Winnipeg Free Press https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/hockey/jets/jets-get-back-to-business- 456276263.html Jets get back to business Vegas vacation over By: Mike McIntyre LAS VEGAS, Nev. — First they teed off at a pristine golf course in the Las Vegas valley. After some sightseeing, they enjoyed a team dinner at a renowned steakhouse on an outdoor patio overlooking the famous Bellagio fountains. For a nightcap, some checked out a charity concert featuring five of the world’s biggest DJs. Yes, it was a memorable day off unlike few others for members of the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday. But it was quickly back to business on Wednesday as the team returned to the practice ice for an hour-long skate at beautiful City National Arena in Summerlin, a Vegas suburb located at the foothills of Red Rock Canyon. And skate they did. Head coach Paul Maurice put his troops through a gruelling 20-minutes of laps that was eerily reminiscent of the so-called "bag skate" that came one day after their season-opening 7-2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs. But there was nothing punitive about this one. It was all about trying to stay sharp and keep the momentum going. The Jets are flying high these days, enjoying an 8-3-3 start to the season as they prepare to take on the Vegas Golden Knights Friday night at T-Mobile Arena. "Good to get out and have that opportunity when you’re feeling good about yourselves as a hockey team. Because you’ll have 23 guys sitting down for dinner instead of 12 different dinners. They hang together more," Maurice said Wednesday of the break his team enjoyed following Monday night’s 4-1 win against the Stars in Dallas to kick off the road trip. Indeed, many Jets players are experiencing Sin City for the first time and raving about the experience. "Vegas, I think it’s unbelievable. Coming from a small town in Europe, all of this you see in the movies. Actually being here now is pretty amazing," said Nikolaj Ehlers, the 21-year-old Danish- born speedster who has eight goals this season. Patrik Laine got his first taste of Vegas last summer when he came here for the NHL awards, where he was runner-up to Toronto’s Auston Matthews in the rookie-of-the-year race. Now he’s back for a second time with teammates. "It was a lot of fun hanging out with the team, playing a little bit of golf and having a nice dinner. It’s always nice to be here," said Laine. The 19-year-old winger has scored in three straight games, giving him seven on the year, and hopes his good fortune continues Friday. "I’m obviously feeling better because the team is doing well and I can help my team to win. It’s always nice to score. Overall, I feel good about my game right now. There are things I need to improve but everybody has," said Laine. Jets fans from Winnipeg began arriving in in the desert Wednesday, as a contingent of several hundred is expected at the game. A handful of locals greeted the Jets after practice Wednesday and got pictures and autographs. The Golden Knights have surprised many with a 9-5-1 start to their expansion season, considering they are a collection of other team’s so-called castoffs who only came together for the first time a couple months ago. They have a 6-1-0 record at home, which has led many to suggest they have the best home-ice advantage in the league as visitors get swept up in the bright lights and perhaps lose focus of the task at hand. But that’s now how Maurice sees it. "I think their team’s better than people thought it would be. I think that’s the key piece to all of this. And when they play at home they get a better matchup. They got a good hockey team, they play a good, structured game and they can counter real fast on you. I think it’s all on-ice," Maurice said Wednesday. "I think they’ve passed through that kind of surprising team window. We’ve all seen them play enough games now. That’s a good hockey team, well-coached, very well-structured. They don’t give up anything off the rush. A lot of teams early on I think they justw expect to be able to move the puck easily or at will through the neutral zone and get their scoring chances. They found out after they lost the game that that wasn’t going to happen. So that’s our task this week, is to make sure we understand what they’re good at." Vegas is competing despite having the top-three goaltenders in their system on injured reserve. They got some potential good news Wednesday as Marc-Andre Fleury, the clear No. 1, took a twirl on the other sheet of ice at their practice facility where the Jets were skating. He’s working his way back from a concussion suffered on Oct. 13. There’s still no timetable for his return. Vegas wrapped up a six-game trip on Tuesday night in Montreal with a 3-2 loss to the Canadiens. They Golden Knights 1-4-1 on the trip. "For sure, they have a hard-working team. They’ve played well, especially here. It’s for sure going to be a tough building to play in. But with the way we play and the way we handle the pressure, we’re going to have a good score for sure if we can play our game the whole 60 minutes. It’s going to be a good game, for sure," said Laine. The Finnish sniper also took on the role of interviewer Wednesday, crashing the scrum with linemate Ehlers to ask his own question. "How did you play in Dallas?" Laine asked while holding his phone out like a microphone. "I had a really good game, thank you. Thank you," Ehlers replied. As Laine walked away, Ehlers began chirping. "Tell (Laine) to get going. Five-on-five, he takes off. But as soon the power play is on, he checks in," Ehlers cracked. It’s safe to say the mood is rather light around the Jets these days, no doubt a product of collecting points in eight straight games (5-0-3) and 11 of their last 12 (8-1-3). They’ll get in another practice today before Friday’s first-ever meeting with the Golden Knights. "Yes, we feel good right now. But there are still many games to go and we want to keep this going," said Ehlers. https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/hockey/jets/connor-taking-advantage-of-prime-time- with-nhl-club-456291433.html Connor taking advantage of prime time with NHL club Connor likely earned his spot for the year By: Mike McIntyre LAS VEGAS, Nev. — An injury opened the door for Kyle Connor with the Winnipeg Jets. And the second-year pro has bolted right through it, excelling with his play and giving his coach plenty of intriguing options going forward. When Mathieu Perreault went down while blocking a shot on Oct. 14, it created a spot on the Jets’ top line with Blake Wheeler and Mark Scheifele. Connor was summoned from the Manitoba Moose for an audition of sorts. He’s certainly making the case for permanent work. "Right now he’s not a placeholder there. He’s not pushing guys down to try and balance things for us. He’s been really effective in that spot. He’s had three or four games where he’s looked on par with the other two," Jets head coach Paul Maurice said Wednesday. Connor has put up three goals and four assists in nine games, is a plus-five and is being given heavy minutes — more than 20 a night on average in his past three games. His defensive work is being praised by Maurice, and both Wheeler (13 points in five games) and Scheifele (10 points in five games) seem to be playing their best hockey of the year. "He does a couple things that are important as a young player. He’s very readable as a young player. So Mark and Blake have a real good understanding of where he’s going because he’s consistent with that. And his defensive positioning is very, very strong. There’s not a lot of video of him being 10 feet off where he’s supposed to be. He understands the game and he can skate," Maurice said. Perreault is getting closer to returning. He was a full participant in Wednesday’s practice, albeit with a non-contact jersey. Maurice said he won’t play in Friday’s game in Las Vegas or Saturday’s contest in Arizona. However, when Perreault is fully healthy, Maurice will certainly have some options at his disposal that he didn’t have prior to Connor’s emergence. "So we’ll see what it does with the rest of the group. I’m not sure I can remember the last time you had the same group of forwards for more than a game, but we’ll see. We hope we can get to that," Maurice said. As for Connor, he said Wednesday he’s just looking to keep improving every game while handling the responsibility of playing on the top line. "It’s just been a lot of fun.