SALT LAKE CITY – Nikolaj Ehlers will be a game-time decision tonight as the Winnipeg Jets close out a three-game road trip in Utah.
The 29-year-old – who at 63 points is one point shy of his career high for points in a season – was one of many members of the Jets that paid the price physically for the 4-0 shutout win over the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday.
Ehlers had two of Winnipeg’s 18 blocked shots in that game, with one of those forcing the speedy forward to the team’s dressing room for a short while. He returned, only to take some friendly fire – a Cole Perfetti one-timer from the slot, specifically – off the inside of the leg.
That forced him to leave the game, and while Ehlers wasn’t one of the Jets that practiced on Friday at the Olympic Oval in Salt Lake City, he was at the rink walking around.
“Not as bad as we thought,” head coach Scott Arniel said after the 35-minute practice. “He’s a lot better today than he was after the game last night. We’ll take it to game time tomorrow and see how it goes.”
With Ehlers unavailable for the practice, and his availability for the game itself in question, Arniel and the coaching staff made some modifications to the lines at Friday’s skate.
The main switch saw Nino Niederreiter join Vladislav Namestnikov and Cole Perfetti, while Brandon Tanev hopped onto the left wing with Adam Lowry and Mason Appleton.
Tanev has history playing with Lowry from his first run with the Jets between 2016 and 2019, and the forward also skates with Lowry in the first even strength shift following a Jets power play on occasion.
“Adam and Mason are both great players, good 200-foot players, so the game will become easy when you’re playing with good players,” said Tanev. “It’s the simplicity, the communication, understanding when to get pucks in deep, forechecking, challenging their top guys with physicality to create turnovers and when you have the opportunity to capitalize, it’s (about) getting pucks to the net and putting them in.”
The full line rushes looked like this:
Connor-Scheifele-Iafallo
Niederreiter-Namestnikov-Perfetti
Tanev-Lowry-Appleton
Gustafsson-Barron-Anderson-Dolan
Morrissey-DeMelo
Samberg-Schenn
Stanley-Miller
Fleury/Heinola-Pionk
The Jets (52-20-4) tied the franchise record with 52 wins in a season. It’s the third time that Winnipeg has reached that mark (2017-18, 2023-24), and if the team wants to extend that record further against Utah, they know they’ll have to be better than they were in their previous visit to Delta Center.
That night, way back on January 20, saw the Jets fall 5-2 to Utah. Winnipeg responded well, rattling off 11 consecutive wins after that setback (including one over Utah four nights later), but they definitely haven’t forgotten it.
“They ate us up here in this building with their transition game,” said Arniel. “We were better in our building. But it’s the big emphasis for them. They do a real good job, they have skilled forwards that can make plays. They also, I know they’re still not out of it yet and they’re battling as hard as they can. You get a team that’s desperate and looking for an opportunity.”
Utah (34-30-12) sits nine points back of the final wildcard spot in the Western Conference with just six games remaining on their schedule. Saturday’s game marks the third of a five-game home stand for Utah, who has split the first two games – a win over Calgary and a loss to Los Angeles.
“We know they’re on the outside of the playoff picture but we need to bring our best effort,” said Dylan DeMelo. “They’ve taken steps every year in regard to their team game. They’re stingy, they made some acquisitions in the summer to help that overall team game. The fans here have been really good obviously. It’s a loud building, eager for hockey. You can’t take any team lightly in this league.”
Heading into Saturday, the Jets hold a four-point lead over the Dallas Stars for top spot in the Central Division. The two teams will meet one final time in Dallas on April 10, but the Jets can only focus on what’s in front of them.
“It’s about us at the end of the day and how we carry ourselves, and how we play in these last games leading up to the playoffs,” said DeMelo. “We want to make sure our game is right and we’ll worry about standings and who we play whenever that is. We’re just worried about being the best version of the Winnipeg Jets.”
Puck drop is set for 6 pm CT.
