point.

In true playoff style, there have been a number of big hits dished out, with the Jets more than happy to play that game. Of course, separating the opposition from the puck is the main reason for it, but to also punish at the same time just doubles the fun for Jets fans.

One player who hasn’t ignited yet and might have more to give is Nikolaj Ehlers. I’m not picking on him, as I could throw in a few others, too, but I believe he’s the one most likely to break out.

He just hasn’t been the electric player that he normally is. I wonder if it’s the Wild’s style that has him stymied, or is he just figuring out how to use his blinding speed and skill in his first taste of playoff action. Maybe we’ll find out in Game 5.

The Wild can make it interesting when they play their best game — when they’re not, you’re just counting down the time until the next Jets goal.

With their season on the line and a hurting Jets blue line, I expect we’ll see everything they’ve got Friday night.

I just don’t think it’s enough.

Winnipeg Sun http://winnipegsun.com/sports/hockey/nhl/winnipeg-jets/no-morrissey-no-problem-for-jets

No Morrissey, no problem for Jets

By Paul Friesen

The Winnipeg Jets have a chance to reach the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time.

But they’ll probably have to do it with the most depleted blue line they’ve ever had.

Losing Dmitry Kulikov and Toby Enstrom before the playoffs was one thing.

When Tyler Myers went down in Game 3 against Minnesota, things got interesting.

But for Game 5 against the Wild, Friday, the Jets will be without those three, plus Josh Morrissey, who’s been suspended for his cross-check on Eric Staal in Game 4.

That’s four of their top-six defencemen, out at the same time.

When will it begin to catch up with them?

“It doesn’t really cross my mind,” Bryan Little was saying, Thursday. “It’s going to take a lot more for us to get nervous about that.”

One by one, the Jets stood before notebooks and cameras and made similar comments about shrugging off the loss of Morrissey, probably their best all-around performer on the blue line this season.

Not that they don’t appreciate Morrissey’s value.

It’s just that they’ve been overcoming the loss of players all season.

“For sure, it’s a hole,” coach Paul Maurice said. “We’ve, unfortunately over the past four years, gotten to be pretty good at having defencemen out. That’s standard.”

Everybody talks about how deep the Jets are, but that’s usually been a reference to their forwards.

On defence, didn’t they seem kind of thin going into the season?

Ben Chiarot and Tucker Poolman were healthy scratches, remember? On Friday, they’ll be a pair for the second straight game, against the desperate Wild.

But that’s not all.

Assuming Myers remains out – he didn’t skate on Thursday – the Jets will dip into their farm team for Sami Niku, one game after dipping into the reserves for Poolman.

“It’s kind of a crazy thing,” Poolman acknowledged. “You always prepare like you’re going to get a chance. Odds are it probably doesn’t happen.”

The standard hockey cliches don’t even fit this situation.

“You hear it all the time — you need to have eight or nine NHL defenceman that can play,” Chiarot said. The problem is Niku would be the 10th.

Of course, there are worse players you could call up than one who was just named the American League’s best defenceman. As a rookie.

Niku is supposed to be getting ready for a relatively gentle baptism into North American playoff hockey, with the .

Instead, he’d be thrown into the pool without anybody really knowing if he can swim.

“It’s really nice to know that I can play in the Stanley Cup Playoffs before I play AHL playoffs,” Niku said, seemingly oblivious to the pressure he’d be under.

Niku figures the one NHL game he’s played will help a lot, but that was more like an AHL affair, a laid-back, devil-may-care outing in Montreal, the Jets coasting to the playoffs, the Habs coasting to nowhere.

If Niku expects the same room to move, Friday, he’ll be in for a rude awakening.

Don’t think he’s worried about it, though.

“I think I’m not guy who is nervous,” he said. “It’s normal game for me.”

And normal for the Jets, as Paul Stastny found out when he got here at the trade deadline.

“This team has had a lot of injuries, and didn’t skip a beat,” Stastny said. “When I got here they still had some guys out, and we just kept playing along. It’s just a product of how the coaching staff has ingrained the way we want to play here.

“We’re moving the puck quick, no matter who’s in our lineup.”

Ending the series quick is the bigger goal.

“It’s another part of the learning process,” Little said. “We’ve got to figure out a way to beat these guys and move on.

“We don’t want to give them any life or any hope.” http://winnipegsun.com/sports/hockey/nhl/winnipeg-jets/maurice-takes-morrissey-suspension-in- stride-niku-says-of-course-he-can-play-defence-littles-been-watching-the-preds-laine-gets- birthday-face-wash

Maurice takes Morrissey suspension in stride, but D-man doesn't address media

By Paul Friesen

The Winnipeg Jets trusted head coach Paul Maurice in front of the cameras, Thursday.

They weren’t quite as sure about Josh Morrissey.

Maurice’s reaction to Morrissey’s one-game suspension was relatively tame, going into the potential series-deciding Game 5 against Minnesota, Friday.

“I’m disappointed. And then you just move on,” Maurice said. “I’m not holding anything back from you, biting my tongue. I was disappointed with the way it went. And there wouldn’t be a coach in the NHL who had a guy taken out of his lineup that wouldn’t be.

“The NHL’s got a job to do, and it’s an important one. They weigh it heavily. They don’t want to take players out of the lineup. They’re trying to sometimes be real consistent with a moving target and it’s not always easy.”

As for Morrissey, the Jets did not make him available for questions, perhaps recalling L.A. Kings defenceman Drew Doughty’s “I think it’s B.S.” comment after he recently received a one-game ban.

As for the size of the hole left by the loss of Morrissey, Maurice says he’ll find out, Friday.

“That won’t be dependent on Josh – that will be dependant on the guys that we have,” the coach said. “We’re going to put six guys that have played in the NHL on the ice and we expect them to be good.”

Staal shrugged off the news of Morrissey’s suspension better than he absorbed the high cross- check in Game 4.

“It doesn’t matter,” he said. “We’ve got to win. That’s all I’m worried about. Regardless of what they decided, it wouldn’t have made a difference. I’m worried about trying to help our team win the game up there and take it home.”

READY TO GET PHYSICAL Rookie defenceman Sami Niku, who’d fill in for Morrissey if Tyler Myers isn’t ready to go, guesses a playoff game will be different than the one regular-season game he played.

“Of course it’s always different in playoffs. More hits and more physical,” he said. “But it’s still the same game. I think I could handle it.”

Niku is known for his offence, and put up 54 points, including 16 goals, in 76 games with the AHL Manitoba Moose this season.

What about his defence?

“Of course it’s more important, defence than offence, when I’m a defenceman,” he said. “But I can do both.”

ALL WINNIPEG, ALL THE TIME Wild coach Bruce Boudreau is hoping to add some offence by replacing defenceman Carson Soucy with the more experienced Ryan Murphy.

It’ll be the five-year NHLer’s first playoff game, too.

“I actually made my NHL debut against the Winnipeg Jets, too,” Murphy, formerly with Carolina, said. “And my Minnesota debut against the Jets. So it’s Winnipeg all the time.”

Murphy had five points in 21 games this season.

ONE EYE ON THE PREDS The Jets had an extra day off, Wednesday, but that doesn’t mean they got away from hockey.

“You still come to the rink, watch video, you’re thinking about the game, the next game,” Bryan Little said. “And then you go home at night and playoffs are on TV, so you end up watching a bit of hockey. No, it’s always kind of in the back of your head, that next one.”

Little says the series that’s caught his eye the most is the other Central Division matchup, Predators vs Avalanche.

“I’ve been watching a lot of the Nashville series. We’re not looking ahead, but they’re a team we could potentially face.”

CONNOR COMING OFF A DANDY Asked which teammate has really stepped up his game of late, Little pointed to rookie Kyle Connor.

“He was absolutely flying last game,” Little said. “He doesn’t get talked about as much as some of the other guys. He’s doing it more consistently now. It just seems like he’s ready to go, and he’s turned it up another notch.”

Little marveled at Connor’s pass that set up Mark Scheifele’s game-winning goal in a 2-0 win in Minnesota, Tuesday.

“It was unreal… under and through two sticks. That was pretty impressive. His speed and his shot are his biggest weapons. When he’s going in a game you can tell right away, usually the first couple of shifts, that he’s feeling it.”

Stars like Scheifele, Blake Wheeler, and Patrik Laine might have overshadowed Connor’s 31- goal season, but the 21-year-old likely won’t fly under the radar much longer.

“People are starting to realize how good this kid is,” Little said. “He was up there in rookie scoring. He deserves at least to be nominated for the Calder. And he’s young. He’s going to get better and better.”

LAINE MARKS MILESTONE Thursday marked Laine’s 20th birthday, but the Finn said he had no special dinner or celebration planned, just “hanging around home.”

That’s a tad more boring than his last two years as a teenager, which included 80 regular- season goals, plus two in the playoffs.

“Now I’m disappointed that it’s over,” Laine said. “But I’m happy what I was able to do before my 20th birthday. My playbook and my game plans are going to be the same. It’s not going to switch. It’s the best game plan I have and I’m not going to change that.”

THE LAST WORD Nik Ehlers, on if he got anything special for Laine’s birthday: “My company. It’s pretty priceless.” http://winnipegsun.com/sports/hockey/nhl/winnipeg-jets/just-in-the-niku-of-time

Just in the Niku of time

By Paul Friesen

Patrik Laine had modest expectations of fellow Finn Sami Niku on Friday.

“He has one game, one goal,” Laine said. “So you have to think he’s going to score if he plays.” Laine may have been joking.

But Niku, the rookie defenceman, says he expects to contribute on offence immediately, if he gets the call to replace the suspended Josh Morrissey for his first playoff game.

“Yeah, I think so,” Niku said. “I’m offensive defenceman. It’s my job. So I can make offence.”

He did in his NHL debut, scoring a goal on his first shot against the Canadiens in Montreal, early this month. Coach Paul Maurice says he’ll have a simple message for the smooth 21-year-old, if he plays.

“What are you good at? And make sure you have the confidence to bring that,” Maurice said. “We wouldn’t (be) looking for him to go out and decide to be a grinder, now.”

Confidence isn’t an issue for Niku any more than skill is.

His main challenge might be to limit high-risk plays that would work in the minors, but not in an NHL playoff game. “Doesn’t seem to be overly fazed by the stage,” Maurice said. “It’s a good thing. Run the right risk.”

Teammate Bryan Little says from what he saw of Niku in Montreal, he wouldn’t expect any nerves.

“For some reason, kids these days don’t get nervous,” Little said. “I was nervous every game my first year.”

Little compares Niku’s demeanour to that of Laine.

“He’s got that confidence that if he gets in, he can go out there and not just play, but make a difference. It’s better to have that than to be scared to be put in.”

Nik Ehlers sees the comparison, too.

“He’s played one game, he scored in one game,” Ehlers said. “There’s something about those Finnish guys. They feel good.” http://winnipegsun.com/opinion/columnists/brodbeck-0420-brodbeck-col

BRODBECK: Winnipeg Jets have transformed this city

By Tom Brodbeck

Tell me again why the return of the Winnipeg Jets isn’t the single best thing to happen to this city in decades.

Because I couldn’t hear anyone dispute that claim over the roar of 15,000-plus euphoric fans chanting outside Bell MTS Place during the city’s largest and most boisterous street party ever.

I couldn’t see past the blinding white-out of hundreds of thousands of fans throughout the city who have been immersed in playoff hockey over the past week as the newest Stanley Cup contenders on the block battle their way through the first round of what could be a deep post- season run.

There’s no doubt the return of the Jets to Winnipeg in 2011 is the most positive thing to happen to this city in a very long time. No other change, improvement or development has had the impact on the psyche of this town like this franchise has, at least not in several decades.

The effect of this team, this sporting package stamped with our identity, is unrivaled by anything that has happened in Winnipeg in at least a couple of generations. Nothing has brought people together from all walks of life, ages, income groups and neighbourhoods in such a sustained and celebratory way. It’s truly been a remarkable development.

There’s no deep psychological analysis required to explain it, no hidden meanings behind the smiles it brings to people’s faces. It’s just pure, unadulterated fun. Having our own big league franchise in a sport most Manitobans have some connection to – whether they play the game themselves, have played, have kids, nephews, nieces or grandkids who play – is a dream come true, in more ways than one.

