Winnipeg Free Press https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/hockey/jets/turning-chaos-into-goals-452367473.html

Turning chaos into goals Jets implement unusual PP technique to catch opponents off guard

By: Mike McIntyre

It has become a common sight in games.

A team is awarded a power play, breaks the puck out of their own zone — and then immediately passes it backwards as they get in the vicinity of centre ice. To many fans, it may seem like a puzzling move. After all, isn’t the whole idea of hockey to go forward with the puck?

The are not immune to the play, which coach Paul Maurice said was first popular in European hockey before making its way overseas.

"We’re running the drop now more consistently," he said, following practice Saturday, one night after his team potted a pair of power play goals in a 4-3 win over . "It was pretty important for two of those goals (Friday) night."

The way Maurice explains it, the play is all about trying to create chaos on the ice and catching the other team flat-footed.

"What it does is the drop sets everybody at the blue line and pushes everybody back, and then you’re standing still with two guys (coming in) with a tremendous amount of speed," he said. "The team that first used it to great effect was Vancouver when they went to the finals that year (2011). They basically won their first three playoff rounds on the drop. They just killed teams on their power play until they played Boston, and Boston decided to let them drop the puck, let them gain the zone and they’ll not be out of position."

Maurice said the play can quickly backfire, especially if you have an aggressive killer who reads it well. The Jets, for example, have already scored three short-handed goals this season.

"There is a bit of risk. Because if you attack those two guys coming late, you can break something loose sometimes. You’ve got to be right on that one, you’ve got to handle that puck right, if not you’re going to see more short-handed , more short-handed rushes," he said. "I think you’ll see teams get away from the drop when they have a lead. But it’ll be here for a while."

Like everything in sports, teams are always looking to find an advantage, and imitation really is the most sincere form of flattery. To that extent, Maurice said another new trend has emerged on power plays in recent years.

"You’re seeing more players on the flanks on their natural sides. Detroit used that a few years back quite a bit, and now you’re seeing a bunch of teams," Maurice said.

"So you see Blake Wheeler on the right side of the ice, on his natural side, not on the one-timer side. And then kind of driving things down to the net, where you’ve got four guys collapsed at the net, something Montreal did really well a few years ago when Saku Koivu was there running it."

Of course, the Jets have a not-so-secret weapon which they hope gives them an advantage over their opponents: Patrik Laine. The Finnish sensation was responsible for both power-play goals Friday night, including a rocket of a shot he called a "muffin" after the game.

"Well it might be accurate for him. He didn’t get all of it. He just gets it to the right spot. He’s fired some heaters here in practice that move everybody. When he’s teeing that up, I have no problem with everybody leaving the front of the net. It’s safer for the goaltender. It’s safer for everybody," Maurice said.

"It comes off his stick with so much heat. That’s the big piece of why he’s just different than everybody else. He can get a shot to the net with a lot of pace to that shot, from anywhere on his body."

Winnipeg’s power play is currently running at 17.4 per cent through its first seven games, which puts them 18th overall in the NHL. Winnipeg clicked at 18.2 per cent last season, also good for 18th.

The Jets will get the next opportunity to improve those numbers when they return to game action on Thursday in Pittsburgh. https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/blue-line-duo-struggling-badly-452369593.html

Blue-line duo struggling badly

By: Mike McIntyre

They are already major pieces of the lineup and the kind of building blocks that seemingly give the Winnipeg Jets an impressive foundation going forward.

But the defence pairing of and Josh Morrissey has sprung a few leaks early this season.

Trouba, 23, and Morrissey, 22, are routinely being given the toughest matchups by coach Paul Maurice, including playing against opponents’ top line. Trouba, at minus-seven, and Morrissey, at minus-five, currently have the two worst plus-minus ratings on the team.

"They have a big responsibility with that matchup. They’re going to grow into it and get better at it. There are nights that they’ve handled it really, really well, and some nights maybe that they’ve struggled with it," Maurice said Saturday.

Their last game would fall into the latter category. On Minnesota’s first goal last Friday, Morrissey got crushed with a big hit behind the net and Trouba was caught out of position as Chris Stewart was left all alone in front to score. On the second goal, a bad Trouba pinch led to a three-on-one which Morrissey was unable to defend.

