Experience report – Niederreiter was lucky

WINNIPEG – Nino Niederreiter is a happy person.

The Winnipeg Jet forward continued to skate with his teammates today and is nearing a comeback. But we wouldn't be talking about it if it weren't for cut-resistant socks and luck. Niederreiter suffered a cut near his Achilles tendon on April 1 against the Los Angeles Kings.

“It was a terrible performance. I felt something in my leg, but I wasn't sure what it was. So I went down a few times and felt the blood. It started out warm,” Niederreiter said after Monday's skate.

“That's when I knew I had to go down and see what was going on. I was very successful. It hurt my Achilles a little. Several stitches were required. I'm happy to be here right now.”

The Swiss forward said he needed eight stitches to close the cut and said he has been wearing cut-resistant socks for some time. Jets coach Rick Bowness said if Niederreiter feels as good tomorrow as he did Monday, he has a good chance to play against Seattle.

David Gustafsson has to be given some credit for how well he played against Dallas and Colorado with Adam Lowry and Mason Appleton on the third line in Niederreiter's absence. Gustafsson scored one goal, added several assists and was a plus-three.

“Every time he came in, his mindset did his job very well,” said Gustafsson's Niederreiter.

“He competes very hard in practice, works hard day and night. It's always great to see a player like him rewarded.”

The Jets should be happy with how they play with two games left in the regular season. They have won six straight in a four-game road trip against Central Division opponents, including 11-0 wins over Dallas and Colorado in their last two games.

“It's the little mistakes like line changes and turnovers that make a big difference this time of year,” Connor Hellebuyck said.

“I think you'll see us manage the game better from that side. So our team play looks very similar, but our mistakes are not so costly.”

Winnipeg has won 50 games this season, and these last two home games give them one point to clinch second place in the division and home ice advantage in their first-round series with the Avalanche. They face Kraken Tuesday and the Canucks on Thursday.

“All we're focused on is tomorrow night's game, tomorrow night's business. So I told them this morning you know what you have to do for tomorrow,” Bowness said.

“If you have to skate today or tomorrow, skate today or tomorrow, if you don't have to, don't skate. Whatever you do, put all of our focus, all of our effort into tomorrow night's game and we'll go from there.”

While home ice is important, the players and coaches were confident their game was right, especially before they left for Nashville last week. The six-game winning streak was nice, but there was some turbulence in getting to where they are now heading into the Stanley Cup playoffs.

“Yes, we are right there. I mean, we didn't play well in Nashville. We had a bad game in Nashville. The first period was good, but after that we didn't play well. We're close,” Bowness said.

“We're right there and we've got to make sure we keep it going. But our focus is not on Colorado, (it's) not on Dallas, it's on Seattle, getting ready for tomorrow night.”