The reality is, we were lucky to land this team. Sure, we deserve an NHL club (who doesn’t?). And pound-for-pound, no other city in the world has a more robust and committed hockey fanbase than Winnipeg. But clichés aside, under normal circumstances, Winnipeg would not have been the NHL’s first choice to relocate a franchise. We were a convenient solution to a failing organization in Atlanta that needed a home.

It was timing. And lucky for us, we had an attentive and motivated group of businesspeople at True North Sports and Entertainment, including its chairman Mark Chipman, with the resources and a credible, well thought-out business plan who made all the right corporate moves to get us a team. It was an outstanding achievement.

But it’s what the organization has done with the battered and bruised franchise it inherited that’s even more impressive, including turning the club into a Stanley Cup contender in just seven short years. That success is best explained by how well management has drafted and developed players since 2011 and how disciplined it’s been in adhering to its long-term growth plan.

General Manager Kevin Cheveldayoff has run the team with the rigour of a steely-eyed fund manager, never wavering from his draft-and-develop philosophy and refusing – often in the face of harsh criticism – to yield to the temptation of short-term gain. That has brought the team to the level it’s at today.

But it’s also how well this franchise has been run and marketed overall that has made it so successful, from ticket sales and pricing to corporate branding and community outreach. It’s very difficult to find fault with almost anything this organization has done. It has a sterling record on multiple levels that could probably fill a chapter in a marketing textbook on how to retail professional sports and entertainment.

All of which helps explain the adoration people feel for this club and the front office that runs it. Show me another city where fans not only shout out the name of the company that runs the hockey team during the national anthem but also hollers it, sometimes by the thousands, on the road in other teams’ buildings.

Thousands of Jets fans will invade the downtown Friday for the Jets’ fifth game against the Minnesota Wild in what will be the greatest street party this city has ever seen. It’s hard to imagine what this place might look like as we get deeper into the playoffs.

All we know is it’s a hell of a lot of fun being where we are right now.

Minneapolis Star Tribune http://www.startribune.com/trailing-3-1-to-jets-wild-chasing-one-victory-at-a-time/480324283/

Trailing 3-1 to Jets, Wild chasing one victory at a time Task vs. Jets too daunting with any other approach.

By Sarah McLellan Star Tribune

WINNIPEG – The Wild felt it needed to improve its record as the visitor in the second half of the regular season to advance to the playoffs.

Now the team will have to win on the road just to stay in them, as Minnesota returns to Winnipeg for Game 5 on Friday against the Jets trying to extend the first-round, best-of-seven series after tripping into a 3-1 hole.

“You love to win at home,” Wild coach Bruce Boudreau said. “You love to play in front of your fans and everything, but every good team has to win usually one game on the road that’s very decisive. Obviously [Friday] night’s an important game.”

To remain relevant beyond this series, the Wild will require two road victories. But the team is keeping its focus narrow and ignoring the big picture, a smart plan considering how grim it looks; the Wild hasn’t won in Winnipeg all season, including Games 1 and 2, and the Jets haven’t lost on home ice since Feb. 27 — a string of 11 consecutive victories.

“If you look at beating Winnipeg three times in a row, you’re looking at, ‘Wow, that’s a pretty daunting task,’ ” Boudreau said. “But you gotta look at it as just playing one game. Just win one game. And when you wake up the morning after you win the one game, you just think about winning one more game. And that’s the way you think about it.”

It’s a similar outlook to how the Wild embarks on the regular season, breaking the 82-game grind into weekly segments and vying to pocket more wins than losses by the end of each. The team is also familiar with having to figure out a solution for its road woes.

After completing the first half of its schedule, the Wild sat a subpar 8-12-1 in away games. Since then, the team got better — finishing 10-8-2 to end up 18-20-3.

This progress seemed to come with the understanding the Wild’s style must be different on the road than at home. Without the boost of a friendly crowd and the energy that comes with a comfortable environment, the team had to become more strategic.

Instead of regularly setting the tone like it did at Xcel Energy Center as one of the league’s best home teams by pushing the pace after puck drop, the Wild had to weather that early onslaught as the visitor and pick its spots to counter — awareness that appeared to help it become more competitive in other buildings.

“Sometimes on the road, it just needs to be more simple, a little more boring,” goalie Devan Dubnyk said. “But you have to be extremely sharp.”

There’s nothing wrong with a scoreless start for both sides; actually, that scenario seems to only flatter the Wild the longer it persists.

Eventually, though, the offense has to show up. It didn’t last game, as the Wild was blanked 2-0 by the Jets on Tuesday, and the team seems likely to roll out a new look to end the drought.

Winger Kyle Rau could replace Tyler Ennis after skating alongside center and winger Marcus Foligno at practice Thursday, and defenseman Ryan Murphy is poised to make his playoff debut Friday.

He skated on the third pairing next to Nate Prosser at Xcel Energy Center.

“[Murphy’s] an offensive player, and we can use him on the power play,” Boudreau said.

Consider forwards , and as other candidates to spark the offense. All three are pointless in the series after combining for 62 goals and 133 points in the regular season.

“It’s frustrating in the sense that I’m not helping the team,” Zucker said. “Last game for me individually was a step in the right direction, but it’s still not good enough and for guys that are top guys on this team to not be producing … when it matters most is frustrating.”

Give the Jets credit, though, for clogging up the middle and making it tough to create momentum along the boards — Winnipeg strengths on display in the third period of Game 4 as it sealed the shutout.

“We need to get more traffic to the net, and that’s one of my jobs,” Niederreiter said.

Boudreau said he felt Game 4 was the best showing so far from Niederreiter and Zucker in the playoffs, and maybe that ignites more improvement in Game 5. Perhaps scoring first would help, too, which the Wild has yet to do in the series.

“It’ll force them probably to play a little different, maybe a little more aggressive, maybe create some more chances for us the other way,” center Eric Staal said.

At this point, though, how the Wild perseveres is secondary. What matters most is if it does at all.

“With our situation, it’s just win one game,” Boudreau said. “It’s not going to be easy but win one game.” http://www.startribune.com/eric-staal-doesn-t-have-time-to-stress-over-josh-morrissey-s-cross- check-when-wild-faces-critical-game-4-vs-jets/480302663/

Eric Staal doesn't have time to stress over Josh Morrissey's cross-check when Wild faces critical Game 5 vs. Jets

By Rachel Blount Star Tribune

Eric Staal wasn’t interested in talking about justice Thursday. The Wild center had no opinion on whether a one-game suspension was appropriate punishment for Winnipeg defenseman Josh Morrissey, who laid a nasty cross-check on Staal’s neck in Game 4 of the teams’ first-round playoff series.

The NHL announced the suspension Wednesday, knocking Morrissey out of Friday’s Game 5 at Bell MTS Place. With the Wild facing a 3-1 hole in the series, Staal considered it a waste of time to look back on an incident that happened in the first period of his team’s 2-0 loss Tuesday.

“It doesn’t matter,” Staal said after Thursday’s practice at Xcel Energy Center. “Regardless of what [the NHL] decided, it wouldn’t have made a difference. I’m worried about trying to help our team win the game up there and take [the series] home. That’s all I’m focused on.”

Though a single-game suspension might not sound harsh, it does create significant hardship for the Jets. They already have three defensemen out because of injuries, and Tyler Myers (lower body), Toby Enstrom (ankle) and Dmitry Kulikov (back) are not expected to be available for Game 5.

Rookie Tucker Poolman played his first postseason game Tuesday, stepping in for Myers. Another rookie, Sami Niku, might get into the lineup Friday.

The Jets’ depth has helped them withstand multiple injuries this season, and coach Paul Maurice said “it doesn’t cause a ripple” when players are sidelined. That doesn’t mean they won’t miss Morrissey.

The Minnesota Wild's Charlie Coyle (3) and the Winnipeg Jets' Bryan Little (18) battle for the puck in the first period during Game 4 of the first-rou

“We’re disappointed that he’s out,” Maurice said. “Josh has played two years in the league, and he’s had two cross-checking penalties, one of them coincidental. So it’s not his game. But it’s dealt with and over.”

Moving parts With the Wild on the brink of elimination, coach Bruce Boudreau altered his lines in Thursday’s practice to try and generate more offensive punch.

Charlie Coyle was elevated to the top trio alongside Staal and Jason Zucker, and Kyle Rau appears set to join the third line with Matt Cullen and Marcus Foligno. Jordan Greenway swapped places with Foligno, moving to the fourth line with Joel Eriksson Ek and Daniel Winnik.

Boudreau hopes Coyle’s promotion from the third line will give him more opportunity to use his gifts. It’s been a hard-luck season for the forward; Boudreau said the 5½ weeks Coyle sat out after breaking his right leg in October “really set him back,” and he has been shuffled among lines and roles.

Coyle has not scored a point in the playoffs, and he finished the regular season with 11 goals and 26 assists in 66 games.

“Sometimes we’ve had him on the third line, and maybe he hasn’t gotten the puck as much as he’d like to, or maybe the ice time,” Boudreau said. “Charlie is a really top-notch forward in this league, and maybe this will jump-start him.”

Rau-ring to go At 5-8, Rau will be stepping into the land of the giants against Winnipeg’s extra-large lineup. But Boudreau liked what he saw from the Eden Prairie native in a three-game stint in January, and the coach is looking for him to give the Wild some added quickness and aggression.

Rau has skated at Bell MTS Place before; it also is home to the Manitoba Moose, whom he played against during his time with the Wild’s AHL affiliate in Iowa.

He’s also comfortable in pressure situations, going back to his days as a teammate of Wild defenseman Nick Seeler with Eden Prairie High School and the Gophers.

“Me and Seeler were on a good team growing up, and we played in a lot of important games, and then at the U as well,” Rau said. “I know I’m not the biggest guy, but I’ll still be physical out there.”

Familiar foe to Murphy Boudreau is planning a change with his defensemen, too, taking Carson Soucy out of the lineup and putting in Ryan Murphy. It will be the first NHL postseason game for Murphy, who noted a pattern.

“I actually made my NHL debut against the Winnipeg Jets, too, and my Minnesota debut against the Jets,” he said. “So it’s Winnipeg all the time.”

Murphy played in 21 regular-season games with the Wild, contributing two goals, three assists and 16 penalty minutes.

His ability to move the puck and contribute on offense led Boudreau to make the switch.

“We really like what Soucy’s done,” Boudreau said. “But there’s more experience in Murph, and he’s an offensive player, and we can use him on the power play.”

Etc. • The Wild recalled forward Cal O’Reilly from Iowa on Thursday. He led Iowa in points during the regular season with 15 goals and 49 assists for 64 points in 75 games. His assist and point totals were team records. http://www.startribune.com/wild-changes-up-lineup-ahead-of-game-5-by-adding-ryan-murphy- kyle-rau-into-the-mix/480279473/

Wild changes up lineup ahead of Game 5 by adding Ryan Murphy, Kyle Rau into the mix

By Sarah McLellan

Needing an offensive spark after being shut out in Game 4, the Wild mixed up its look during practice Thursday at Xcel Energy Center – its last tune-up before it tries to stave off elimination Friday against the Jets when Game 5 goes in Winnipeg.

“We have to score more than one goal to win a game, or two goals, against these guys,” coach Bruce Boudreau said. “

The most significant changes were the additions of forward Kyle Rau and defenseman Ryan Murphy; Rau skated on a line with center Matt Cullen and winger Marcus Foligno, while Murphy filled out the third pairing next to Nate Prosser.

“We didn’t score any goals last game,” Boudreau said. “[Murphy’s] a really good puck mover. We really like what [Carson Soucy] has done, and he’s going to be a really good player for us. But there’s more experience in Murph, and he’s an offensive player. We could use him on the power play.”

As for the rest of the forward lines, winger Charlie Coyle worked with winger Jason Zucker and center Eric Staal, Mikko Koivu centered wingers Nino Niederreiter and Mikael Granlund and wingers Daniel Winnik and Jordan Greenway flanked center Joel Eriksson Ek. Wingers Tyler Ennis and Kurtis Gabriel were the extras.

