Winnipeg Free Press https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/hockey/manitoba-moose/jets-send-three-players- back-to-moose-469247423.html?k=Sc4PAa

Jets send three players back to Moose

By: Jeff Hamilton

With the beginning a league-mandated five-day break, the team has assigned three players to its affiliate.

Goaltender Michael Hutchinson, and forwards and Jack Roslovic have been sent back to the , who continue their season with a game this afternoon against the . It’s not clear at this point if any of the three will be ready to play in the 2 p.m. game.

Hutchinson joined the Jets Friday as an emergency call-up after backup goalie Steve Mason fell ill and returned to Winnipeg for further evaluation. Hutchinson has a 14-2-4 record with the Moose this season after being assigned there by the Jets prior to the start of the NHL regular season. He leads the AHL with a .942 save percentage and boasts the third-best goals against average, at 1.94.

Lemieux joined the Jets on Jan. 8 and played one game after an injury to forward Shawn Matthias — a 4-1 loss to the Saturday night. The 21-year-old has played in eight games with Winnipeg this year and has one .

Roslovic, 20, was recalled by the Jets on Dec. 31 and played in four games during his stint. He returns to the AHL seventh in league scoring with 35 points (15G, 20A) in 31 games with the Moose.

The Moose are first place in the Central Division and second overall in the AHL standings, with a record of 25-8-3-2. https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/hockey/manitoba-moose/moose-mightier-than-wild- 469305913.html

Moose Mightier than the Wild Manitoba holds on to avenge Saturday loss

By: Jeff Hamilton

It was the kind of game the Manitoba Moose needed after a tough stretch in recent weeks.

Riding the momentum of a first-period surge, followed by mostly consistent play down the stretch, the Moose defeated the Iowa Wild 3-2 Sunday afternoon at Bell MTS Place.

Perhaps just as important as the two points in the standing was the fact the Moose resembled much of the team that represents their first-place standing in the Central Division and not the club that has struggled to string together victories.

"Oh for sure, it was more complete," Moose head coach Pascal Vincent said of the game.

"From start to finish, we had good momentum... overall I felt it was a good hockey game."

The Moose entered the match with just one win in their past five games (1-2-2), including a 5-4 loss to the Wild Saturday afternoon — a tilt they had to claw their way back into after trailing 4-1 in the third period. Before that, the Moose put together a franchise-record 16 straight games in which they collected points (15-0-1).

On Sunday, the Moose wasted little time exacting their revenge, scoring twice in the first five minutes and six seconds, with both goals coming on the power play.

Sparked by the return of forwards Brendan Lemieux and Jack Roslovic, both of whom were assigned to the Moose before the game after spending spent the last while in the NHL with the Winnipeg Jets, the Moose improved to 26-8-3-2 on the season. Roslovic, though pointless on the night, had a number of quality chances and didn’t seem fatigued despite playing his third game in four nights. As for Lemieux, he finished with a lone assist, but could have easily recorded two or three more points with better puck luck.

"We had some chances to score some goals, myself included. I definitely got to find a way to finish. Lately, I haven’t been scoring as much," said Lemieux, who is still on a point-per-game pace with 25 points in 25 game (nine goals, 16 assists).

"As a group, there’s going to be nights like that. We couldn’t get many to fall tonight, but the chances were there, the opportunities were there. A lot of guys had a good jump tonight and it’s not always easy."

The Wild, who dropped to 17-13-6-3 with the loss, took a just 19 seconds into the game, with Justin Kloos catching Moose captain Patrice Cormier with a high stick on the opening faceoff. Manitoba wasted little time while up five men to the Wild’s four, scoring just a minute into the man-advantage with a goal from Buddy Robinson.

Robinson found himself in the right place at the right time to record his 18th, with the puck deflecting off his body before trickling to the back of the net. The original shot came from Winnipeg native Peter Stoykewich, the puck eventually deflecting off the glove of Iowa goalie Niklas Svedberg before hitting Robinson. Tucker Poolman, who has also spent a lot of time with the Jets this season, earned the second assist.