"That’s a job we’re more likely, if we don’t like it during a game, to switch it. But not have it change their eventual role. They both need to play that role," Maurice said.

Like much of his team, Maurice said they got "lit up" during the first two games of the season in which they were routed by both Toronto and . But there have been better signs of late as the Jets have won four of their five games since.

He stuck with the pairing through Friday’s game, and they rewarded their coach by factoring in when Blake Wheeler scored the game-winner late in the third period. Trouba drew a secondary assist on the play.

"Sometimes, you want to go out and dominate the whole 60 minutes and have there be no question or no lulls or changing of momentum in the game, but typically, on most nights, that’s not how it’s going to be," Morrissey said. "It’s kind of finding ways to win and learning how to win in those essential sort of tough games. Where they’re close games and you have to find a way to get over that hump."

Maurice said everyone, including himself, may be guilty of taking Trouba and Morrissey for granted.

"Well, for sure. Mo’s in his second year, we play him against the other teams’ best and he’s really been quite effective at it. Jake’s had a little bit more up and down, his game in Edmonton is as good a game I’ve seen him play. He’s been solid. Kinda like our team, 4-3, some real good ones and some ones we’d like back. But moving in the right direction," he said.

Kyle Connor has seemingly fit right in.

Connor scored in his season debut last week against Columbus, then set up Wheeler’s game- winner against Minnesota a few nights later with a perfect pass. It’s the kind of production the team was hoping for when Mathieu Perreault went down with an injury that is expected to sideline him for a month, leaving a big hole on the line with Wheeler and .

"It’s definitely been fun. They’re two great players. I’m just trying to learn as much as I can. We’re starting to read off each other better," Connor said.

Consider his coach impressed.

"He’s got some great speed. What we’d like to see (from) that line is that kind of idea, make those plays a little further up the ice, use your speed a little bit longer, and he keeps skating like that, it looks like there might be some chemistry," Maurice said. "When you’re talking to Mark and Blake, he’s quite easy to read off for a young player. Usually, that’s the challenge, the veteran guys have a harder time picking up what the kid is going to do." https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/hockey/jets/scheduling-quirk-lets-jets-regroup- 452192253.html

Scheduling quirk lets Jets regroup Team's goal is to get healthier and get quicker during week off

By: Mike McIntyre

The regular season is barely underway, but the Winnipeg Jets have been forced to hit the pause button as part of an early scheduling quirk that essentially gives them a second crack at training camp.

"It’s actually longer than training camp. You never get five days (between games)," coach Paul Maurice said on Saturday, following an up-tempo, hour-long practice at the Bell MTS Iceplex.

That’s the reality facing his team these days. After beating the 4-3 on Friday night, the Jets won’t play again until Thursday in Pittsburgh, then the next night in Columbus.

It would likely be an unwelcome break if they were on an unstoppable roll, but the first seven games of the season have been a mixed bag, exposing several areas that still need work. Sure, the Jets are above .500 at 4-3-0, but nothing has come easy.

There’s been inconsistent special teams play, defensive breakdowns, some ugly second periods and almost no scoring outside their top two forward lines.

Maurice said there are two things he plans to focus on before they return to action: getting healthier and getting quicker.

"We’ve felt that in our last let’s say five games, there’s been a lot of good things to it, but we’d like to try to play a little faster here. So we’re going to use it to try and focus in on that. Cut the duration down a little bit and try to get really as high a pace as we can in every single drill. So we’ll keep our drills real simple and try to focus on that speed," Maurice said.

"It’s hard to do sometimes in training camp because you’ve got systems working, you want to get the grinding in and the battling because they haven’t done it all summer. We feel we can transition into more speed work here."

There was some potential good news at practice on Saturday, as forward Matt Hendricks and defenceman Dmitry Kulikov shed their yellow no-contact jerseys in favour of regular sweaters.

"Yeah, that yellow didn’t look good on me. I’m feeling good. I’m glad to be back in practice," said Kulikov, who missed the past two games after suffering a lower-body injury last weekend.