The top-two defensive pairings featuring Jonas Brodin with and Nick Seeler alongside Jared Spurgeon remained the same.

Expect the Jets to roll out a different lineup for Game 5, too.

Defenseman Josh Morrissey was suspended one game for his cross-check to Staal’s neck in Game 4.

“It doesn’t matter,” Staal said. “We’ve got to win tomorrow. That’s all I’m worried about. The league decided to do more after the fact, and that’s how the league works. They decided one [game]. So for me, regardless of what they decided, it wouldn’t have made a difference. I’m worried about trying to help our team win the game up there and take it home. That’s all I’m focused on.” http://www.startribune.com/st-paul-and-winnipeg-have-done-this-before-a-mere-45-years- ago/480335503/

St. Paul and Winnipeg have done this before, a mere 45 years ago

By Patrick Reusse

The representatives of Winnipeg and Minnesota have been in the NHL simultaneously for 21 seasons: the original Jets and the North Stars from the fall of 1979 through the 1992-93 season, and the second version of the Jets and the Wild from the fall of 2011 to the current first-round series that resumes with Game 5 in Winnipeg on Friday night.

The Jets were among four WHA teams absorbed into the NHL in the fall of 1979. For two seasons, the Jets and the North Stars were in different conferences, they were together in the Norris Division of the Campbell Conference in 1981-82, and then Winnipeg was moved to the Smythe Division.

The Smythe was also home to the Edmonton Oilers – Gretzky, Messier, Coffey, etc. – and some strong Winnipeg teams ran into early elimination.

The original Jets reached the playoffs 10 times and the North Stars 11 times in the 14 years that they were together in the NHL. There were only seven years when both the Jets and the North Stars reached the playoffs.

The best chance for a playoff series would have been in 1982, when the North Stars finished first and the Jets finished second in the Norris, but both were upset in the first round:

The “so close we can taste it’’ Stars by Chicago, and the Jets by St. Louis.

Minnesota lost the North Stars to Dallas after the 1992-93 season and returned with the expansion Wild in the fall of 2000. Winnipeg lost the Jets to Phoenix after the 1995-96 season and returned with the transplanted in the fall of 2011.

Winnipeg replaced the Thrashers in the Eastern Conference for two years, and this is the fifth season that the new Jets and the Wild have been in the Central Division – greatly increasing the odds the two cities finally were going to wind up engaged in an NHL playoff series.

The Jets had a tough time making such a date, reaching the playoffs only in 2015, and getting swept in four games by Anaheim. The Wild went to the second round that season.

Then came 2017-18: Winnipeg went from missing the playoffs with 87 points to 114 and second in the contentious Central. The Wild were third with 101 points.

And finally, these two division opponents with a geographical proximity of 467 miles had a playoff series to spark a real rivalry. Heck, two winter outposts within such range of one another that a highlight of the St. Paul Winter Carnival for a couple of decades was the finish of a Winnipeg-to-St. Paul 500-mile snowmobile race.

Winnipeg vs. Minnesota. There’s a first time for everything.

Except it isn’t. We’ve done this before, and in St. Paul’s case, on the same piece of property.

The started in 1972, with 12 teams, including the Winnipeg Jets playing in an old arena that held 9,500, and the Minnesota Fighting Saints, targeted to play in the new St. Paul Civic Center that still was under construction.

The Jets’ nickname was carried over by a Winnipeg junior team of the same name, although it fit more perfectly when the franchise was able to sign -- the Golden Jet – away from the as a player-coach.

Hull had 51 goals in 63 games played and the Jets finished first in the West. The Fighting Saints and the Alberta Oilers wound up with identical records of 38-37-3 and tied for fourth place and the last playoff spot.

WHA officials found a bylaw that teams tying would have a playoff game, so the teams met in on April 4 to decide which of them would get Winnipeg in the quarterfinals. Mike Antonovich broke a tie for the game-winner in a Saints’ 4-2 victory.

Two nights later, the Fighting Saints were in Winnipeg, and they lost 3-1 in the series opener. Antonovich had a tying goal early in the third period, but then Hull scored his second of the game against goalie Jack McCartan and a crowd of 7,354 left happy.

In Game 2, Winnipeg scored the last three goals, including Hull’s empty-netter, for a 5-2 victory.

The Saints had moved from the old St. Paul Auditorium next door to the Civic Center in January, and there was speculation that a playoff game vs. Hull would attract a large crowd.

This was a season in which the NHL sent only eight of its 16 teams to the playoffs, and the North Stars had made it, and were playing Philadelphia in the first round. The Flyers were a year away from winning a Stanley Cup, but they already were the Broad Street Bullies and a strong attraction for fans who liked “old-time hockey.’’

The North Stars lost in six games, while hosting Games 3, 4 and 6 on April 7, 8 and 12. The Fighting Saints hosted the Jets for Games 3 and 4 on April 10 and 11.

That competition for ticket buyers and the two losses in Winnipeg took the pizzazz out of the Jets/Hull attraction. The Saints got a 6-4 win in Game 3, when Jim Johnson and Len Lilyholm scored in the third period to break a tie, but the crowd was only 5,151.

The next night, the crowd was better (6,982) but the result was not for the Saints.

The Jets’ Norm Beaudin scored on a power play in overtime for a 3-2 victory. The penalty was called against defenseman John Arbour by Bill Friday, the legendary referee hired by the WHA.

Arbour received four of the five total penalties called on the Saints, and he was fuming. “Friday’s had it in for me all year and I don’t know why,’’ Arbour said. “He called five on me in the playoff game we had in Alberta.’’

Four nights later, the Jets ended the series in five games in an 8-5 track meet in Winnipeg. Antonovich scored seven seconds into the second period to give the Saints a 3-2 lead, and then the Jets took over, with Beaudin finishing with three goals and four assists.

“Winnipeg was just a better club,’’ Fighting Saints coach Harry Neale said. “Whether it was 8-5 or 2-1, they just had a better club in this series. But we’ll be back and win a series in this building some day.’’

The Fighting Saints lasted two more full seasons, folded during the course of the next two seasons, and never again met the Jets in the playoffs. Winnipeg lost in the 1973 finals to the New England Whalers, but would win three (1976, 1978, 1979) of the seven WHA championships.

The old Winnipeg Arena is long gone, and the Civic Center was replaced on that St. Paul corner by the Xcel Energy Center, but Harry Neale’s vow can be paraphrased 45 years later:

Some day, a St. Paul team will win a playoff series in Winnipeg, although for it to happen in 2018, it will take three straights wins for Wild … starting Friday night.

Canadian Press https://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/hockey/article-winnipeg-jets-say-theyre-going-to- come-out-hot-in-game-4-against/

Winnipeg Jets say they’re going to ‘come out hot in Game 4’ against Minnesota Wild

BY THE CANADIAN PRESS

Connor Hellebuyck took his time removing his equipment following the Winnipeg Jets’ optional practice on Monday, talking and laughing with fellow goaltenders Steve Mason and Jamie Phillips.

Hellebuyck, a third-year pro with no previous playoff experience, wasn’t showing any negative signs about being pulled from the Jets’ 6-2 postseason loss to the Minnesota Wild. And don’t expect any panic desperation or frustration from Winnipeg when it resumes the best-of-seven, opening-round series Tuesday night.

“It’s just the drive we have in this room,” defenceman Ben Chiarot said. “No one likes losing, but in this room we take it very seriously, especially come playoff time.

“We’ll come out hot in Game 4.”

Despite its youth. Winnipeg showed a knack for bouncing back quickly this season. The Jets, who entered the postseason with 11 wins in their final 12 regular-season games, last experienced consecutive losses March 13-15 and have lost back-to-back games just three times since January.

“They have a real clear idea of what their game looks like when it’s right, and the ability to get back to it quickly,” coach Paul Maurice said. “You could see it from the bench and you clearly could see it from upstairs – that wasn’t the way we play when we’re at our best.

“So, we have a real clean understanding of what it is we do well and what we need to have happen. So we can get back to it pretty quickly. The foundation is pretty well set.”

Since Maurice turned to Hellebuyck heavily in November when Mason dealt with an injury, Hellebuyck has lost consecutive starts just five times.

However, this is the playoffs, in which even the slightest miscues get amplified. But that doesn’t mean the 24-year-old Hellebuyck is feeling any pressure.

“I wouldn’t say there’s much of a difference, really,” Hellebuyck said. “I put these kinds of games behind me no matter when they happen.

“I guess in playoffs you can be more happy because it’s a series, it’s not a one-game basis. So, I guess it’s a bit easier to put it behind me, but I’m more happy I’m still feeling good on the ice and I’m looking forward to our next game.”

Hellebuyck won his first two career Stanley Cup playoff games while stopping 34 of the 37 shots he faced in the opening two contests.

“Bucky’s one of the strongest goalies, mentally, that I’ve ever played with,” Chiarot said. “Not much bothers him.

“He’s a pretty laid-back guy. Six go by him, I don’t think he’s thinking about it too much. He’ll be ready for Game 4. He’ll be the same goalie we’ve seen all year.”

Just like the Jets believe they’ll be the same team that bounced back all season.

Winnipeg controlled the first two games, holding a decided 84-37 edge in shots, before the Wild climbed back into the series on Sunday night. The Jets flew into Minnesota earlier on Sunday after being rerouted because of snow on Saturday.

The Jets didn’t make excuses. But a comment by Maurice on Monday demonstrated the difference between the first two games of the series and Sunday’s loss and why Winnipeg might be able to find its legs Tuesday night.

“The foundation of our game is there’s a certain of speed that has to be involved and we didn’t skate particularly well [on Sunday] night,” Maurice said. “It’s the disease of slowness, and that’s what cost us the game.”

The Jets have plenty of reasons to be motivated and quicker on Tuesday. Adding fuel to the fire could be their feeling about Marcus Foligno’s hit on defenceman Tyler Myers.

Myers didn’t practise on Monday and Maurice wouldn’t offer an update on his status.

Foligno was trying to block a Myers pass when his momentum took him into the defenceman. As Foligno was going down, he grabbed Myers’s left arm near the boards and brought the Jets player to the ice.

Myers remained down for some time before being helped off. Foligno said he had no ill intent on the play and denied suggestions he punched Myers’s knee during the collision.

“No, honestly, I did not punch his knee,” Foligno said of the interaction with his former Buffalo Sabres teammate. “I’ve looked at it 100 times, too, and my stick’s in my hand and I think I’m trying to grab whatever I can before going down.

“No, there was no punching motion. I’m sure a lot of Winnipeg fans are saying that, but no, I’m not trying to hurt someone out there, especially a good friend like Myers.”

Foligno won’t face any league discipline, which didn’t sit well with Maurice.

“You know what, there are very clear guidelines as to my opinions, so I would disagree with the decision,” Maurice said.

NHL.com https://www.nhl.com/news/jets-patrik-laine-turns-20-happy-with-numbers/c-298130784

Laine turns 20, happy with goal total as teenager for Jets Forward ranks No. 3 before that age in NHL history by Tim Campbell @TimNHL / NHL.com Staff Writer

WINNIPEG -- Patrik Laine's days as a teenager are over, but the Winnipeg Jets forward said his 20th birthday Thursday should change nothing.

The native of Tampere, Finland, has scored 80 goals, the third-most by an NHL teenager; Jimmy Carson scored 92 for the (1986-88), and Dale Hawerchuk of the original Jets scored 85 (1981-83). His 134 points (54 assists) in 155 NHL regular-season games are the ninth-most in NHL history among teenagers.

Laine set an NHL record this season with a 15-game point streak as a teenager; he had 26 points (18 goals, eight assists) in the streak from Feb. 16-March 18.

"I'm happy with my numbers as a teenager," Laine said after practice Thursday. "Now I'm disappointed that it's over but I'm happy what I was able to do before my 20th birthday. It's nice to be here."

He finished second in the League in goals this season with 44, behind Alex Ovechkin of the (49).

Laine said he had no special plans for his birthday.

"Just hanging around home," Laine said. "That's my plan.

Will there be a special family dinner? Probably not. Just chicken [and] pasta for lunch."

