National Post (National Edition)
Roslovic could be the one to energize Jets’ top guns
Laine, Ehlers could use some added spark
The flashes have been apparent from Jack Roslovic during his limited action.
The most notable moment was a creative and explosive rush against the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday, when Roslovic made a slick move to create a scoring chance for himself.
The Winnipeg Jets centre finished Thursday’s 3-0 loss to the Nashville Predators in between Patrik Laine and Nikolaj Ehlers.
Whether that’s a sign of things to come when the Jets return to practice after using Friday as a day of rest remains to be seen, but you can be sure it’s something head coach Paul Maurice has taken under consideration.
The Jets are 2-2-0 out of the gate and have a date with the upstart Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday.
In two of the contests, a 5-1 win over the St Louis Blues and a 2-1 victory over the Kings, the Jets showcased the brand of hockey that has them mentioned in many circles as a legitimate Stanley Cup contender.
A lopsided 5-1 loss to the Dallas Stars was a classic example of what happens when the Jets don’t play up to pace.
Thursday’s tilt against the Predators was a wild affair, one which saw the Jets generate ample pressure at even strength — in what limited opportunities there were in between the parade to the penalty box.
But this isn’t a column about the need for the Jets to limit numerous stick fouls.
Penalty trouble is an area that will be addressed by the Jets in their video meetings.
The larger issue at hand is what to do to try to get Laine and Ehlers going.
Laine (44) and Ehlers (29) combined for 73 goals last season and spent much of the campaign playing together.
They were separated for a good chunk of the first two games, but have been reunited for much of the past two.
Ehlers was a bit more dangerous the past two, earning some praise from Maurice in his post-game meeting with members of the media on Thursday.
As for Laine, he’s gone three games since finding the back of the net on his first shot attempt of the season, a power-play marker that caromed in off Blues defenceman Colton Parayko.
It’s easy to say it’s not working with Bryan Little between the young skilled forwards and the alternative for Maurice right now would be to move Roslovic up onto the line.
Yes, there is a rolling the dice element to that move, as there isn’t a lot of experience with the trio.
There’s also a great deal of potential.
There could be some challenges in the defensive zone, but the case for giving it a shot would be that adding the extra speed element in Roslovic could lead to having the puck more and spending more time in the offensive zone.
Little is a responsible two-way player and has some built-in chemistry playing with Mathieu Perreault, who is another guy who needs to get going offensively.
Playing them together with Kristian Vesalainen could be a way to spark both lines, plus it could provide a bit more balance in terms of ice time distribution.
Maurice was staunch in his support of Little on the first day of training camp and it’s not a surprise he started with a veteran in the job.
It also made sense to see if things might click after Laine dropped 15 pounds during the off-season.
But so far, there haven’t been many strides taken.
Although the line had strong possession numbers on Thursday, Laine was limited to one shot on goal and Little didn’t have any but did a nice job during the 4:03 of short-handed time he played.
If Maurice believes Roslovic is ready for the increased responsibility, he won’t hesitate to put him there.
The premise is that by allowing Roslovic some additional time to adjust to becoming a regular centre, the 2015 first-rounder will eventually blossom in the role.
The counter argument is that the Jets have been too reliant on the top line of Mark Scheifele, Blake Wheeler and Kyle Connor when it comes to providing the offence.
They’ve delivered five of the eight goals the goals have scored this season.
The unit featuring Adam Lowry between Andrew Copp and Brandon Tanev has been solid, but the Jets need some production from the other two lines in order to be an effective team.
Since Maurice doesn’t really want to tinker with either the Scheifele or Lowry lines, the next option is flip-flopping Little and Roslovic.
It’s a logical step, though delaying the inevitable in this case might allow the opportunity for greater success a little further down the road.
However, if the Little line doesn’t find a way to be a bit more dangerous offensively, Maurice may have to speed up the process.