Kulikov has a history of injury over his career and there were initially fears he could be out several weeks. Instead, he’s likely to be ready for the next game.

"Just a couple of games and I’m glad we don’t play for five days. I’m pretty happy about that. I’ll get some reps and get myself feeling good again on the ice," Kulikov said.

Tucker Poolman and Ben Chiarot have each played a game in his place. Both would likely be relegated to the press box upon his return.

"Nice to have the depth. It keeps you on your toes too, because you’ve got to play the best you can every game or you might not be in the lineup. Eight guys are capable of playing in the NHL. You’ve got to be on your toes," Kulikov said.

"On the other hand, it’s good that if one guy goes down, you know we have a guy that can step in and do the exact same job."

As for Hendricks, he has yet to play a regular-season game after getting hurt during the pre- season. The veteran is expected to provide some depth, likely centring the fourth line while helping win some key faceoffs and killing penalties.

Unlike Kulikov, Hendricks is currently on the injured reserve list. Activating him would likely force the Jets to send a forward down to the Moose.

Adam Lowry, who missed the past three games with an upper-body injury, is also expected to return to practice on Monday and could also be activated soon off the injured list, meaning two decisions would need to be made.

That would leave just Mathieu Perreault left as the only wounded player. He’s expected to miss at least three more weeks.

Maurice said the end result of getting healthy is more competition among his bottom-six forwards.

Added to the mix is the addition of forward Brendan Lemieux, who made his NHL debut on Friday night and didn’t look out of place. Maurice had him out in the final minutes to protect a one-goal lead, and repeated on Saturday how much he liked his game.

Lemieux brings a compelling combination of grit and skill, which could extend his stay.

"It was really fun. I’m just really happy we came out with a win. Coach said before the game you can win a bunch of Stanley Cups and MVPs and score a million goals, but you only get one first game," Lemieux said about his first NHL game.

"I kind of just took that to heart. It was kind of surreal. I thought about that my whole life. Everyone in my family was hoping to get here and I’m here.

"Now it’s just a matter of sticking and contributing. (Friday) was incredible and I’m blessed to have had the opportunity."

Mark Scheifele and Shawn Matthias both missed Saturday’s practice. Maurice said they’re dealing with minor aches and should be "100 per cent" when the team returns to practice Monday.

"It’s nice to have some practice time. Last year, we had no practice time, and this year, with the schedule, that extra practice time — if you use it effectively — helps," defenceman Josh Morrissey said.

"Sure, if you have a couple of bumps and bruises and things like that, it’s nice to sort of get healed up a little bit over that time."

Winnipeg Sun http://www.winnipegsun.com/2017/10/22/laine-does-more-than-score

Laine does more than score Jets back on ice Monday to prepare for two-game road trip

BY KEN WIEBE, WINNIPEG SUN

Patrik Laine did more than just unload a couple of one-timers.

Yes, the booming shot continues to be the most impressive part of the Winnipeg Jets’ sniper’s repertoire, but more importantly he found a way to get his skating legs going in Friday’s 4-3 win over the Minnesota Wild.

Scoring a pair of power-play goals were critical, but with Laine moving much better, he found a way to generate eight shots on goal and a whopping 10 shot attempts.

“He was quicker for sure, right from the early part of his game,” said Jets head coach Paul Maurice. “So much of the final act of finishing a play, or the offence that we really like to see, doesn’t come from great finish. It comes from the start where you have speed and you’ve generated a gap, you’ve created an extra foot of ice to play on by something that’s happened five, 10 seconds earlier, the chaos that’s created by playing simple, by playing fast.”

Jets Blake Wheeler got a cross-ice pass across to Laine through a seam and the Finnish winger managed to beat even though the pass wasn’t fully in his wheelhouse.

“We slowed that down. It’s almost like he’s digging it. It comes off his stick with so much heat,” said Maurice. “That’s the big piece of why he’s just different than everybody else. He can get a shot to the net with a lot of pace to that shot, from anywhere on his body.”

Through seven games, Laine has four goals and six points.

By comparison, he had six goals and eight points through seven games as a rookie.

The Jets (3-3) took Sunday off and will return to the ice on Monday to prepare for a two-game road trip that features games against the Pittsburgh Penguins and Columbus Blue Jackets.

Confidence growing In two games since being recalled from the minors, left-winger Kyle Connor has been promoted to the Jets’ top line with Mark Scheifele and Wheeler and recorded a goal and an assist.

A nifty backhand saucer pass sent Wheeler in alone for the eventual game-winner in Friday’s victory.

“Just playing more and more, I think you get a bit more confident in your abilities. It definitely helps your game,” said Connor. “It’s definitely been fun. They’re two great players. I’m just trying to learn as much as I can. We’re starting to read off each other better.”

Morrissey pleads the fifth When asked if he agreed with the assessment of Jets head coach Paul Maurice that there should have been a boarding penalty called on Wild forward Chris Stewart for his hit on him prior to scoring a goal in Friday’s 4-3 win, defenceman Josh Morrissey chose to take the high road instead.

“It’s not really up to me, obviously. It is what it is,” said Morrissey. “The play happens in a game and it’s a fast play on the forecheck. You know, it is what it is, I guess. Those kind of things happen and I’m not a referee, so that’s not my job.”

Stewart checked Morrissey in the numbers and pushed his head into the glass, then made his way to the front of the net and converted a pass from Jason Zucker for the first Wild goal.

Maurice couldn’t believe a penalty didn’t wipe out the goal.

“That’s a penalty and it’s a penalty all day long,” Maurice said during his post-game address.

Fashion statement Jets defenceman Dmitry Kulikov has probably never been happier about being in a regular jersey instead of the non-contact one he’d been sporting for the previous week.

“Yeah, that yellow didn’t look good on me,” said Kulikov, who missed the past two games with a knee sprain he suffered in a game against the on Oct. 13.

The blue-liner was on the receiving end of a hit from Hurricanes winger Brock McGinn that jarred him, but Kulikov was confident it wasn’t going to be a longer-term injury.

“I was fortunate that it wasn’t bad at all,” said Kulikov, who has a goal and four points in five games with the Jets this season.

Veteran forward Matt Hendricks was also in a regular jersey on Saturday and could be an option to make his Jets’ debut next week.

Maurice said he was hopeful centre Adam Lowry would return to practice on Monday.

Scheifele and forward Shawn Matthias both took a maintenance day on Saturday but are expected to be on the ice on Monday.

Steady contribution After sitting out the first seven games as a healthy scratch, Jets defenceman Ben Chiarot made his season debut on Friday and was effective, taking 20 shifts for 16:08 of ice time (all of which came at even strength).

Chiarot found himself on the extra pair with on Saturday, as Kulikov slid back onto the third pairing with Tyler Myers.

Around the glass The Jets’ primary affiliate, the , split a pair of games against the on the weekend – losing 3-2 on Friday and winning 4-2 on Saturday…Centre Mike Sgarbossa leads the Moose in scoring with three goals and seven points in six games, while fellow forwards Jack Roslovic and Buddy Robinson and defenceman Sami Niku all have six points in six games…In Saturday’s game, rookie pro Mason Appleton recorded his first goal and …Between the pipes, Michael Hutchinson is 2-1 with a 2.70 goals-against average and .918 save % while Eric Comrie is 1-2 with a 3.06 goals-against average and .889 save %...The Moose close out a three-game road trip against the Chicago Wolves on Wednesday before hosting the Belleville Senators next Friday and Saturday. http://www.winnipegsun.com/2017/10/21/five-things-weve-learned-from-jets

Five things we’ve learned from Jets Seven games in, some trends beginning to form

BY KEN WIEBE, WINNIPEG SUN

Are the Winnipeg Jets treading water or have they officially turned the corner?

Truth be told, it’s probably a little too early to be sure which way that’s going to go.

After an 0-2 start to the season that unveiled plenty of cause for concern, the Jets have now won four of the past five games.

Going into the campaign, the Jets knew the opening month was going to be gruelling, with nine of 11 games coming against teams that qualified for the Stanley Cup playoffs in 2016-17.

There was little doubt it was going to be a good gauge of where things stood in the early going.

Well, with eight of a possible 14 points collected, the Jets find themselves in the middle of the pack in the Central Division.

There are things to be encouraged about and some obvious areas of improvement.

There have been some early surprises and some interesting plot twists.

That’s normal for this time of the season and things will continue to evolve as the weeks and months go by.

As the Jets wrapped a three-game homestand with a 4-3 win over an injury-ravaged Minnesota Wild squad, here are five observations from the first three weeks of the season:

Drivers are driving The Jets’ top guns are definitely driving the bus in terms of offensive production. leads the Jets with six goals, while Ehlers, Mark Scheifele and Blake Wheeler are tied for the team lead in points with eight. Dustin Byfuglien has five assists to sit fourth in scoring and is tops among blue-liners on the Jets. Secondary scoring remains an obvious concern for the Jets – as the bottom six forwards have produced no points at even strength and have registered only two goals while shorthanded.

Hellebuyck stakes his claim It’s hard to imagine a better start than the one goalie Connor Hellebuyck has enjoyed. Basically pushed into a backup job with the arrival of veteran Steve Mason, Hellebuyck has done his part to keep the competition for the No. 1 job open. While it’s true the Jets have played much better defensively in front of Hellebuyck, he’s now 4-0 with a 2.32 goals-against average and .928 save % in five appearances. Mason is 0-3 with a 5.96 goals-against average and .846 save % but those numbers were a bit inflated after he was pulled early in the third period of the season opener. With the Jets set to play their first set of back-to-backs next week, both goalies should get one start a piece. Healthy competition should help bring out the best in both netminders and in order for the Jets to make it to the playoffs, they’ll need contributions from both guys.

Laine showing flashes Because of the high level of expectations on the second-year winger after his impressive rookie campaign, seeing Patrik Laine generate two goals, three points and 17 shots on goal in his first six games seemed like a relatively slow start. Then he produced a pair of power-play markers, had eight shots on goal and 10 shot attempts on Friday against the Wild. Just like that, Laine was up to four goals and five points. Laine doesn’t need much room to get his amazing shot off and when he finds a seam, he makes life difficult on opposing goalies. Laine skated better on Friday, so it wasn’t a surprise he was more involved offensively. And a 40-plus goal season is still very much in play for the Finnish sniper.

Depth on defence is evident Thanks to a pair of minor injuries, the Jets have already used eight defencemen this season and all of those guys have shown they can do the job when called upon. “Nice to have the depth. It keeps you on your toes too because you’ve got to play the best you can every game or you might not be in the lineup,” said Jets blue-liner Dmitry Kulikov, who looks set to return to action after missing two games with a knee sprain. “Eight guys are capable of playing in the NHL. You’ve got to be on your toes. On the other hand, it’s good that if one guy goes down, you know we have a guy that can step in and do the exact same job.”

Puck management is critical Mistakes are going to happen at the NHL level, but in the three games the Jets have lost and as part of their second-period struggles (where the Jets have allowed 13 goals and scored only five), self-inflicted wounds were a major factor. Most of them related to an inability to manage the puck properly. “This is just the progress and the process of young players,” said Jets head coach Paul Maurice. “When to eat and when to pull away from the table. And when you score a couple, you feel like you can score on every play.” Managing the score is the other part of the equation and making smarter decisions when playing with the lead.

NBC Sports http://nhl.nbcsports.com/2017/10/21/looks-like-laine-jets-are-heating-up/

Seems like Laine, Jets are heating up

By James O'Brien

Big breaks can be really nice for NHL teams, but sometimes you wonder if the timing is all wrong. It will be interesting to see if the Winnipeg Jets (and Patrik Laine) feel that way about their upcoming breather.

The Jets had really been cooking after shaking off a tough start from Steve Mason (the Jets dropped their first two games in ugly fashion). By edging the Minnesota Wild 4-3 on Friday, the Jets have now won four of their last five contests.

As you can see from the video above, Laine played a significant role in that win, showing that he might have some potential from “Alex Ovechkin‘s office” on Winnipeg’s power play. Laine doubled his 2017-18 goals total from two to four with that effort, pushing him to six points in seven games.

Laine was unleashing that lethal shot with aplomb last night, too, firing eight shots on goal.

(Last night’s edition of The Buzzer notes that it was a milestone night for Paul Maurice and Blake Wheeler. Along with grabbing that assist, Wheeler scored his 200th goal.)

The Jets have high hopes for 2017-18, and Laine’s a big part of that excitement, so it was nice to see him unleashed.

If it’s a matter of rhythm, then this break is a bummer. Their next game doesn’t take place until Thursday, making for almost a week off, just when they were really sizzling. It’s a tough haul for the next while, so maybe they’ll take advantage of the break (or get rusty?):

Thu, Oct 26 @ Pittsburgh Fri, Oct 27 @ Columbus Sun, Oct 29 vs Pittsburgh Tue, Oct 31 @ Minnesota

November isn’t a breezy month for the Jets, either, so Winnipeg has to hope that they can carry over some of this momentum.

The Athletic Winnipeg https://theathletic.com//133468/2017/10/20/matt-hendricks-hopes-to-bring-leadership-role-to- jets-granlund-foligno-niederreiter-wild-updates/?redirected=1

Matt Hendricks hopes to bring leadership role to Jets; Granlund, Foligno, Niederreiter Wild updates

By Michael Russo

WINNIPEG — If he couldn’t play for the Wild – and Wild coach really, really wanted him, the next best place for Matt Hendricks was Winnipeg.

That was obvious when there Hendricks was leaning on a baggage claim wall Thursday afternoon waiting for his wife, Kim, and twin son and daughter to clear customs after a flight from Minnesota.

Kindergartners Gunnar and Lennon, who turn six next month, by the way had the passengers on that regional jet cracking up in hysterics with some of the antics they were pulling and funny things coming out of their mouths upon arrival in Winnipeg.

“I’m glad this worked out. This is a great location for my family and I,” Hendricks said after his Friday morning bag skate.

Unfortunately, Hendricks, 36, had tough luck in training camp when he broke his foot during an exhibition game against Ottawa.

So, Hendricks has yet to debut for the Jets.

“It’s a great hockey team, a young hockey team,” Hendricks said. “It reminds me a lot of when I went into Edmonton. We’re further along in Winnipeg than we were in Edmonton when I got there, but it gives me the opportunity to do what I was doing there in the room and being the guy in practice and somebody who brings consistency to the rink every night.”

That’s why Boudreau wanted him.

Hendricks didn’t sign with the Jets until late in the summer, and after having him in Washington, Boudreau said, ‘Nobody’s better in the room or in tough situations than Hendy. You could tell that guy, ‘We need more blocked shots,’ and he’d go out that night and throw his face in front of every shot.”

Hendricks hopes to bring that same dimension and leadership to a Jets team that has a ton of firepower but always seems to blow itself up because of poor defending.

“It’s that detail in our [defensive] zone and becoming consistent,” Hendricks said. “We play a couple great games and then we have a hiccup.”

In the meantime, he’ll at least get to spent the weekend with his family. His wife and kids lived with him in Edmonton, but they have made the decision to stay at their home in Excelsior, Minn., this season.

“My wife and I talked about this for over a year about what the plan would be,” Hendricks said. “We decided we wanted them in school at home.”

GRANLUND OUT, FOLIGNO IN Mikael Granlund traveled to Winnipeg for back-to-back games against the Jets and Flames, but unless something goes awry for the Wild health-wise in Winnipeg, last year’s Wild leading scorer likely won’t play in either game. Initially, it was thought he may return in Calgary.

But it sounded Friday morning like the Wild, who have a six-game homestand coming up, don’t want to risk his health after missing the previous three games with a groin injury.

“With our injury situation right now, you don’t want him to miss 10 games,” Boudreau said.

Marcus Foligno, who missed the previous game against Columbus with a broken cheekbone, will return while wearing a full cage. He’ll have to wear it for about two weeks.

“I still have to play a physical game. I can’t get away from that if I want to be effective,” Foligno said.

Foligno hasn’t worn a cage since age 15.

“It’s not too bad,” Foligno said. “The biggest thing is just getting familiar with pucks in the feet. With the chin strap there, you can’t really look down. It’ll be an adjustment tonight.”