His family is in Winnipeg, where the Jets and Minnesota Wild will play Game 5 of the Western Conference First Round at Bell MTS Place on Friday (7:30 p.m. ET; USA, SN, TVAS2, FS-N). Winnipeg leads the best-of-7 series 3-1, and Laine has scored his first two Stanley Cup Playoff goals in the series.

He said his first goal as a 20-year-old isn't likely to feel any different. "I think it feels the same," he said, "hopefully."

The No. 2 pick of the 2016 NHL Draft was asked if he feels wiser.

"Not at all," Laine said. "I don't think so. I've always been wise. It's not going to just change for the day. I'm still wise. I like it this way." https://www.nhl.com/news/minnesota-needs-more-scoring-to-rebound-against-winnipeg/c- 298129462?tid=297171690

Wild must create more offense to extend series against Jets Zucker, Coyle, Niederreiter have no points entering Game 5 by Jessi Pierce / NHL.com Correspondent

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Jason Zucker isn't making excuses.

The Minnesota Wild forward knows he, along with forwards Charlie Coyle and Nino Niederreiter, have to play at a higher level to help the Wild avoid playoff elimination by the Winnipeg Jets in Game 5 of the Western Conference First Round at Bell MTS Place on Friday (7:30 p.m. ET; USA, SN, TVAS2, FS-N).

Zucker, Coyle and Niederreiter combined for 133 points (62 goals, 71 assists) during the regular season but have no points in this series, which the Jets lead 3-1.

"We have to [be better], there's no doubt about it," Zucker said. "It's really hard for a team to win when three of your so-called top players aren't producing. I know I'm taking that to heart and I'm sure [Coyle] and [Niederreiter] are as well to make sure that come tomorrow night we're picking up our end."

Zucker had an NHL personal best season with 64 points (33 goals, 31 assists), but Coyle and Niederreiter have missed time battling with injuries, which limited their production.

Coyle missed 16 games (Oct. 12-Nov. 20) with a right fibula fracture. Niederreiter was out of the lineup three times, missing six games (Oct. 12-31) with an ankle sprain, five games (Dec. 22- Jan. 4) with a lower-body injury and nine games with the same injury (Jan. 9-Feb. 2).

"You break your legs, it's not easy coming back from it, you know," Wild coach Bruce Boudreau said. "And everybody wants to come back quick. These guys are not used to getting hurt, so they do and they're just getting better now."

Not only have three of the Wild's top offensive weapons been without a goal, their shots have been limited. Coyle has seven shots on goal in the series, and Niederreiter and Zucker each has six. Winnipeg has outshot Minnesota 143-96.

"I definitely want to get more shots to the net and try to get more traffic and keep it simple that way," Niederreiter said. "We need to get more traffic to the net, and that's one of my jobs."

Before Game 5, Boudreau moved Coyle to the top line with Zucker and center Eric Staal, and put Niederreiter on the second line with Mikael Granlund and Mikko Koivu in hopes of generating more offensive chances.

Without forward , week to week after fracturing his sternum in the third period of a 6- 2 win in Game 3, the need for other forwards to step up is vital.

"We definitely need some production whether it be from [Coyle] or [Zucker] or [Niederreiter], guys that haven't had any production yet in this series," Boudreau said. "We need something from somebody." https://www.nhl.com/news/stanley-cup-playoff-fever-is-widespread-in-winnipeg/c- 298133126?tid=297171690

Former Jets hope clincher is finally at hand against Wild in Game 5 City hasn't celebrated playoff series win since 1987 by Tim Campbell @TimNHL / NHL.com Staff Writer

WINNIPEG -- Stanley Cup Playoff fever is widespread in Winnipeg, but to fathom how intense it is, it's essential to consider some history: The city has not celebrated a playoff series victory in 31 years.

That could change Friday, when the Winnipeg Jets can close out the Western Conference First Round against the Minnesota Wild in Game 5 at Bell MTS Place (7:30 p.m. ET; USA, SN, TVAS2, FS-N).

The Jets/Atlanta Thrashers franchise, which began play in the 1999-2000 season, has never won a playoff series. The last series win for the original Jets came against the in the 1987 Smythe Division Semifinals, with Winnipeg clinching in Game 6 on April 16.

"I look at my hair and look at my belly, I know I'm getting older and it's definitely been 31 years," said Dale Hawerchuk, 55, who led the Jets that season with 100 points (47 goals, 53 assists) in 80 games, then led them in the playoffs with 13 points (five goals, eight assists) in 10 games. "But it doesn't seem like it because I remember it like yesterday.

"What's going on now, it's good, it's exciting and it's great for the team and province. Anytime you're playing this time of year it's a good thing and you're seeing the vibe of the people now."

The original Jets joined the NHL in 1979-80 and relocated to Phoenix in 1996, with the Thrashers moving to Winnipeg and becoming the Jets in 2011-12. The two versions of the Jets have combined to go 2-12 in playoff series. (The Thrashers lost their one series, a four-game sweep against the in the 2007 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals.)

Each of the Winnipeg victories was against Calgary in the first round (the other came in 1985). No matter the results, the city had an extraordinary buzz, said former Jets forward Paul MacLean, who was there when fans started wearing all white to home games in the 1985 playoffs.

"I remember the original whiteout was a phenomenal, phenomenal thing," said MacLean, 60, who played seven seasons for the Jets (1981-88), scoring 248 of his 324 NHL goals. "Coming out of that locker room, the place was full and it was starkly white, almost like you were blinded. It was a fun experience visually to come out to. The fans in Winnipeg in the regular season were spectacular and this just went to another level in the playoffs.

"Everybody got involved. You couldn't pump gas or go anywhere and not run into it. Everyone got excited and the whole city had a lot of energy and the players got a lot of energy from the fans. It's a great thing if they continue to win."

In MacLean's seasons in Winnipeg, quality Jets teams ran into one roadblock five times: the Edmonton Oilers, who won the Stanley Cup five times between 1984 and 1990.

"We had a top-five team in the League for a few years but we had to play No. 1 and No. 3 (the Flames) to get out of our division all the time, which was difficult," he said. "Anytime you win in the playoffs is a great thing to happen. For us, every time we won one, the next team was Edmonton and we could never beat them. That wasn't even a rivalry for me."

The Jets lost six series to the Oilers between 1983 and 1990. It wasn't until the fifth of those series that Winnipeg got its first playoff win against Edmonton, 6-4 in Game 3 of the division semifinals April 9, 1988.

Forward Randy Gilhen, 54, played six seasons for the Jets (1986-89, 1993-96). He grew up in Winnipeg and still lives here.

"Thirty-one years ago since winning a round, that's a long time and the sad part is a bunch of us still remember it," said Gilhen, who won the Stanley Cup with the in 1991. "The neat part of Jets 2.0 and this group of guys is that personally for me, I can't tell you how proud I am of this team.

"They've really put this city back on the map again. I'm betting maybe half or three-quarters of the people at the street parties this year weren't even born the last time the Jets won a playoff series. This is the time in my mind that we look at our history but me, I'm embracing the new group for what they've done."

For home playoff games this season, the Jets and the city have closed Donald Street, which borders Bell MTS Place on the east side, for a street and viewing party.

Gilhen said the Jets have renewed and even improved on the fan energy of yesteryear.

"The similarities are that this is still a hockey town that gets excited about hockey and playoff hockey," he said. "To watch it now is just amazing to see how the whole city here is just going crazy embracing this."

Hawerchuk, the coach of Barrie of the Hockey League, was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2001 and into the Jets Hall of Fame in 2017.

He has attended several games in Winnipeg this season and said he has felt the city's strong support for the Jets.

"The sooner they win a series the better," Hawerchuk said. "They have a good hockey club. The fans are behind them and there's going to be ups and downs, just like you tell your team every night. The game is a bit of a roller coaster and it's pretty much the same for the fans but you've got to buy in and stay with it, team and fans. It's the best formula you can have.

"I find that energy every time I come out for a game. It's been like that since the team has come back. Every game day, the energy is flying through the city. I'm not sure how much business is getting done right now."

St. Paul Pioneer Press https://apnews.com/a224e89b353746c3806bdb59cf4e408b/Top-picks-from-2016-and-2017-are- unfazed-by-playoff-pressure

‘It can be done’: Wild sell hope heading into must-win Game 5

By DANE MIZUTANI

Trailing 3-1 in a best-of-seven playoff series with the Winnipeg Jets, the Wild have found comfort in the familiar rally cry of the nearly defeated.

“If we look at beating them three times in a row, we’re looking at it like, ‘Wow. That’s a pretty daunting task,’” coach Bruce Boudreau said Thursday. “You’ve got to look at it as playing one game at a time.”

Still, the Wild understand how improbable a comeback would be heading into a must-win Game 5 on Friday night at Bell MTS Place. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, NHL teams have overcome a 3-1 deficit to win a best-of-seven series only 28 times.

The Wild did it twice in 2003, rallying past heavily favored Colorado and Vancouver with three straight playoff wins on the way to the Western Conference Final.

“You can’t look at the hill we have to climb,” goaltender Devan Dubnyk said. “We just have to put everything we have into the next game and see what happens. I know every single guy in here believes. We aren’t looking at three wins; we’re looking at one win.”

The Jets have only lost three games in a row twice this season, and never all in regulation. To make matters worse, the Wild will have to win twice at Bell MTS Place, where the Jets had more success than any home team in the league during the regular season.

“It’s obviously in the back of our heads that we have to win three games,” winger Jason Zucker said. “We also know we can’t win three games in one night. We have to take it one game at a time and we have to make sure we win (on Friday night). Then we’ll come home and figure it out from there. That’s how the focus has to be.”

It would help if the Wild score the first goal in Game 5, something they have yet to do in the series.

“I think the urgency will come naturally because we’ve got nothing to save it for,” center Eric Staal said. “If we lose, we’re done. We have to lay everything on the line. It’s those little desperation moves or plays that maybe happen subconsciously when we know there’s nothing to lose and nothing to save it for. That’s how we’ve got to look at it.”

Perhaps it helps that a handful of players on the current roster have conquered a climb similar to this in the past.

Just five seasons ago, the Wild overcame a 3-2, third-period deficit before besting the rival in a Game 7 on the road thanks to a heroic goal from winger Nino Niederreiter.

Only three years removed from joining the league as an expansion team, the 2002-03 Wild became the first NHL team to recover from two 3-1 deficits in the same postseason, and the first NHL team to win two Game 7s on the road. Of course, that team had its best players on the ice, including a young Marian Gaborik; the Wild are without star winger Zach Parise (fractured sternum) and defenseman Ryan Suter (fractured ankle).

“We know it can be done” Zucker said. “That’s the good part about it. We know right now the only thing we have to do is win one game. If we do that, we’ll be able to re-evaluate and make adjustments and then we’ll go back at it at home. We know we aren’t out of this series, even though I’m sure every person in the world has written us off.”

“It’s going to be do or die for us,” Niederreiter added. “We are ready. We know what it takes to get that win and we know how important it is. Everyone is super excited about it.” https://www.twincities.com/2018/04/19/wild-speedster-jason-zucker-on-his-scoreless-first-round- i-need-to-be-better/

Wild speedster Jason Zucker on his scoreless first round: ‘I need to be better’

By DANE MIZUTANI

Jason Zucker isn’t making any excuses.

After racking up 33 goals and 31 assists amid a breakout regular season, the 26-year-old speedster hasn’t scored a point in the first-round series against the Winnipeg Jets, which the Wild trail 3-1 heading into Game 5 Friday evening in Winnipeg.

“All that means nothing if I’m not performing in the playoffs,” Zucker said. “And right now I’m not.”

It’s bad timing for the Wild considering Zucker has been one of their most consistent offensive contributors all year. He was one of the only four players — Eric Staal, Mikko Koivu, and Matt Dumba were the others — to play in all 82 games this season.

“No matter who’s in or who’s out this season, I’ve tried to make sure I’m doing my part every night,” Zucker said. “I haven’t been doing that so far (in the postseason). That’s what it comes down to. I need to be better. I know I can be better.”

It’s not only Zucker. Fellow up-and-comers Nino Niederreiter and Charlie Coyle also haven’t found the box score in this best-of-seven series.

