April 11 | Planes in the Stars – Winnipeg Free Press

DALLAS – The Winnipeg Jets looked to extend their winning streak to five games against the Dallas Stars on Thursday, rebuilding their streak once again.

Jets head coach Rick Bowness reunited Kyle Connor with Mark Scheifele and Gabriel Vilardi, and Nikolaj Ehlers is back with Sean Monahan and Tyler Toffoli.

When asked what went into the decision, Bowness had this to say.

“They need to step it up a little bit. We split them up because they spent too much time in our area,” Bowness said when asked about the first meeting between Connor and Scheifele. “Again, if we're going to get some consistency with our offense and some of our lines, they've been playing together a lot. We have to get them going. It's that simple.

“Ehlers, Monahan and Toffoli together were scoring every game before Tyler got sick. So we have to strike a balance between these two paths.”

The Jets' hot streak includes Tuesday's 4-3 overtime win over the Nashville Predators, and the Stars have won 10 of their last 11, with the lone loss coming against the Chicago Blackhawks last Saturday (which snapped an eight-game winning streak).

Dallas has outscored the Jets 9-3 in the first three games of the season.

The ability to avoid direct sweeps seems secondary.

David Gustafsson will start on the left wing with Adam Lowry and Mason Appleton on Thursday night against the Dallas Stars. (Alex Gallardo/The Associated Press files)

“These are two important points (in the tournament). We don't want to give them up. It doesn't matter if the regular season series goes into the playoffs. It's a different animal,” Jets captain Adam Lowry said. “Maybe a little bit of confidence, we want to keep playing well, we want to keep playing our game. Our main focus is to continue to climb the standings, to put ourselves in the best possible position for the post-season.

“Dallas is one of the best teams in the league. We have to be ready (because) it will be a tough match. We really like the team here and to go out there and perform against one of the best teams.”

The Jets make one lineup change, subbing in David Gustafsson for Cole Perfetti. He will play on the left wing with Lowry and Mason Appleton.

“(Gustafsson) does a good job on both sides of the puck,” Lowry said. “His forecasting skills are really underrated. He's very smart in the defensive zone, he's great at the rim. If we add that kind of defensive intelligence to our line, I think we're going to start a lot of (defensive) zone.

“When you have someone you can trust, he makes simple plays, but they're really smart. He's quick to notice, his punch is low. When he came in and played for us, he played really well this year. It was an unfortunate situation for many guys. We have a lot of great strikers and a lot of options, and there is only so much room in the squad. He comes to work every day. I know he'll be ready and I'm looking forward to this opportunity with him.”

Laurent Brossoit makes his 21st start for the Jets and 22nd of the season. The Stars will face starter Jake Ottinger, who is 5-0-1 in six games against Winnipeg and has a 1.99 goals-against average and .926 save percentage.

Despite the small sample size, Brossoit is 2-0-1 with a 1.90 goals-against average and .944 save percentage in three career starts against the Stars.

AUTHORS' NOTE:

Let's get ready for the playoffs! The Free press Hockey writers Mike McIntyre, Ken Wiebe and sports editor Jason Bell are gearing up to help Jets fans get ready for the playoffs with a special hot session. The event will be held on Wednesday, April 17, from 6:30-8:00 p.m. Free press Atrium at 1355 Mountain Ave. Our roundtable will be a wide-ranging discussion with plenty of time for you to ask questions. Space is limited, so the first 50 people to RSVP to [email protected] by noon on Friday, April 12, reserve their spot.

FROM THE PRESS CLOSE

Mike says: I'm coming to you today from lovely St. Paul, Minn., where I had the privilege of showing the Frozen Four for the first time. Only four NCAA teams remain in the championship hunt, including top Jets prospect Rutger McGroarty and his Michigan Wolverines. I'm here working on Saturday's in-depth feature on the young man, but I'll also be covering tonight's tilt between Michigan and Boston College, with the winner advancing to Saturday's final against Denver. or Boston University (they play this afternoon).

One of the big questions that needs to be answered is whether McGroarty will join the Jets as soon as his season ends, which could be tonight or Saturday night. Stay tuned. No matter when it happens, the future will be bright.

Now, back to the present, the Flyers will need a much better effort against the Stars than they did against the Predators 48 hours ago (save for goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, who was the only reason they stole two points). In time, prepare for the playoffs, face a team that can win the Central Division (and stay in the Presidents Trophy hunt) and go a perfect 3-0-0 against you. this season would qualify as a great tune-up.

As I pointed out in this space on Tuesday, opening the first round of the playoffs at the Canadian Life Center (not in Denver, where the Colorado Avalanche have the league's best home-ice record) could be a pretty big deal. And the Jets are very much in control.

The math is simple: No matter what Colorado does in its last three games (vs. Winnipeg, at Vegas, vs. Edmonton), Winnipeg must be two points better in its last four games (at Dallas, Colorado, Seattle, Vancouver). In that sense, tonight is the most important game of the year. At least until next Saturday in Mile High. The next one. Then, first of all, the following.

I'm curious to see how the Jets fare, even if my eyes are mostly on McGroarty and company in Minnesota tonight.

Goaltender Connor Hellebuyck was the only reason the Nashville Predators beat the Nashville Predators 4-3 in overtime on Tuesday night at Bridgestone Arena. (Mark Humphrey/The Associated Press)

Ken says: The top line reunion will be under the microscope tonight, and it's simple. If Scheifele and Connor want to play on the same line come the playoffs, they'll have to show they can get more than they give against teams like the Stars and Rams.

Finding some kind of continuity with the top two lines is what Bowness said, though he pushed back on whether there was a level of frustration in looking for that chemistry with the final two points of the season.

“Again, this is the case. We stayed for a while and then Tyler got sick and Gabe got hurt and everything happened. We couldn't implement it, you're right,” said Bowness. “Listen, we have 102 points so far. Let's not forget this. 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. Let's not forget where we are. We had a wonderful year. We have.

“But now we have to get some continuity from those two main roads. The third and fourth lines are equally important. You can see how well the fourth line played. They scored another big goal against us last game. It's not just the top two lines. We are trying to achieve continuity with four lines.”

Although Nino Niederreiter will return to action on Saturday, this is a great opportunity for Gustafsson to show what he can do alongside Lowry. This is a trio I suggested going to training camp a few years ago, and a group I'd be interested in seeing.

The Stars have one of the deepest rosters in the NHL and I look forward to seeing how former Manitoba Moose blueliner Chris Tanev fits into the group.

In a conversation Thursday morning, Stars head coach Peter DeBoer talked about the impact Tanev has made on and off the ice since arriving in a trade with the Calgary Flames.

Rookie forward Logan Stankoven has also done a great job of integrating himself into the lineup, scoring six goals and 14 points since being drafted from the Texas Stars of the American Hockey League.

Here is some other information to prepare you: