Practice Report - April 18

WINNIPEG – With the Stanley Cup Playoffs set to begin on Saturday for the Winnipeg Jets, the team has been laser focused on their opponent, the St. Louis Blues.

The Jets just faced the Blues back on April 7, an impressive 3-1 win over St. Louis where they halted their division rivals 12-game win streak, holding the visitors to just 15 shots.

“It was great to run into them since they've been on a tear since the 4 Nations was completed,” said head coach Scott Arniel.

“Lots of familiarity. Their team, a few pieces have changed over the years but at the end of the day they're a Central opponent that we've seen a lot of, and we know how they go about their business.”

Speaking of 4 Nations, it was Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington who had the spotlight on him throughout the event as Canada’s starting goaltender. Binnington answered his critics with a stellar performance in the championship leading Canada past Connor Hellebuyck and the United States in overtime.

“Binnington has been in this league, he’s won a Stanley Cup. The 4 Nations, his spectacular play there. At the end of the day, they’ve been on a run, and he’s been a big part of it. He’s experienced at this time of the year,” said Arniel.

“On the other side with Helle, that 4 Nations was a great opportunity for him to go head-to-head, not only against Binnington but against the other goalies from the other nations and be in pressure situations much like playoff games. Those are all the kind of the learning things for him.”

Hellebuyck followed a Vezina Trophy winning season with an even better one leading all goaltenders in wins (47), goals against average (2.00) and shutouts (8). He is more than worthy of becoming the first goaltender since Carey Price in 2015 to win the Hart Trophy. For whatever reason, Hellebuyck was ranked third in a recent NHLPA poll as the top goaltender.

“For the game I know where I’m at. I play the game for myself. If I like my game, I like my game. I like our team,” said Hellebuyck.

“We’ve got a lot to look ahead for here. It’s just making sure my game is right, and our details are right.”

As great as this season was, the questions have begun and will likely continue through the first round of the playoffs about what happened last spring against the Colorado. The Jets were the best defensive team for the second straight year and their captain, Adam Lowry also carries a lot of confidence heading into the postseason.

“I think we found our real sustainable way to win games and that's by limiting chances, having real tight structure, being solid defensively and being able to score at a pretty high rate as well,” said Lowry.

“Like I said, we're really looking forward to the challenge and the pressure that comes with it. It's the best time of year."

The Jets ran a full practice at hockey for all centre this morning and the lines looked like this:

There are seven members of the current edition of the Jets who played in the 2019 playoff series between Winnipeg and St. Louis. Mark Scheifele was one of those players and says he’s excited to just get things started on Saturday afternoon. The Jets centreman knows they will have to be ready to go from the drop of the puck at Canada Life Centre.

“We want to play our game, that’s what we want to do. We want to have a good start to the series and get some momentum,” said Scheifele.

“Every game is a different beast, gotta be ready for everything and that’s what we’ve done all year is to be ready for anything and whatever happens, happens.”