Lemieux set up Jimmy Lodge for a quality chance just minutes later, but Lodge lost control of the puck as it slid past the wide-open net. Lemieux would get rewarded moments later when he helped step up Stoykewich for a goal, who made it 2-0 with his sixth of the year. This time, Stoykewich’s shot beat Svedberg clean, giving the Moose a 2-0 lead just over five minutes into the game. Poolman earned another assist, sliding a pass over to Stoykewich before the goal- scoring shot.

"Putting pucks to the net when you have an extra man out there is huge, getting it through the first layer of traffic and we were able to do that," Stoykewich said.

"Give the guys a lot of credit for putting on screens. We tried to simplify everything we did today."

With the Moose all over the Wild and the game seemingly destined to be a blowout for the home side, Iowa was given some life late in the first period. Sams Anas made it a 2-1 game with 45 seconds left on the clock, converting a breakaway on Moose goalie Eric Comrie for his 14th of the year. The power-play marker was just the third shot for the Wild in the game.

Iowa appeared to carry the momentum from the goal into the second period, with Comrie needing to come up big on a number of chances in close. The tide would turn back in favour of Manitoba, which made it 3-1 when Michael Spacek threaded a pass on a 2-on-1 to Francis Beauvillier. Beauvillier made no mistake on the breakaway, hitting twine with a short on his forehand for his first of the season.

Up 3-1, and the Moose once again seemingly in the clear, the Wild got within reach with another late-period goal. On one of a few defensive lapses for Manitoba on the night, Zack Mitchell found himself an open lane to the net from the red line. With plenty of time to contemplate his options, Mitchell flashed some creative stick work before beating Comrie with a cheeky shot to the five-hole.

Suddenly, it was 3-2 for the Moose heading into the third period, despite Manitoba doubling the Wild in shots through 40 minutes, 24-12.

The Moose carried much of the play in the third, limiting the Wild to just two shots until late in the period when Iowa was sent on another power play. The visitors would create a scare with a couple quality chances, but Comrie settled the game down by making some big saves. The Moose finished 6-for-7 on the penalty kill — and 2-for-6 on the PP — and Comrie ended the night with 18 saves, as the Moose outshot the Wild, 36-20. Svedberg capped his night with 33 saves in the loss.

Manitoba now has five days off.

Winnipeg Sun http://winnipegsun.com/sports/hockey/nhl/winnipeg-jets/jets-return-trio-to-moose

Jets return trio to Moose

By Ken Wiebe

With the Winnipeg Jets starting the mandatory five-day break laid out in the collective bargaining agreement, a trio of players were reassigned to the Manitoba Moose of the American Hockey League on Sunday.

Forward Jack Roslovic spent the past four games with the Jets and is taking strides in his quest to become an NHL regular.

During this recent stint, Roslovic averaged 10:19 of ice time while recording six shots on goal and no points.

Although injured forwards Adam Lowry and Brandon Tanev are close to returning to the lineup, Roslovic is a candidate to be called back up by the Jets later this week.

Left-winger Brendan Lemieux suited up in Saturday’s 4-1 loss to the Minnesota Wild, taking 13 shifts for 9:07 of ice time, recording one hit in what was his eighth NHL game.

Goalie Michael Hutchinson served as the backup to Connor Hellebucyk during the past two games but didn’t see any action.

However, with the status of goalie Steve Mason up in the air, Hutchinson could be back in the NHL before long.

The Jets, who are 26-13-7 and coming off consecutive losses to Central Division opponents, will return to the ice on Friday and face the Calgary Flames at the Scotiabank Saddledome on Jan. 20.

The Moose are in the midst of a six-game homestand.