“We definitely need some production (from the) guys that haven’t had any production yet,” coach Bruce Boudreau said. “We need something from somebody.”

Unfortunately for the Wild, they are quickly running out of time, facing potential elimination on Friday.

“You have to keep pressing,” Zucker said. “You can’t sit back and hope for one goal, or hope for one play that’s going to just happen. That’s wishful thinking and it’s not going got happen, especially in the playoffs. You have to go out there and push a little bit harder.”

PLAYOFF DEBUT Grasping for straws after being shut out in Game 4, the Wild are hoping journeyman defenseman Ryan Murphy will provide a little more offensive firepower in Game 5. He will take Carson Soucy’s spot alongside Nate Prosser in the bottom pairing.

“There’s just more experience in (Murphy),” Boudreau explained. “He’s an offensive player, and we can use him on the power play.”

It will be Murphy’s playoff debut, something he’s been waiting for his entire life.

“It’s kind of hard not to get to overexcited in a game like this,” he said. “You try to channel the emotions. It hasn’t been too long since I’ve played, so I still feel like I’m in a good groove — especially practicing the way we do. It’s a big task and I’m looking forward to it. All we have to do is win one game and bring it back home and we’ve got ourselves a series.”

BABY WATCH Marcus Foligno and his wife, Natascia, are on baby watch, expecting their first child on April 28. That made Foligno admittedly a little nervous as he prepared to board a plane on Thursday afternoon.

“Luckily, we’re only gone for like 24 hours,” he said. “Hopefully we won’t have to worry about it.”

The Athletic https://theathletic.com/321387/2018/04/19/lebrun-on-the-cusp-of-a-long-awaited-playoff-series- win-jets-2-0-inspire-a-rabid-fan-base-and-former-players/

LeBrun: On the cusp of a long-awaited playoff series win, Jets 2.0 inspire a rabid fan base and former players

By Pierre LeBrun

WINNIPEG — Some 31 years and four days later, the Winnipeg Jets have a chance Friday night to win a playoff series.

Digest that for a moment.

Winning a playoff round may not be a big deal in some NHL markets, but here? This is a city and a province that’s been craving it for a very long time.

Dale Hawerchuk had a goal and an assist on April 16, 1987 as the Jets finished off the Calgary Flames in Game 6, securing a first-round playoff series win. This market has not seen one since.

“It feels like forever ago but it seems like just yesterday, too,’’ Paul MacLean, who assisted on Hawerchuk’s goal that night in ’87, told The Athletic. And yes, the longtime Jets winger (1981- 88) has a soft spot for the club watching them play this spring.

“These Jets have been an exciting team to watch all year,’’ said MacLean, a former winner. “They’re a consistent team, a deep team, just exciting to watch. Your first NHL team … you’re always a Winnipeg Jet. It’s just great to see them right now. And for the fans of Winnipeg to get rewarded with the way this team is playing right now, if it keeps going it’s just going to be a real party.’’

A series win, of course, would be the first in the current organization’s history dating back to its Atlanta days. The Thrashers-turned-Jets hadn’t won an actual playoff game until last week, let alone a series.

The old Jets had some good teams in the ‘80s led by the Hall of Famer Hawerchuk but ran into a wall called the Edmonton Oilers dynasty. To wit, the Jets made the playoffs eight times over a nine-year span between 1981-82 and 1989-90 but were knocked out by the Oilers six times in the playoffs. That includes 1989-90 when Winnipeg went up 3-1 on Mark Messier and the Oil but still ended up losing in seven games.

And so the Jets 2.0 not only inspires its rabid fan base but also former players who lived through that pain in the ‘80s and ‘90s.

“The current organization has built a pretty good hockey club there,” Hawerchuk told The Athletic. “I think the one thing they have that maybe we didn’t quite have, you know in the ‘80s, is they’ve got good depth. We had some solid teams in the ‘80s, and the years we had decent depth we gave Edmonton a good run, but you got to have the depth. And a lot of it comes down to goaltending. You got to have that to move on in the NHL playoffs. It’s about key saves at key times. I vividly remember (Grant) Fuhr or (Bill) Ranford doing that for the Oilers. That allowed their depth to click in.’’

Connor Hellebuyck could indeed be that goalie for the Jets this spring.

This Jets fan base is hungry for a run, something they simply aren’t used to. During the Jets’ first NHL existence from 1979-80 to 1995-96, the team made the postseason 11 times but won a total of two playoff series, both against Calgary (1984-85 and ’86-87).

So yes, a series-clinching win Friday night would kick off a party in these parts. This is a fan base that feels like it is due.

“You add the fact that they lost the team for so many years; anyone who has played in Winnipeg would love to see the fans have a time of it through the playoffs,” Hawerchuk, now the head coach of the OHL's Barrie Colts, said. “But it’s never easy. Things swing pretty quickly. For them, they got a little bit of experience a few years ago against Anaheim. But it’s the one thing you notice when you play experienced teams, they don’t panic.

“I remember my first year in Winnipeg and we made the playoffs (1981-82) and we had home ice on St. Louis; I noticed how they were an older team and didn’t panic and stayed the course. It’s that philosophy that you can’t start changing everything up.’’

It is an interesting point Hawerchuk brings up because the more experienced Wild certainly had some pushback in this series in winning Game 3 and playing a tough Game 4. The Jets have very little playoff experience in comparison but are living those experiences day by day right now. They showed poise in that Game 4 victory.

And now they can wrap it up Friday night and deliver a first NHL playoff series for this market in 31 years.

“There’s so much history there, what the fans and the city went through, losing their team and then getting their team back,’’ former Jets star told The Athletic. “`Friendly Manitoba’ is what it says on the license plates there, well they’re not lying. It’s a great community. I’m happy for the fans. It’s been a long time. They’re a strong team. A lot of excitement up there and I couldn’t be happier for those fans. It’s great for the players, too, a guy like (Blake) Wheeler who has embraced everything there. It’s just fun to see. There’s so many people behind the Winnipeg Jets right now and it’s fun to see.’’

NBC analyst Ed Olczyk was twice a Jet (1990-93, ’94-96) and keeps a place in his heart for Winnipeg. That bond strengthened especially this year during his battle with colon cancer when he got personal messages of support from Jets chairman Mark Chipman, GM Kevin Cheveldayoff, assistant GM and head coach Paul Maurice.

“Winnipeg was one of the teams that really went beyond the call of duty during my little battle here the last seven months,’’ Olczyk said. “From Mark and Chevy and Zinger and Paul, they always checked up on me and that really hit home. I spent almost six years in the ‘Peg. I have a great admiration for that organization. When I played there I became entrenched in the community and the fabric. So there’s always going to be that bond there for sure.

“And how well the team has played and the type of style that they play, it’s very exciting. Seeing the Whiteout brought back a lot of memories for me because I was there for the playoffs, including for the last go-around which was obviously very difficult 22 years ago. It’s hard to believe it was that long ago. So I’m happy for the people involved and also for the city. I always knew it was an NHL town.’’

The Wild won’t be an easy out, that much has been made clear in this series, but you can sense in this market the salivation of what’s at hand.

“No question if they can go on a run here, that city is going to be a lot of fun,’’ former Jets defenceman Norm MacIver said.

MacIver, now the assistant GM with the Chicago Blackhawks, happens to be the last player to score a goal in the playoffs for the old Jets franchise, in April 1996, before they re-located to Arizona.

“That was a long time ago,’’ chuckled MacIver when asked about his place in Jets trivia.

That first-round loss to Detroit in 1995-96 was heavy in emotion given that it was already decided that the team was moving after the season.

“We all knew we were headed to Phoenix so it was tough for Jets fans and the players who had been in Winnipeg for quite a while,” MacIver said. “It was a pretty emotional game. Losing the series was one thing, but knowing the franchise was moving made it even more emotional not only for the fans but certainly for a lot of the players.’’

But just playing in that one playoff series left a mark on MacIver.

“My first experience with the Whiteout, it was really impressive,’’ MacIver said. “I had heard about it but my first experience in a playoff game with the Jets, it was amazing. It was really unique in the NHL. There was nothing like it. The atmosphere in the building was incredible.’’

MacIver also vividly recalls the last regular-season home game.

“That year, the game that was probably the most fun was the final regular-season game in Winnipeg but at that point, we needed to win that game to secure a playoff spot,’’ MacIver said. “The atmosphere that night for the final (home) game was electric. We beat L.A. to clinch a playoff spot. I remember that night. It was pretty special.’’

John Paddock was at the helm as GM when the team played its final game here in 1996. This spring’s potential playoff run in Winnipeg has the chance to be special for many reasons, Paddock reckons.

“In some ways it’ll be like any city to some extent, but I think there’s also a history there that everyone knows and having lost a team and getting a team back, that will generate more excitement and emotion for this run,’’ Paddock, head coach and senior VP of Hockey Operations for the WHL’s Regina Pats, said.

“It’s been forever they’ve waited for it since the (WHA) Avco Cup. So much has changed in the world since then. But I think just the history of never going that far in the NHL and having lost their team, it’ll be at another level for sure.’’

That final season in 1995-96 stung because of what the finality of it all as a franchise in Winnipeg.

“When we lost out in Game 6 to Detroit, you just sort of sat there stunned,’’ Paddock said. “We were underdogs against a top Detroit team but you still just sit there when it’s all over and you’re stunned.’’

Paddock was behind the bench as head coach when the Jets made the playoffs in 1991-92 and 1992-93, both first-round losses, but memorable nonetheless for the atmosphere in the old Winnipeg Arena.

“Like, it was crazy in the old rink, like it is in the new rink,’’ Paddock said. “That Whiteout, guys would start to talk about it as we got closer to the playoffs. It was noise that you’d never heard before. It’s the same thing now only they’re trying to take it to another level.’’

Yes, yes they are. https://theathletic.com/322384/2018/04/20/the-jets-defensive-depth-is-stretched-to-the-limit- how-should-they-play-game-5/

The Jets' defensive depth is stretched to the limit. How should they play Game 5?

By Murat Ates

When Joe Morrow was acquired from the for a fourth-round draft pick at this year’s trade deadline, I had this to say:

“In a best case scenario, Winnipeg begins the playoffs with its defence at full health and never looks back. Jacob Trouba and Josh Morrissey return to their role as the Jets de facto number one pair, Byfuglien and Enstrom continue their strong seasons, and Tyler Myers and Dmitry Kulikov return to the 5-6 slots where they’ve seen the most success.

In a more realistic world, at least one of Morrow, Chiarot, and Poolman will get in some games.”

How naïve we all were, then!

On Friday at Bell MTS Place, when the Winnipeg Jets have the opportunity to close out the Wild for Winnipeg’s first playoff series win since April 16, 1987, they are going to be severely understaffed.

Toby Enstrom has not been seen skating. Dimitry Kulikov has “no timeline.” And Tyler Myers was so unlikely to play in Tuesday night’s Game 4 in Minnesota that he flew home to Winnipeg early for treatment. It’s the playoffs and therefore all things are possible; still, don’t expect any of those three to dress for Game 5.

And now Josh Morrissey is suspended. As a result, Winnipeg gets its first opportunity to close out the Wild while staring down a defensive depth chart of Jacob Trouba, Dustin Byfuglien, Joe Morrow, Ben Chiarot, Tucker Poolman, and AHL defenceman of the year Sami Niku.

“It’s kind of a crazy thing,” Poolman said after Thursday’s practice. “You always prepare like you’re going to get a chance. Odds are it probably doesn’t happen, but just in case like this that’s why you prepare and that’s why the coaches down (with the Moose) push us and try to keep us ready just in case.”

Back at the trade deadline, the odds of Poolman, Chiarot, Morrow, and Niku all dressing in an elimination game during the Stanley Cup playoffs would have been microscopic.

Chiarot, who saw tremendous success in December while playing sheltered minutes with Poolman, isn’t rattled by his ever-increasing responsibility.

“You hear it all the time,” said Chiarot. “You need to have eight or nine NHL defenceman that can play.”

“We have great depth here – that can be said about the forwards, too. We lost (Mark) Scheifele for eight weeks this year. We’ve had big injuries all over the place, but we’ve always managed to keep trucking. That’s kind of just the way it goes around here.”

