JETS Notebook: Bowness returns to Connor, Scheifele; Lowry hit 700

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It's a square peg that Rick Bowness is trying to test into a round hole.

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The results have been mixed for the Winnipeg Jets head coach.

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Kyle Connor, Mark Scheifele and Gabriel Vilardi all have moments of brilliance. Of course, it depends on the individual skills of each player.

But as a series, the general theme is not bright.

In 24 games together this season, they are outscored 194-145, 103-74, 108-70 (including 54-25 on high-danger opportunities) and 12-9.

Those aren't the kind of numbers you want to see in an NHL hockey club to make it to the top.

However, Bowness returned to the well in Dallas on Thursday to try and find something that had yet to be discovered.

“They've got to step it up a little bit,” Bowness told reporters in Dallas after the team's morning skate. “We separated them because they spent too much time in our area.”

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That's a problem for a line that has the primary offensive zone draw when playing together – about 73.7% of all snaps they've taken.

Bowness said he is looking for continuity in his front line.

“They've played a lot together and we've got to push them forward, it's as simple as that,” he said.

The reasons for the bowness seem, at first glance, to be a touch.

Connor and Scheifele work wonders on offense, but historically they've always given more than they've gotten.

But in putting together a line that has struggled on both sides of the puck, he also gets back to a line that has been pretty good at small size.

Nikolaj Ehlers, Sean Monahan and Tyler Toffoli have played a combined 14 games this season, but the numbers have been good.

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They've outscored their opponents 81-64, outscored them 45-36, outscored them 33-29 (including a 13-4 edge in Class A) and, most importantly, been outscored 7-2.

“Before Tyler got hurt, they were scoring every game,” Bowness said. “So we have to strike a bit of a balance on those two fronts.”

It seems like it's too late in the year (Thursday was Game 78 for the Jets).

But Bowness realized they had a good mix before Tofolli got sick.

“We didn't get it … but listen, we've got 102 points so far,” Bowness said. “Let's not overlook this, then. We've had a pretty good regular season so far, but we're not done yet. We're still aiming for home ice in the first round.”

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Bowness moved Cole Perfetti back to the press box Thursday in favor of David Gustafsson, who was paired with Mason Appleton and Adam Lowry.

Nino Niederreiter, a regular at Lowry's, skated in the morning but is still recovering from last week's slide.

The hope, Bowness said, is to have him back in the lineup Saturday at Colorado State.

Lowry will play his 700th game

Adam Laurie knew it was coming.

Often, players approaching milestones say they didn't know it until someone brought it up to them.

Usually, that someone is the captain of the Winnipeg Jets.

So he was well aware of his milestone when he hit game No. 700 on Thursday in Dallas.

“I've got a pretty good bead on these things and hold other guys accountable when they're in critical stints,” Lowry said.

“I'm very grateful to be able to do what I love for so long in this league. You will remember this when you look at your career path. I am thankful for the support from my family and for doing it all with the same organization.

“Now it's a different game for me. But it's always good to reach these milestones.”

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