The Hockey News http://www.thehockeynews.com/news/article/five-rookies-who-could-crowd-the-calder-picture-in- the-second-half

Five rookies who could crowd the Calder picture in the second half

By: Jared Clinton

Brock Boeser and Mathew Barzal were the mid-season favorites for the Calder Trophy, but they won't be able to run away with the end-of-season hardware if these five rookies have their say.

It wasn’t until late-October that Danton Heinen found his way into the ’ lineup. Sure, he had a brief look — three games in the second week of the season — but a full roster necessitated another trip down to Providence for Heinen as mid-month rolled around, and there was no certainty when he’d get a chance to rejoin the Bruins. Given his three-point performance across those early season outings, though, he was destined to get another shot. And when David Krejci went down with an injury as the opening month came to a close, it was Heinen got the call.

When he hit the ice for the Oct. 26 contest, with the Bruins pitted against the San Jose Sharks, Heinen did so with very little hype. As much as he had produced for the P-Bruins, and he had one goal and eight points in four games, it wasn’t as though anyone expected the 22-year-old to jump up to the big club and be a dominant offensive force. So, when he chipped in two goals on two shots in little more than eight minutes of work, it was a welcome surprise. To say visions of Calder Trophy contention were dancing around in the heads of Bruins fans wouldn’t be true, though. After all, prior to his two-goal outing, Heinen was six goals and seven points back of then-runaway rookie scoring leader Clayton Keller.

But a funny thing has happened over the past several weeks in Boston. As the Bruins have climbed up the Eastern Conference standings on the backs of Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron, David Pastrnak and Tuukka Rask, Heinen has emerged as one of their most lethal weapons. In fact, he’s been one of the most consistent scorers in the league since his re-debut on Oct. 26, posting 10 goals and 27 points in 33 games since returning to the big club. That puts Heinen into a tie for 58th in league scoring over that span, not too far behind the likes of Jamie Benn, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Artemi Panarin.

And when it comes to the rookie race, Heinen has also managed to start raising some eyebrows and garner some attention. After starting several points back of Keller, Heinen has risen into a tie for fourth in rookie scoring — only three points back of the Arizona Coyotes freshman — and has the third-best points per game rate among rookies to go along with a role on the power play and penalty kill in Boston. And with the way the Bruins are performing and the rate at which Heinen is scoring, there’s no reason to believe he can’t start to press currently slumping Vancouver Canucks rookie Brock Boeser, who has only one goal and two points in his past six games, and New York Islanders freshman standout Mat Barzal for the rookie scoring lead.

Heinen isn’t the only fresh face who is starting to really push for Calder consideration as the second half begins, however. Here are four other first-year players who could contend with the Boesers, Kellers and Barzals of the rookie class if they continue playing the way they have:

Yanni Gourde, Tampa Bay Lightning The Lightning have a frontrunner for the Art Ross, Rocket Richard and Hart Trophies in Nikita Kucherov. They have an excellent Norris Trophy candidate in Victor Hedman, even with his recent injury. Andrei Vasilevskiy has continued to make his case and is almost assuredly the present favorite for the Vezina Trophy. And, hey, given Tampa Bay’s dominance, it wouldn’t be far-fetched to see Jon Cooper in the running for the Jack Adams Award. So, you know, why not also give the Lightning — who already have a stellar rookie in rearguard Mikhail Sergachev — a second shot at adding the Calder at season’s end?

Gourde definitely has played his way into the conversation, too. In the early season, when he was up near the league scoring leaders, the assumption was he’d eventually come down to earth. He hadn’t really done all that much in prior looks in the NHL as it was. But it turns out there’s a consistency to Gourde’s game and Cooper has found the right fit for him in the lineup. With 14 goals and 30 points, Gourde is tied for fourth in the two major scoring categories, and he’s playing a consistent role. The only thing possibly holding Goudre back is his age. At 26, he’d be the oldest rookie of the bunch.

Kyle Connor, Winnipeg Jets Some may have considered Connor a Calder contender ahead of the season, but most likely saw him as a player on the periphery of the race — close, but not quite among the best the class would have to offer. He’s quickly changed that perception, though, and it can’t be stressed enough how well he has fit in the Winnipeg lineup. He doesn’t look even the slightest bit out of place on the Jets’ top line and it’s not as though he’s had many hiccups along the way. Even when center Mark Scheifele fell injured, coach Paul Maurice saw fit to keep Connor on the top line alongside Blake Wheeler. And the rookie has rewarded the bench boss with continued production.

Statistically, Connor isn’t yet in the top five among rookie scorers, sitting just outside the group with 15 goals and 28 points. What could turn the tide for Connor, though, is that he’s seemingly improving with each passing game and he could see an uptick in production once Scheifele returns. It should also be noted that few rookie forwards are being relied upon as much as Connor. His 17:24 average ice time is second among freshman forwards.

Pierre-Luc Dubois, There’s no better example of a rookie finding his game this season. Just look at Dubois’ numbers. In his first 20 games, he had two goals and four points while playing a fourth-line role for the Blue Jackets. Thankfully, he showed enough in those minutes to stick around with the big club, because as the second-quarter of the campaign opened, coach John Tortorella experimented with Dubois moving up the lineup and unlocked a fantastic rookie performance. In his new role as a top-six pivot, Dubois has eight goals and 18 points in 26 games while skating nearly 19 minutes per night. It’s a tale of two seasons for the youngster.

Here’s the thing, though: Dubois has been great while the Blue Jackets’ offense has not. Thus, scoring in bunches has been difficult, especially on a team that boasts an almost inconceivably ineffective power play — Columbus has converted on a mere 13.5 percent of their chances with the man advantage. But if Dubois continues to get more ice time, and he’s over 20 minutes in seven of his past nine games, he’ll be given every opportunity to pick up his own scoring and that of the Blue Jackets. And the further he drives up the scoring race, the better his chances at being a Calder finalist, at the very least.

Charlie McAvoy, Boston Bruins No defenseman up for the award this season is going to have the type of tangible success that usually decides the Calder winner, which is to say McAvoy isn’t going to finish in the top five in scoring, nor is he all that likely to finish in the top 10. As it stands, he’s tied for 14th among rookies, but it would only take one or two big games for a few freshmen forwards to surpass what McAvoy is able to produce as a defenseman. But here’s where McAvoy can gain some votes where others won’t be able to: his impact on the game.

As the season has worn on, McAvoy has proven time and again that he is capable of playing and succeeding against the opposition’s top line while playing massive minutes. Other than Zdeno Chara, no Bruins defenseman has faced a tougher quality of competition and McAvoy’s possession numbers have been brilliant given his competition. When it comes to other rookies, specifically, no player can claim to have had such a presence, either. Behind McAvoy, who has averaged nearly 23 minutes per game, the next-most utilized rookie skater is Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Robert Hagg. He hasn’t quite skated 19 minutes per game.

Statistically, McAvoy isn’t the most enticing Calder pick. But if the award is given to the best rookie based on overall play, there’s a serious conversation to be had about McAvoy.

Sportsnet.ca http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/3-3-mathieu-perreault-elite-depth-scorer-jets/

3 up, 3 down: an elite depth scorer for Jets

By Steve Laidlaw

Three Up Mathieu Perreault – C/LW – Jets – 13 Goals, 13 Assists, 60 Shots, 34 Games

The Winnipeg Jets are on their bye week, but will return to action on the weekend. When they get back, look to add Perreault, who has been an elite depth scorer. Even while he was skating on the fourth line, Perreault was offering consistent offence. Now that he is skating on the second line, he is producing at a point-per-game rate.

Eventually, the Jets will get Mark Scheifele and Adam Lowry back in the lineup, which will push Perreault back into a depth role. However, he may remain relevant even then as one of the most efficient per-minute scorers in the league.