The way it goes for Winnipeg’s defence these days is roughly akin to the famous “Homer at the Bat” episode of The Simpsons, wherein professional baseball player after professional baseball player befalls unspeakable illness or hilarious circumstance which prevents him from playing in the championship game.

Unlike the dearth of talent available to those Springfield Isotopes, the Winnipeg Jets can call up an NHL calibre player like Niku. In his only other taste of NHL action, Niku scored a goal while going an impressive +3, -3 at 5-on-5 against the Canadiens on April 3.

“I’m (an) offensive defenseman,” Niku said on Thursday. “It’s my job. So I can make offence.”

When asked about playing both sides of the puck, Niku was similarly confident.

When I interviewed Morrow for my trade deadline piece, he talked about the mindset he needed to have when moving out of the pressbox and into heated playoff action.

“Just keep (negativity) to yourself, don’t let anybody else tell you any differently,” Morrow told me. “That’s kind of how you’ve got to live your life – positivity first. And being thrown into a role like that, I knew it was a do or die situation and I was grateful for the opportunity.”

All of the positivity in the world will only get so far toward closing out the Wild.

No matter how impressive Winnipeg’s depth may be, head coach Paul Maurice is still tasked with assembling a defence capable of beating a good Minnesota team from players new to the stage they’re on.

With four of his top six defencemen missing from the lineup, let’s have a look at what Maurice has to work with.

The NHL impact defencemen: Dustin Byfuglien and Jacob Trouba

There are two obvious cogs to Friday night’s Jets defence.

Byfuglien and Trouba have averaged just over 20 minutes of 5-on-5 play per game through the playoffs so far – Morrissey is next highest at 17:08. That is a huge gap.

It’s also relatively well founded. Despite playing tough minutes against Minnesota’s top two forward lines, Trouba (and Morrissey) have the best high danger scoring chance differential of the series at +11.

Via HockeyViz.com, here is Trouba at 5-on-5 during the 2017-18 regular season:

With an excellent partner in Morrissey, Trouba has played with and against a steady stream of top six talent. I’m not sure you could ask for better results. When he has been on the ice, Winnipeg gets offence from everywhere and only gives it up from very far away.

By heat map, Byfuglien has been no different:

As is the case with Trouba, the Jets carried possession with Byfuglien on the ice this season and, more importantly, have dominated where shots come from. Once again, I don’t think you could ask for better.

There is an important difference between how Trouba and Byfuglien’s results have been achieved.

Despite Byfuglien’s high-flying reputation, no regularly used Jets pairing gave up fewer shot attempts per minute than Byfuglien and Enstrom did this season.

Certainly, Byfuglien does pinch and does attack the play but Byfuglien and Enstrom move the puck out of their zone so well – in addition to being good in coverage – that their defensive game has been a major source of strength.

Against the Wild, Byfuglien has played an even higher concentration of minutes against Minnesota’s top two forward lines than Trouba has. With Morrow being a weaker partner than Morrissey is, Byfuglien’s +2 by high danger scoring chances while playing more minutes against Eric Staal is impressive.

Given that Trouba and Byfuglien are both right-handed defencemen, it makes the most sense to anchor Winnipeg’s top four around the two of them – just as the Jets have done all season.

Any duo held together by Trouba or Byfuglien should be able to play close to even against the Wild – especially with a full complement of forwards and especially at home

But who should be their partners?

The depth defencemen: Tucker Poolman, Ben Chiarot, and Joe Morrow

Poolman has kept the cleanest defensive zone of the three available depth defencemen.

To an extent, this is expected. In terms of time on ice per game, Poolman has played less than either of Chiarot or Morrow. When he has played, he’s largely been given sheltered minutes on the Jets third pair – Poolman has received a healthy heaping of offensive zone starts against lesser opposition.

The most effective Poolman has been all season was a 10 game stretch he played with Chiarot when both Byfuglien and Enstrom were injured. During that time, no one had a higher percentage of 5-on-5 shot attempts or goals on the Jets than Poolman did.

For comparison, here are Morrow’s 5-on-5 heat maps for the Jets:

As good as the offencse looks, note the flood of chances against right in front of Winnipeg’s net. Morrow has not kept nearly the clean zone that Poolman has.

In his defence, Morrow has had a mix of partners and a mix of roles as well. That kind of inconsistency doesn’t bode well for a player’s results, especially over the course of relatively small samples like Morrow’s 18 regular season games for the Jets.

Here is Chiarot:

We have nearly three times the sample to look at for Chiarot than either of Poolman or Morrow and, as a result, can be a little bit more confident in what it shows. For context, Chiarot has played mostly with Byfuglien in a top four capacity with Enstrom injured and in a sheltered bottom pairing with Poolman.

In both scenarios, very little has happened at either end of the ice, although Winnipeg’s opposition has generally shot from more dangerous areas than the Jets have.

Against the Wild, it’s been rather the opposite. Chiarot has struggled defensively alongside Myers in the playoffs but has been on the ice for a lot of offence, too. At +5, no one has been on the ice for more 5-on-5 goals for than Chiarot but, at -4, no one has been on the ice for more goals against, either.

The AHL stalwart: Sami Niku

Now that Niku’s AHL season is over, we can compare his points per game to historical seasons by players in his age range. Sliding in just ahead of Byfuglien and just behind Torey Krug and Sami Vatanen, Niku’s offence for his age is in very good company. The 13 players on this chart who have gone onto NHL careers have averaged just under half a point per game.

“He’s good at getting the puck quick,” Maurice said of Niku after Thursday’s practice, “And then moving it quick and then he can find those holes. That’s going to be true his whole career. Having the confidence to do it in a game that has more weight to it, that’s all part of that experience that so many of these young players have gone through.”

Niku’s future means very little. The Jets, quite simply, have a game to win on Friday.

Winnipeg’s recent, injury troubled history give us a clue as to how Niku’s minutes may turn out.

In his high event, +3/-3 performance against Montreal, Niku was primarily paired with Byfuglien and played the least of all Jets defencemen. Byfuglien, meanwhile, got extra shifts throughout the game – most of those with Chiarot.

On paper, the Jets pairings were:

Chiarot-Myers Niku-Byfuglien Morrow-Poolman

However, thanks to a bit of shuffling by Winnipeg’s coaching staff, Byfuglien led the team in 5- on-5 ice time. In order, he was followed by Morrow, Chiarot, Myers, Poolman, and Niku – even in a relatively meaningless, late-season game, experience reigned supreme.

The final word:

If Winnipeg rolls out:

Chiarot-Trouba Morrow-Byfuglien Niku-Poolman

Then I think it would be safe to expect Maurice to use his top four aggressively and shelter the Niku-Poolman pairing as much as possible.

I do think we see a lineup that gives Niku more prominence, at least on paper, such as:

Chiarot-Trouba Niku-Byfuglien Morrow-Poolman

In this iteration, I’d still expect Byfuglien to lead the Jets defence in 5-on-5 ice time. This would be completely in line with Winnipeg’s history with a similar injury-depleted roster. To me, Maurice would be able to accomplish this through extra shifts for Morrow and fewer for each of Niku and Poolman.

What does the Jets head coach have to say about all of this?

“There’s no doubt, you miss a guy like Josh,” Maurice said on Thursday.

“I like where our minutes have been,” he added. “It would depend on the game more than anything else. We’re coming off two days off games. Both teams will be fresh and ready to roll. Let the game play. I really like Tucker [Poolman’s] game last game. He was quick. I liked his last regular season games but thought that was his best in terms of forward motion, so we have no problem playing those other guys.”

No matter what Winnipeg chooses to do (and, for that matter, even if Myers makes a miraculous last-minute recovery) there will be some chaos on its back end. That the Jets can play their 7, 8, 9, and 10 defencemen in the same game – and have a hope at winning – is a testament to the team’s organizational depth.

That fourth-round pick Cheveldayoff gave up for Morrow must seem more and more worth it by the day. https://theathletic.com/321592/2018/04/19/jason-zucker-nino-niederreiter-charlie-coyle-wild-jets- game-5-feeling-the-heat/

With season on the line, Wild's Zucker, Niederreiter and Coyle feeling the heat

By Michael Russo

WINNIPEG — So much in the last year has been made of the Wild doing all sorts of maneuvering to make sure the Vegas Golden Knights laid off of taking exposed defenseman Matt Dumba in the expansion draft.

But with Erik Haula and Alex Tuch postmarked for the Western Conference semifinals along with the first-year franchise, now may be a good time to remember the Wild also protected forwards Jason Zucker, Charlie Coyle and Nino Niederreiter because of how critical they were supposed to be to the Wild’s future success.

Months later, the Wild’s season is on the line once again and the three young wingers have combined for a grand total of zero points and 19 shots in the first four games of this quickly- evaporating first-round series against the Winnipeg Jets.

Thursday, before the Wild hopped on a charter for Friday’s pivotal Game 5, coach Bruce Boudreau tried to deflect some of the heat.

But make no mistake, all three know it’s time for them to produce if the Wild expect to bring this series back to St. Paul rather than clearing out their lockers soon.

“It's frustrating in the sense of you’re not helping the team,” Zucker said Thursday. “Last game for me individually was a step in the right direction, but it’s still not good enough. And for guys that are top guys on this team to not be producing in the playoffs when it matters most is frustrating. And to be in that boat isn’t fun.”

Zucker, 26, who scored a career-high 33 goals in the regular season, scored 18 of those on the road. That was tied for the seventh-best total in the NHL, and the Wild could use more of that special touch in the first of what they hope is two more games in this series in Winnipeg.

Niederreiter, 25, a three-time 20-goal scorer who scored 18 in an injury-shortened regular season, ranks fifth in Wild history with eight playoff goals. And Coyle, 26, who had a disappointing 11-goal season, typically performs well in the postseason.

In Thursday’s practice, first-line center Eric Staal was bookended by Zucker and Coyle. Niederreiter skated on the second line with Mikko Koivu and Mikael Granlund.

“We’re trying to balance things out,” Boudreau said. “Charlie is a really top-notch forward in this league and maybe this will jumpstart him. We definitely need some production whether it be from Charlie or Zuck or Nino, guys that haven’t had any production yet in this series; we need something from somebody.”

In a Game 4 loss, Coyle was charted as being on the ice for no scoring chances-for.

So what does Boudreau want to see from Coyle on Friday night?

“Just Charlie to be Charlie,” Boudreau said. “The best of Charlie.”

Boudreau then decided to not-so subtly toss the brunt of the criticism for Coyle’s sub-par season onto his own plate.

He reminded everyone that Coyle broke his fibula in the third game of the season. He said the injury really set him back.

“I’ve moved him all over the place and used him everywhere and he hasn’t really had a chance to settle in one specific spot, whether it’s the point on the power play or anything, so I don’t blame him,” Boudreau said. “I just hope he puts it all together (Friday) night and then he continues putting it together after that.”

Niederreiter also had his season derailed by a high ankle sprain sustained in the third game of the season, then a broken fibula just before Christmas. Niederreiter still doesn’t seem right on the ice in terms of overall speed or his first couple steps.

Niederreiter, while not using the injuries as an excuse, has said that he probably won’t be able to get to 100 percent until he rests during the offseason. Boudreau agrees that Niederreiter’s health has likely affected him all second half.

“There was a lot of games he had played after his injury and he said it was still bothering him, but he played through it,” Boudreau said. “I thought last game might have been the first time in a long time you could see him skate and the power he has when he’s working. You break your legs, it’s not easy coming back from it, you know? And everybody wants to come back quick, these guys are not used to getting hurt so they do and they’re just getting better now.”

Niederreiter, who has only six shots in four games, said he’s trying not to let his lack of production weigh on his mind.

“It’s definitely frustrating, and we had a couple good chances last game, like the 3-on-1 with Dumba where (Connor Hellebuyck) made a hell of a save,” Niederreiter said. “For me personally, it’s a little tough luck right now. I’m doing everything I can to get on the scoreboard and I have to get more shots off. It’s definitely not easy, but at the end of the day, I can’t let it bother me or I’m not going to play well.”

As for Zucker, Boudreau has seen the dejection and has been trying to lift him up by telling him “to keep going, keep going and eventually something good’s gonna happen. You’re too good a player for it not to.”

With Zach Parise out with a broken sternum, Zucker said it’s integral that he, Coyle and Niederreiter figure this out quickly.

“We have to, there’s no doubt about it,” Zucker said. “It’s really hard for a team to win when three of your so-called top players aren’t producing. I know I’m taking that to heart and I’m sure Charlie and Nino are as well to make sure that come (Friday) night we’re picking up our end.” https://theathletic.com/321571/2018/04/20/wild-jets-game-5-preview-devan-dubnyk-bruce- boudreau-eric-staal/

Wild set for their last-gasp effort to crawl back into series against Jets

By Chad Graff

Alone at home after his Wild team lost Game 4 to fall behind 3-1 in their first-to-four-wins series against the Winnipeg Jets, coach Bruce Boudreau admitted his mind started to wander.

How in the heck, he wondered, were they going to beat the Jets three times in a row, the mountain the Wild look to climb starting in Game 5 Friday night. The Jets, after all, have won 14 of their past 16 games and 11 straight at home.

But a return to Xcel Energy Center on Thursday shed the woe-is-us attitude thanks to a final practice before the trip to Winnipeg.

“When you’re by yourself you’re going ‘Oh man, we’ve got to win that many games. This might be tougher,’” Boudreau said. “But I think there was such good energy out there today. The guys are focused for tomorrow.”

Indeed, perhaps as a result of some disappointing first-round losses in recent years, the Wild are accustomed to this hole.

Two years ago, they traveled to Dallas down 3-1 and escaped with an overtime win in Game 5 thanks to a pair of Mikko Koivu goals that forced overtime and then won the game.

Now, with a similar roster, they look to bring their series against the Jets back to St. Paul for Game 6.

“I think as a group we know that feeling of going into a road building and coming back with a win,” Dubnyk said, referencing that series against the Stars. “I think I’m in a much different place mentally now and feeling good about my game.”

In that series, Dubnyk suffered a broken finger on his blocker hand in warm-ups of Game 1. Every time the puck hit his stick, he was in pain. He allowed four goals in that Game 5. In the decisive Game 6, the Stars built a 4-0 lead before nabbing a 5-4 win.

But in this series against the Jets, Dubnyk may be the Wild’s best player. He enters Game 5 with a .930 save percentage and 2.54 goals-against average. He’s allowed just one goal in his last 91 minutes in the crease.

“The longer these games stay 0-0, the better it is for us,” Dubnyk said. “That’s how we have to approach it and then bury our chances when we get them, which I’m sure we will.”

The Wild haven’t yet scored the game’s first goal this series and have trailed after the first period in three of the four games. During the regular season, the Wild were 30-6-4 when scoring the game’s first goal.

“That would be huge,” Eric Staal said of scoring first on Friday. “We’re one of the better teams in the league at playing with the lead. We’re real solid when we get a lead and get comfortable in a game. The way we defend, the way Dubnyk can stay in there, if we get ourselves a lead, it definitely will go a long way.

“If we lose, we’re done. We have to lay everything on the line. We know what our game is, and we know what makes us successful. It’s just those little desperation moves or plays that maybe just happen subconsciously when you know there’s nothing to lose and nothing to save it for. That’s how we’ve got to look at it. We’ve got to look at it as one game tomorrow in Winnipeg, and compete as hard as we can, and bring everything we can, and hopefully at the end of the night it will be enough, and we’ll worry about the next day after that.”

That’s why the Wild returned to practice on Thursday and relinquished thoughts of three straight wins against a tough Jets team, instead hoping a win in Game 5 might be enough to flip the series.

“You can’t look at the hill you have to climb,” Dubnyk said. “We’re right there. Our game’s progressing, and we’re playing better, so it’s going to be important for us to take that game we’re playing at home on the road and just put everything we have into the next game and see what happens. I know every single guy in here believes. We’re not looking at three wins. We’re looking at one tomorrow.”

Sportsnet.ca https://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/paul-maurice-view-injuries-just-part-jets-unique-story/

Paul Maurice view injuries as just part of Jets’ unique story

By Mark Spector

WINNIPEG — “So Paul Stastny plays for us. We play Boston at home third week in March.”

There are people who answer questions with questions, then there is Paul Maurice. The Winnipeg Jets coach likes to answer a question with a story.

His team is set to play the first series clinching game this city has seen in almost 30 years, and with the one-game suspension given to Josh Morrissey on Wednesday, Maurice will have only two of his club’s top-six defencemen available for Game 5.

Anyways, back to Paul Stastny.

“(It’s the) third week in March and that’s the very first time the entire forward units had been together,” he continued. “It’s been the year we’ve had.”

It’s a bummer, isn’t it?

You put together a good team, you play all year, and you finally get to a Game 5 Friday night when these Jets/Thrashers could win their first series since the franchise was born back in 1999. And you have to go with D-men seven through 10.

“You hear it all the time, you need to have eight or nine NHL defenceman that can play,” said Ben Chiarot, the No. 7 who is clearly of top-six pedigree. “We lost (Mark) Scheifele for eight weeks this year. We’ve had big injuries all over the place, but we’ve always managed to keep trucking. That’s kind of just the way it goes around here.”

Chiarot is in for Toby Enstrom, who has been hurt on and off all season. Joe Morrow, the former first-rounder who bounced through the door here in February after tours of duty in Boston and Montreal, steps in for Dmitry Kulikov.

Then Tyler Myers goes down in Game 3, and in comes Tucker Poolman for a steady 8:17 in Game 4. Now, meet AHL Defenceman of the Year Sami Niku, a young Finn — and reigning AHL Defenceman of the Year — who will make his NHL playoff debut under the bright lights of a potential series-clincher at home.

Does it ever become too much?

“You know, our game is pretty simple,” said thoughtful winger Nikolaj Ehlers. “We want to get the puck north, and fast. Move the puck as fast as possible, move our feet, get pucks to the net. Everybody should be able to do that in this league. It’s not that hard.”

Playoff history is, of course, littered with teams that overcame injury. Remember the ’04 Calgary Flames? By the time they reached the Stanley Cup Final they were using a farmhand named Brennan Evans — whose only two NHL games came during that Flames run — and some guy with a big, red Afro named Mike Commodore.

Buffalo finally buckled in ’06, losing a Conference Final to Carolina when Teppo Numminen, Henrik Tallinder and Dmitri Kalinin all went down, then Jay McKee got a staph infection on the day of Game 7.

It is the nature of hockey that injuries are an inevitable part of the playoff journey, so as such, players dump that into the age old category of things not to be worried about because they can not be controlled.

“Every year there is some kind of adversity, right?” Stastny said. “You’re going to go through it in the regular season, and you’re going to go through it in the playoffs. This team has had a lot of injuries, and didn’t skip a beat.

“When I got here they still had some guys out, and we just kept playing along. It’s just a product of how the coaching staff has ingrained the way we want to play here.”

The fact that the Jets have been a top-five NHL team this year in man games lost by important players actually has become helpful.

Minnesota lost Ryan Suter for good with a broken foot on March 31 — just 11 days before they opened against Winnipeg in Round 1. Then they lose Zach Parise in Game 3 with a broken sternum. Those are catastrophic injuries.

Winnipeg has had shorter-term injuries, just more of them. In the end, it likely made them a better team.

“We’re so used to this,” Maurice said. “It doesn’t cause a ripple in there (the dressing room) when a guy goes down or a guy goes out. We’ve had players come in and be good. Jack Roslovic (in for injured Matthew Perreault) has been a real good player this series. It creates a little competition to get back in the lineup.”

Win Friday, and the Jets will get most of a week off to heal up. If this doesn’t kill them, and we don’t suspect it will, then the old cliché kicks in.

It will make them stronger. https://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/jets-sami-niku-oozing-calmness-ahead-potential-playoff- debut/

Jets’ Sami Niku oozing calmness ahead of potential playoff debut

By Luke Fox

WINNIPEG – “Superstar Sami Niku!”

Ben Chiarot fires the chirp as he sits beside the latest young, blonde, cool, talented hockey player to crack the Winnipeg Jets roster and watches the media horde invade.

Injure a Jet, suspend a Jet, and they’ll fill that hole with another inexperienced player who looks like he has what it takes to stick.

In Niku’s case, he’s the best bet to supplant suspended Josh Morrissey Friday in Game 5 of the Jets-Wild series, which Winnipeg can clinch with a victory.

On Thursday, Niku — a left shot like Morrissey — practiced with the big boys at the MTS Iceplex, taking rushes with Jacob Trouba on the second pairing.

“I know I can play here,” said Niku. His English has yet to reach Patrik Laine levels, but his confidence is close. “I think I’m not guy who is nervous. It’s normal game for me.

“It’s really nice to know that I can play in the Stanley Cup Playoffs before I play AHL playoffs. It’s really nice to know.”

Niku is a 21-year-old from Haapavesi, Finland. He has been nothing short of awesome this season, his first in North America.

The kid sniped 16 goals, added 38 assists and posted a plus-17 rating for the Manitoba Moose this season. He was voted the AHL’s top defenceman to go along with his AHL First All-Star Team and AHL All-Rookie honours.

In his lone call-up to the bigs, April 3 in Montreal, all Niku did was score his first NHL goal on his first shot, regaining the lead just 24 seconds after Montreal had tied the game 3-3. (The Jets would go on to defeat the Canadiens that night 5-4 in overtime, and Niku logged 15:13.)

Post-game, coach Paul Maurice waxed poetic about his prospect with the gathered reporters: how Niku never flinched with the puck on his blade in traffic, how he was bold enough to hop up in the rush.

“Antifreeze in the veins, that’s the way he looked,” Maurice summarized.

Judging by that sneak peek at the Bell Centre, Bryan Little is certain Niku will be anxiety-free Friday night.

“For some reason, kids these days don’t get nervous. They just go out there and play really well,” Little said, shaking his head. “I was nervous every game my first year. He handled himself really well. If we need him, we’ll all be comfortable with what he’ll bring.

“Kinda like Patty [Laine], he’s got that confidence that he cannot just play but make a difference. It’s better to have that than be scared.”

Maurice has had a front-row seat to this generational shift. Laine, Kyle Connor, Nikolaj Ehlers, Tucker Poolman… they arrive with a certainty to match their skills.

Crazy thing is, Niku was a seventh-round gamble. Picked 198th overall in 2015, Niku built his skating and puck-moving skills over three seasons in the top Finnish league with JYP Jyvaskyla. He helped Finland win the 2016 gold medal at the 2016 world juniors.

“Doesn’t seem to be overly phased by the stage,” Maurice said Thursday, before giving Niku some advice through the media.

“Run the right risk, right. If you skate real well and think you can get into a hole, then skate as fast as you can and get into that hole.”

With every new debut to the lineup — Jack Roslovic in Game 2, Tucker Poolman in Game 4 — Maurice asks the kid the same thing: “What are you good at?” Then tells him to bring it.

“We wouldn’t [be] looking for [Niku] to go out and decide to be a grinder now. He’s good at getting the puck quick and then moving it quick and then he can find those holes. That’s going to be true his whole career. Having the confidence to do it in a game that has more weight to it, that’s all part of that experience that so many of these young players have gone through. And they’ve all been able to do it.”

In light of the oft-injured Toby Enstrom ($5.75 million cap hit) tuning UFA on July 1, Niku should contend for a permanent spot in Jets’ top four this fall despite playing just once in the regular season.

Maurice believes the spotlight and pressures of junior tournaments accelerate the necessity to shed nerves early.

“These guys have had all the pressure on them by 18 or 19. I’m watching the goals they’re scoring and the way they’re snapping it around, that’s what we were talking about this morning,” Maurice says. An under-18 game is being waged at the Iceplex as he speaks.

“You never saw a kid come in and try something like that in his first four or five years. A toe drag is an insult on the ice to the defender. You’d get a stick across the arm. Now, that game we were talking about with Sami, we want them to play that game.”

The hair off the back of Niku’s neck flows as long as the hair of birthday-boy Laine’s chin. The two Finns have grown tight lately, with Niku coming over to eat Laine’s mom’s home cooking.

