JETS READY FOR NASTY SERIES
It’s up to Winnipeg’s skilled players to stay out of the mess, writes Paul Friesen.
He didn’t yet know when the next series starts, but Blake Wheeler already had his game face on Tuesday.
Short with some answers, downright snarky with others, the Winnipeg Jets captain, fresh off practice at the Iceplex, looked and sounded ready for the first face-wash from the smelly glove of Nashville defenceman P.K. Subban.
“We’re locked in right now. When they tell us when to play, we’re going to be ready to go,” Wheeler said before the NHL later announced Game 1 of the series would go Friday night in Nashville.
Asked for some thoughts about the opponent, Wheeler managed this: “They’re a good team. It’s going to be a tough series.”
Head down, intense, Wheeler often takes a less-than-generous approach with reporters.
Question: “What do you expect they’ll do to stop your line?” Answer: “I don’t know.” Question: “How chippy do you expect it to get?”
Answer: “We’re here to play and win hockey games. Whatever else happens is a product of the other team. Our focus is on our game, playing incredibly fast. We work on that every day, try to bring that to every single game.”
The line of questioning was an attempt to find out how the Jets are going to handle some of the extracurriculars Nashville is expected to throw at them.
The face-washes, gloved punches and cross-checks in this series — and how the teams react to them — will be almost as noteworthy as the saves and goals.
If either team loses its cool and starts taking penalties, it’s in trouble.
We’ve already seen Subban try to get under the skin of Wheeler’s linemate, Mark Scheifele, during the regular season.
Scheifele has been drawn into some of that against the Norris Trophy-calibre defenceman, and I’m not sure that’s a good idea in a playoff series.
Scheifele on Tuesday tried to play down the individual matchup with Subban.
“He plays an intense game just like their whole team does,” he said.
And if it gets chippy?
“I’m just going to play my game,” Scheifele said. “Obviously, intensity is going to ramp up, but you’ve just got to keep your cool out there and have fun with it.”
Somebody else asked Scheifele about his rivalry with Subban and how he gave it right back in a game earlier this season.
“There’s going to be slashes and cross-checks and hits and there’s going to be a million of those this series,” he said. “But we’re here to play hockey ... I’m going to battle when it’s time to battle, play D when it’s time to play D and play offence when it’s time to play offence.”
Round 1 against Minnesota, Scheifele was most effective in
You just asked me what we’re going to do if the game gets chippy. My answer was we’re going to continue to play fast and worry about winning hockey games.
Part C of that equation, leading the Jets with four goals and five points.
He and the Jets’ other “skilled” players should probably leave the dirty work to the Adam Lowrys, Brandon Tanevs, Jacob Troubas and Ben Chiarots of the lineup.
Jets coach Paul Maurice downplayed the nasty angle, too.
“There’s just going to be bodies to the front of both teams’ nets and they’re both going to protect their goalie,” Maurice said.
“They push and shove and call each other names, and then they go back to the bench and we drop the puck.”
If only it were always that simple.
There’s a line to walk, one drawn by the officials, but walked by the players. And it can differ from game to game.
In a close series like this, retaliation becomes a four-letter word.
“They’ll figure it out,” Maurice said. “Players always figure that out.”
Back in the captain’s corner, I took one last try at finding out if the Jets want to get down and dirty with the Preds or take the high road.
“I pretty much just answered that, didn’t I?” Wheeler said. “You just asked me what we’re going to do if the game gets chippy. My answer was we’re going to continue to play fast and worry about winning hockey games.
“Just put whatever you want me to say into your article — how about that?” Wheeler concluded. “Because you’re digging for something that I’m not ...”
His voice trailed off and the topic changed.
You get the feeling it’ll come up again, soon enough.