LINES VS. JETS? The Wild held an optional skate Friday morning, so it was tough to get a sense of the lines without Granlund and Foligno returning,

But with back-to-back games, Boudreau indicated he would not play an all-Iowa fourth line. That means Luke Kunin, Landon Ferraro and Zack Mitchell would likely start the game on three different lines.

Ferraro sounds like he’ll get a solid opportunity to skate with and Foligno, which means Kunin would likely skate with Matt Cullen and Mitchell with Joel Eriksson Ek.

“It’s nice,” Ferraro, who scored his first NHL goal since March 2016 against Columbus, said. “The more opportunity you get, it’s exciting and gives you another chance that you belong in the league, and not just as a callup, but to be here full-time.” …

Nino Niederreiter (high ankle sprain) is expected to start skating next week. GM Chuck Fletcher offered no update on Zach Parise (back) other than they’ll wait a few days and see how he’s feeling next week. …

Goalie Devan Dubnyk will start against the Jets, meaning backup Alex Stalock will likely start Saturday in Calgary. www.winnipegjets.com https://www.nhl.com/jets/video/micd-up--patrik-laine/t-277437442/c-53766303

MIC'D UP | Patrik Laine

Go ice level with Patrik Laine as he rocks a mic during a recent Jets practice at Bell MTS Iceplex https://www.nhl.com/jets/news/kulikov-hendricks-full-participants-as-jets-start-five-days-of- practice/c-292153088

Kulikov, Hendricks full participants as Jets start five days of practice Scheifele and Matthias stay off the ice for maintenance by Mitchell Clinton @MitchellClinton / WinnipegJets.com

WINNIPEG - One day after a 4-3 regulation win over the Minnesota Wild, the Winnipeg Jets took to the ice for the first of four practice days before their next game in Pittsburgh.

That many consecutive days of practice allow for head coach Paul Maurice to focus on the team's speed before the schedule intensifies, with four games in six days to wrap up October.

"It's actually longer than training camp, you never get five days. We've felt that in our last five games there have been a lot of good things to it, but we'd like to try to play a little bit faster here. So we're going to use it to kind of really focus in on that," said Maurice.

"(We'll) cut the duration down a little bit and try to get really as high of a pace as we can on every single drill, and focus on that speed now."

Mark Scheifele and Shawn Matthias were the only two players that participated in last night's game that didn't skate in practice at Bell MTS Iceplex today, along with injured Jets Mathieu Perreault and Adam Lowry.

"Both could have practiced today," Maurice said of Scheifele and Matthias. "Both are 100 per cent for Monday.

"It'll be good healing time. We're hopeful to get Lowry on the ice on Monday possibly and see where he's at moving forward. All the other bumps and bruises that you carry the entire year, a five day block gives you a chance to heal up."

With those players out, the line rushes looked a bit different in practice today:

Connor-Petan-Wheeler

Ehlers-Little-Laine

Tanev-Copp-Dano

Lemieux-Hendricks-Armia

Morrissey-Trouba

Enstrom-Byfuglien

Kulikov-Myers

Chiarot-Poolman

Dmitry Kulikov and Matt Hendricks got rid of the bright yellow non-contact jerseys and were in regular practice jerseys today. The five-day break serving as a chance for them to get ready to get back in the line-up.

"That yellow didn't look good on me. I'm feeling good and I'm glad to be back at practice," said Kulikov.

"I was fortunate that it wasn't bad at all. I'm glad that we don't play, our next game is in five days. I'm happy about that because I can get some reps with the team in practices, and get myself feeling good again on the ice."

An upper-body injury has kept Kulikov sidelined for two games, but he has progressed much quicker than Maurice thought he would when Kulikov first sustained the injury against the Carolina Hurricanes.

But with players getting more healthy, Maurice and his staff know they'll have to make some decisions regarding the roster ahead of the team's first set of back-to-back games - in Pittsburgh and Columbus - next week.

"We've got guys coming back in. We've got to get harder on that bottom six," said Maurice, adding that Lemieux's debut yesterday makes that decision tougher, because he liked how the 21-year-old played in his debut.

The Jets are off tomorrow before getting back to practice on Monday morning.