Just in case Niku needed a second helping of pressure to unfaze him Friday, Laine offered his expectations for his dinner pal.

“He has one game and one goal, so you gotta think he’s gonna score if he plays,” Laine deadpans.

“It would be huge for him. It’s a whole different game than the one he played in Montreal. He always likes challenges and he’s played in big games before, so I’ll be excited for him and for me as well.”

TSN.ca https://www.tsn.ca/laine-closes-out-his-teens-as-nhl-s-youngest-top-scorer-in-30-years- 1.1062395

Laine closes out his teens as NHL’s youngest top scorer in 30 years

By Frank Seravalli

WINNIPEG — stood there, half shocked, but soaking in the moment after the Jets got him with the old pie-in-the-face trick after practice.

He massaged the shaving cream courtesy of into his ridiculously blonde beard before walking off to shower smiling.

Happy 20th birthday, kid.

“He’s growing up pretty fast,” said , himself only 22.

Thursday afternoon’s locker room hijinks at Bell MTS Iceplex served as an important reminder, not just how loose the Winnipeg Jets remain the day before a potential series clincher against the Minnesota Wild, but also how truly young they are.

The Jets iced the third-youngest lineup in the NHL this season. If , the 21-year-old who was named the AHL’s top defenceman this season, draws in to make his Stanley Cup playoff debut in Game 5 on Friday night, the Jets will have 13 players on the ice under the age of 25.

Laine still has another entire year before being eligible to buy a beer in the United States. He might have 130 career NHL goals under his belt by then.

Laine said he didn’t have any plans for his birthday, just hoping that his mom – who is in town for the playoffs – will cook him his favourite steak and fries dinner.

“Just hanging around at home,” Laine said. “That’s my plan.”

His teammates weren’t planning on getting him a present – aside from the shaving cream bath.

“My company,” Ehlers quipped. “It’s priceless.”

“We gave him a couple hugs and high-fives,” said. “He’s not a teenager anymore, so that’s positive.”

Laine may not be a teenager anymore, but what he was able to accomplish in his teenage years is historical.

Since 1987-88, no NHL player has scored more goals as a teenager than Laine did with his 80, leaving (75), (67) and (58) in the dust.

(40 goals) turned 20 before his second NHL season. (30) was hurt for the bulk of his rookie season and didn’t round into a lethal scorer really until this season when he was 21.

Laine finished second only to with 44 goals this season. He’s added another two in the first four games of this first-round series.

“I’m happy with my numbers as a teenager,” Laine said Thursday. “Now I’m disappointed that it’s over, but I am happy what I was able to do before my 20th birthday. It’s nice to be here.”

The scary thing for the rest of the NHL is that the Jets believe Laine is only starting to scratch the surface.

“I think we’ve only seen the beginning of what he can do,” Ehlers said. “He’s an exciting player to watch and play with. So we’re all looking forward to it. He’s doing pretty well for himself now.”

That will result in an enormous pay day. He can sign a long-term extension with the Jets as early as July 1. Goals are at a premium in today’s NHL and few snipers have the game- changing range that Laine does.

“The ability to score from areas that aren’t necessarily scoring areas, it can be deflating, too, for another team when he beats you from outside the tops of the circles,” Jets coach Paul Maurice said. “And he’s going to get better. I really like his games – that line, the compete in the games, playing well with the puck in hard areas, smart decisions.

“I don’t want to put a ceiling on the guy, so I don’t want to tell you how important he is to our team just yet, but I think he’s got a lot of room to get better.”

It’s easy to see why the Jets see room for growth in Laine if you take a look at him without his equipment on. He hasn’t filled out yet, he hasn’t even really dedicated himself to building his body. He’s done a lot of this on pure talent.

A summer with might do him a world of good.

Then again, the Jets don’t mind if he continues to play his video games, so long as he keeps scoring like his old teenage self.

“I think my playbook and [gaming] plans are going to be the same,” Laine said of his new 20- year-old life. “It’s not going to switch. It’s the best game plan I have and I’m not going to change that.” https://www.tsn.ca/nhl/video/jets-mood-lighthearted-but-confident-heading-into-game- 5~1374488 (VIDEO LINK)

Jets' mood lighthearted but confident heading into Game 5

The Jets celebrated Patrik Laine's birthday by giving him a pie-in-the-face in the locker room on Thursday. Sara Orlesky, Darren Dreger and Frank Seravalli discuss the impressive mood in the room and how focused they are on getting the job done in Game 5 as well as the depth of Winnipeg's blue line. https://www.tsn.ca/nhl/video/jets-depth-to-be-tested-again-as-niku-preps-for-potential-playoff- debut~1375240 (VIDEO LINK)

Jets' depth to be tested again as Niku preps for potential playoff debut

With Josh Morrissey suspended for Game 5, and Tyler Myers, Dmitri Kulikov and Toby Enstrom all dealing with injuries, the Jets may now be relying on one of their rising stars from the minors as they try to close things out in Game 5 on Friday. Sara Orlesky, Darren Dreger and Frank Seravalli have more.

TSN 1290 (AUDIO LINKS) https://www.tsn.ca/radio/winnipeg-1290/munz-jets-are-comfortable-with-depth-on-defence- 1.1062434

Munz: Jets are comfortable with depth on defence

TSN 1290 Winnipeg Jets broadcaster Brian Munz joined Andrew Paterson and Rick Ralph on the Afternoon Ride. They discuss Josh Morrissey’s suspension and what the Jets defense will look like with him out of the lineup. https://www.tsn.ca/radio/winnipeg-1290/vincent-niku-is-a-dynamic-player-1.1062413

Vincent: Niku is a dynamic player

Manitoba Moose Head Coach joined Andrew Paterson and Rick Ralph on the Afternoon Ride. They discuss the Moose’s regular season, the upcoming playoff series vs. Grand Rapids, Mason Appleton’s development throughout the season, Sami Niku’s impressive rookie season and the contribution from the team’s veteran players. https://www.tsn.ca/radio/winnipeg-1290/sawyer-maurice-will-lean-on-his-top-four-in-game-5- 1.1062334

Sawyer: Maurice will lean on his top four in Game 5

Hockey analyst Kevin Sawyer joined Andrew Paterson and Rick Ralph on the Afternoon Ride. They discussed the Jets/Wild first round series and how Morrissey’s injury will affect the Jets defence. https://www.tsn.ca/radio/winnipeg-1290/chiodo-jets-play-a-sound-game-in-front-of-hellebuyck- 1.1062122

Chiodo: Jets play a sound game in front of Hellebuyck

Former NHL goalie and hockey analyst Andy Chiodo joined host Kevin Olszewski to break down the goaltending so far in round 1 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. www.winnipegjets.com https://www.nhl.com/jets/news/jets-depth-to-be-tested-once-more-without-morrissey-in-game- 5/c-298127844

Jets' depth to be tested once more without Morrissey in Game 5 Morrissey received one-game suspension for cross-check in Game 4 by Jamie Thomas @JamieThomasTV / WinnipegJets.com

WINNIPEG - If the Winnipeg Jets are going to win their first playoff series in franchise history on Friday night, they will have to do it without one of their top defencemen.

Josh Morrissey was given a one-game suspension on Wednesday for cross-checking Minnesota forward Eric Staal back in Game 4 of the series. Head Coach Paul Maurice believes there should have been a penalty called during the game, but was disappointed that Morrissey got a game.

"There wouldn't be a coach in the NHL that had a guy taken out of his lineup that wouldn't (be disappointed)," Maurice said. "Josh has played two years in the league and I think he's had two cross-checking penalties. One of them was coincidental, so it's not his game. But it's dealt with and over."

Morrissey took part in practice on Thursday and didn't speak to the media afterwards, but his teammates touched on the hole that will be left in the sophomore's absence.

"Huge part of our team," captain Blake Wheeler said. "We value what he does. We're lucky in this situation, because we've been doing it all year."

The Jets are already without Dmitri Kulikov and Toby Enstrom, plus the status of Tyler Myers remains up in the air Game 5. Still, there didn't seem to be an ounce of panic in the dressing room, even though they will be missing a player who consistently goes up against the other teams' top lines.

"He's been one of our most consistent defenders; highly underrated," Bryan Little said. "We're going to have to do what we've done all year and have guys step in for him. We've been in this position before. We've had key guys out of the lineup and other guys have come in and played really well."

ICE CHIPS Adam Lowry did not take part in practice, so the line rushes looked like this without him. It should be noted that Lowry didn't practice between Games 3 and 4 in St. Paul, either.

Connor-Scheifele-Wheeler Ehlers-Stastny-Laine Copp-Little-Roslovic Tanev-Hendricks-Armia

Maurice said that Hendricks is an option to play at this point, should the need arise as he was cleared for contact more than a week ago.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Patrik Laine is celebrating his 20th birthday and was given the shaving cream 'pie'-to-the-face treatment by Hendricks while doing an interview. Outside of that moment, his Jet teammates said they were keeping the celebrations low key with the focus staying on Game 5.

"We gave him hugs and high fives," Little said. "He's no longer a teenager anymore and that's a positive."

Laine, who doesn't have anything special planned to celebrate his big day, said he doesn't feel any wiser now that he's 20.

"Not at all, I don't think so," smiled Laine. "I've always been wise. So it's not going to just change for the day; I'm still wise." https://www.nhl.com/jets/news/niku-just-one-of-the-options-on-jets-blue-line-for-game-5/c- 298125756

Niku just one of the options on Jets blue line for Game 5 Finnish blue liner named AHL's Best Defenceman in 2017-18 season by Mitchell Clinton @MitchellClinton / WinnipegJets.com

WINNIPEG - With the NHL's Department of Player Safety ruling that Winnipeg Jets defenceman Josh Morrissey will be suspended for Game 5 of the First Round series against the Minnesota Wild, Head Coach Paul Maurice has a decision to make on the blue line.

While he wouldn't rule out Tyler Myers' availability for Friday's potential series-clinching game, Sami Niku's one game of NHL experience is now even more valuable.

Niku was recalled from the Manitoba Moose prior to Game 4. The 21-year-old Finnish defenceman didn't play, and was re-assigned to the AHL affiliate Wednesday with the Jets staying off the ice.

He was recalled on Thursday morning, and could possibly make his Stanley Cup Playoff debut just over two weeks after making his NHL debut in Montreal against the Canadiens.

"It helped a lot. Now I know what kind of game it is in the NHL, and it's much easier now," said Niku. "It's always different in playoffs, more hits and a more physical game. But it's still the same game. I think I could handle that."

Niku scored his first NHL goal while playing just over 15 minutes in that regular season debut, and should he get in the line-up head coach Paul Maurice wouldn't want the 2015 seventh round pick to change his game one bit.

"He's good at getting the puck quick and then moving it quick, and then he can find those holes. That's going to be true his whole career," said Maurice. "Having the confidence to do it in a game that has more weight to it, that's all part of that experience that so many of these young players have gone through. And they've all been able to do it.

"Look at these first-year playoff guys, maybe the first 10 minutes of that first game was tight for everybody, but they got to their game pretty quick. So anybody that comes in, first and foremost, sell what you're good at."

Niku has been more than good at the AHL level this season. He won the league's Eddie Shore Award as the best defenceman, and was named to the AHL All-Rookie Team and First All-Star Team, thanks to his 16 goals and 54 points in 76 games.

"I'm not a guy who is nervous. It's a normal game for me," said Niku. "I've always been confident. I have to have that with my game style. I've always had that."

That kind of confidence is something Maurice is seeing more of from young players. He believes some of it may come from the increased exposure they get at a young age. In Niku's case, he represented Finland at the World Under-18 Championship in 2013-14, as well as at the 2015 and 2016 World Junior Hockey Championship events.

Two seasons of pro hockey with JYP in the Finnish doesn't hurt either.

"(He) doesn't seem overly phased by the stage. It's a good thing. Run the right risk, right. If you skate real well and think you can get into a hole, then skate as fast as you can and get into that hole," said Maurice. "Do the things you normally do. I think in all of the games you see, there's a tremendous amount of excitement and tension in that first 10 minutes, and then everybody settles in - the crowd, the teams, the game itself settles - and then it will be a game of hockey."