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David Zalubowski \/ The Associated Press Files<\/p>\n
Nathan MacKinnon and the Colorado Avalanche will be in town to take on Mark Scheifele and the Winnipeg Jets, Saturday.<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously, we know how dangerous they are offensively, but they don\u2019t give up a lot and they control a lot of the game with puck possession,\u201d said Jets defenceman Josh Morrissey. \u201cIt\u2019s a great test for us. We play them three times in the next three weeks and we have to rise to the occasion. It\u2019s an opportunity for us to step up.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know we\u2019re going to need to do something in these three games against them as we continue to push to get back in the mix.\u201d<\/p>\n
That difficult push got even tougher after missing out on four points in defeats to the New York Rangers and Anaheim Ducks by a combined score of 10-4.<\/p>\n
Although the Jets only gave up 17 shots on goal to the Rangers on Thursday, defensive-zone coverage lapses led to four of the six goals (with one coming shorthanded and the other into an empty net).<\/p>\n
Given the high-octane offence the Avalanche bring to the table, led by Hart Trophy candidate Nathan MacKinnon and Norris Trophy candidate Cale Makar, minimizing mistakes is a must if you\u2019re trying to contain this group.<\/p>\n
MacKinnon has 44 goals and 108 points in 63 games this season and only Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers has more (110) in the race for the Art Ross Trophy.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s always been so explosive and so dynamic,\u201d said Morrissey, who has known MacKinnon since they were playing minor hockey. \u201cBut what really stands out, spending more time with him the last few years, is his commitment to the game and how professional he is. On and off the ice. He\u2019s always trying to search and find ways to get better, work on his game, work off the ice with his nutrition, fitness, all of those things.<\/p>\n
\u201cPlaying with him you see that drive and intensity and his all-around game. It\u2019s why he\u2019s one of the best in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
This is the second of four meetings between the Central Division rivals, with the Avalanche defeating the Jets 3-2 in Denver in December.<\/p>\n
A deep Avalanche roster has since added forwards Nazem Kadri and Nicolas Roy and defenceman Nick Blankenburg in trades prior to last Friday\u2019s deadline.<\/p>\n
After a couple of stumbles this week, the Jets are hoping to channel the effort they put forth against the Tampa Bay Lightning earlier in the homestand, when they earned a 4-1 victory over a team that was then leading the Eastern Conference.<\/p>\n
\u201c(The Avalanche) have had a fantastic season,\u201d said Jets head coach Scott Arniel. \u201cIt is going to take (an effort) like the Tampa Bay game where we had everybody dialled in and we did a really good job with our five-man units against everybody that jumped over the boards.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have to be on point, doing that against a Colorado team that has made some additions and has some of the elite players in the league on their team.\u201d<\/p>\n
Although the Avalanche will be without captain Gabe Landeskog, their forward depth is impressive, with Martin Necas taking another important step (30 goals, 79 points, second in team scoring) and Brock Nelson, who was a target of the Jets at the trade deadline in 2025, anchoring the second line (30 goals, 55 points, fourth in team scoring).<\/p>\n
The defence corps is solid and the goaltending tandem of MacKenzie Blackwood (2.42 goals-against average, .908 save percentage) and Scott Wedgewood (2.16 goals-against average, .918 save percentage) are in the conversation as the best duo in the NHL.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s why Arniel basically said he\u2019s going to need the best from every one of his players to find the win column.<\/p>\n
One of the positive developments for the Jets during the past quarter of the season has been the emergence of defenceman Elias Salomonsson as an NHL regular.<\/p>\n
Injuries to Neal Pionk, Colin Miller and Morrissey opened the door for expanded minutes and responsibilities, and Salomonsson has proven to be capable of handling them.<\/p>\n
Salomonsson had 20:11 of ice time on Thursday, which gave him north of 20 minutes in five of the past 10 games, and was given the chance to run the second power-play unit.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has all that stuff in his repertoire,\u201d said Arniel. \u201cSome of it, earlier in the year, wasn\u2019t all there because he was trying to figure out the NHL game. Now, he is going through it and trying, maybe he will try a couple of things in the offensive zone or some things defending, feeling more comfortable about his gap, going back for pucks, making that first pass.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe is getting more and more comfortable in his skates as he recognizes now this is what the NHL is all about, this is what elite players do on a nightly basis, this is what top six forwards do and this is what bottom six forwards do. He is getting to know players and the opposition and I think that has helped.\u201d<\/p>\n
Salomonsson has chipped in assists in consecutive games to give him a goal and three points in 21 NHL games, as he settles in on a pairing with Dylan Samberg.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m trying to add layers to my game,\u201d said Salomonsson. \u201cThe most important thing is to play well defensively, and then we can build from that.<\/p>\n
\n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\tThe Warm-Up<\/p>\n
Winnipeg Jets Game Days<\/p>\n
On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop.<\/p>\n
\t\t\tSign up for The Warm-Up<\/a><\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t \u201cIt\u2019s a good opportunity for me. I think I have offence in my game, too. Trying to bring that shot mentality to that power play. Don\u2019t pass around it too much if a lane is open. Try to get the shot through.\u201d<\/p>\n Morrissey has been impressed as Salomonsson\u2019s flourished in an expanded role.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s a big guy that moves really well and has good instincts,\u201d said Morrissey. \u201cHe plays with some bite defensively. Like any younger guy, when you can put a number of games together in a row in the NHL and kind of feel like you have a little bit of a leash where you\u2019re not going to make one mistake and be taken out of the lineup.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s been consistent. The schedule is not easy when you\u2019re a young guy. Anyone can have one good game, but to play well consistently, with travel and not a lot of rest, that\u2019s sort of the tough part of the NHL and he\u2019s handled it really, really well. Instincts, skating, the way he moves the puck, I also like that he likes to shoot the puck, too. With all of those things, he looks great and he\u2019s only going to get better.\u201d<\/p>\n winnipegfreepress.com\/kenwiebe<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t Ken Wiebe Ken Wiebe is a sports reporter for the Free Press, with an emphasis on the Winnipeg Jets. He has covered hockey and provided analysis in this market since 2000 for the Winnipeg Sun, The Athletic, Sportsnet.ca and TSN. Ken was a summer intern at the Free Press in 1999 and returned to the Free Press in a full-time capacity in September of 2023. Read more about Ken<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Ken produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber<\/a>.<\/p>\n Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.<\/p>\n \t\t<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Reporter
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