As much as the plot thickens surrounding the future of Winnipeg Jets enigmatic forward Evander Kane, there is some hockey to be played and for the Jets, that's all that matters now.
Tonight the Jets host the Wild in what could be the most important game of the year for them. Look at the standings and it's easy to understand why. The Wild are
6 points back of the Jets with 3 games in hand. Tonight matters because the Wild can gain 2 points and retain those games in hand.
To complicate matters for the Jets, they are without Kane and may have one of the toughest remaining schedules based on Score Adjusted Fewick.
So yeah, there's that.
It's no time to get comfortable nor is it time to panic. For the Jets it's time to put the positive effort from the last three games, an effort that has got them 4 of 6 points, into force as part of their old identity. Sounds simple but after 5 days off this team deviated immensely from what had made them successful up to the all-star break including going 5-1-1 over 7 games in 11 days. If only Paul Maurice could bottle that elixir up for his team to consume.
Hutchinson is starting tonight for the Jets while it is between Kemper and Dubnyk for the Wild. Dubnyk played last night in a 5-3 win over the Canucks and was named the NHL's first star of the week for last week. He's been on fire. Mike Yeo might consider riding him tonight as he had been the most consistent part of the Wild since his streak began.
The Jets have Adam Lowry back in as centre on the third line with Thorburn and Frolik. Byfuglien still remains at forward which remains a curious decision. Is the pool of forwards so thin that no better option could be made in the bottom six than dropping Frolik down or moving Thorburn up?
More importantly, is the pairing of Buff Chairot not good enough to warrant a roster move to make it happen? Certainly the injury to Halischuk changes some things for Maurice but once again that points to roster depth, and the GM.
The betting man says this is the kind of game that the Jets come out flat. The heart on their sleeve fan is seeking a thunderous start at home against the Wild. The realist predicts the Jets have to get themselves out of trouble to get the win just like they did against the Avalanche. That seems to be the way the team deals with adversity on the ice.
For now that's the only place anyone should be looking for adversity with the Jets. Let the off-ice stuff manage itself as the players and leadership made their statement in that forum. They now have to make a statement on the ice too and no better time than tonight.
Extra:
Today on 1290 Troy Westwood told a story about Lowry from the Chicago that was relayed to him by the ice-level crew. It is how they heard Lowry chirping Toews and telling him he 'was going to take him out in front of his hometown fans family'. That takes melons, big melons and it's the type of player every team needs. Kid hardly acts like a rookie does he?
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