Scott Billeck

Advertisement 1 Share this Story : JETS SNAPSHOTS: Hockey world loses a legend; Schmidt ready to ride in Game 3 JETS SNAPSHOTS: Hockey world loses a legend; Schmidt ready to ride in Game 3 Author of the article: Article content The death of legendary play-by-play man Bob Cole on Wednesday reverberated through the dressing rooms of the Winnipeg Jets and Colorado Avalanche in Denver on Thursday. Advertisement 2 Article content JETS SNAPSHOTS: Hockey world loses a legend; Schmidt ready to ride in Game 3 Back to video Cole, who was 90, passed away in St. John's, NL. Article content For five decades, he became the soundtrack of Saturday nights as the play-by-play man on Hockey Night in Canada “He's such a legend, such a great man and I've met him a few times over the years at charity golf tournaments in Halifax,” Avalanche superstar Nathan MacKinnon told reporters in Denver. “He'd come out and support Atlantic Canadians. Amazing person, super funny. Just a great guy and obviously some of the best calls of all time, so super sad to hear that.” MacKinnon grew up as a big Pittsburgh Penguins fan, following the career of good friend and fellow Cole Harbour native, Sidney Crosby. “Just growing up, every playoff, it was unreal,” MacKinnon said. “I was a big Penguins fan and anytime Hockey Night in Canada came on, I loved watching them. I'm from Nova Scotia. So, games are pretty late for me. I didn't see much, but he's a legend.” Advertisement 3 Article content Jets forward Tyler Toffoli, a native of Scarborough, Ont., said it was tough news to wake up to on Thursday. “Plenty (of memories),” he said. “Seeing that this morning, waking up, was pretty disheartening. Real unfortunate. The career he had affected so many people, and so many guys' careers as well. Definitely a sad day in hockey for sure. “You see some of the videos, some of the calls. It's definitely very emotional. Just a huge part in hockey and affected a lot of people.” Jets head coach Rick Bowness said the hockey world lost a legend and a wonderful human being. “I spent a lot of time with Bob over the years,” Bowness, 69, said. “There's not necessarily a specific story, but the most important thing is that all the coaches around the league and all the hockey people, they trusted him. Advertisement 4 Article content “He was a true pro. You could tell him anything and he called a great game. Very respectful, very professional. I had a good rapport with Bob. I'm from the Maritimes, he was from Newfoundland. He's not a Maritimer, he was a Newfoundlander. But I always had a great rapport with Bob. I just had nothing but respect for him. “The hockey world lost a really good human being today.” Jets turn to veteran Schmidt Bowness appears set to return to a defensive pairing that relinquished very little during the regular season. Veteran blue-liner Nate Schmidt will likely return to the fold for Game 3 of Winnipeg's best-of-seven series with the Avalanche on Friday. During their time together this season, Schmidt was paired with Dylan Samberg, a duo that gave up a league-low 11 goals at 5-on-5 (minimum 500 minutes played) and the second-lowest goals against per 60 minutes at 1.25. Advertisement 5 Article content Schmidt will replace Logan Stanley, who played 31 shifts over the first two games, with no points and no shots on goal. “It's been an exciting series so far, can't wait to be a part of it,” Schmidt said. “A lot of energy in Winnipeg. Hopefully, bring that over here in the next two games, Games 3 and 4.” If Schmidt does play, Bowness said, he'll be back on the right side. “That right side for a left hand, that's a tough position,” Bowness said. “You get stuck in the corner, and the way they forecheck and the way they bring the puck in, it's hard for a lefty going back into that right corner. “We do want to move the puck a little quicker, we still played a little too slow for our liking last game. So get moving the puck quicker and playing north — a lot faster game — is going to help us, for sure.” Advertisement 6 Article content Schmidt said he has seen a couple of things that can be done to slow Colorado's speed when they start churning in the offensive zone. “Trying to cut off before they get into that motion is No. 1,” he said. “No. 2, when we do have a chance to outnumber in the corner, we can't let them off. When we let them out, and they start getting low to high, and all of a sudden, their forwards in the corner can swing low to high and get above the top of the circle, and all of a sudden, the zone opens up. “It's something we talked about (on Thursday) and hopefully will be able to implement (in Game 3).” Meanwhile, Schmidt feels the communication skills fostered between himself and Samberg will play a crucial role. “That has to be the foundation for him and I,” Schmidt said. “I believe we've laid those bricks. Now, it's time to reap the rewards.” They said it Jets head coach Rick Bowness on the confidence he has in goalie Connor Hellebuyck: “I never worry about his confidence. He's very confident in himself. He knows he's an elite goalie. He wants the ball. He loves being in there in these big moments.” [email protected] X: @scottbilleck Article content Share this article in your social network Share this Story : JETS SNAPSHOTS: Hockey world loses a legend; Schmidt ready to ride in Game 3 Comments Join the Conversation Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion. Please keep comments relevant and respectful. Comments may take up to an hour to appear on the site. You will receive an email if there is a reply to your comment, an update to a thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information. Loading... Latest National Stories News Near Elliot Lake This Week in Flyers

Article content The stunned look on the faces of the Winnipeg Jets said it all. Article content

Few things are as foolish in the NHL as giving Colorado's power play a chance to cook. Article content On Friday, the Avalanche served up a gourmet menu.

Advertisement 1 Share this Story : BILLECK: Penalty-fest shot down Jets' chances in Game 3 BILLECK: Penalty-fest shot down Jets' chances in Game 3 Author of the article: Article content Few things are as foolish in the NHL as giving Colorado's power play a chance to cook. Advertisement 2 Article content BILLECK: Penalty-fest shot down Jets' chances in Game 3 Back to video On Friday, the Avalanche served up a gourmet menu. Article content Through 40 minutes at Ball Arena, Game 3 between the Winnipeg Jets and Avs was a pretty even affair, and the visitors held the advantage on the scoreboard. At 5-on-5, where most of the game was played through the first two periods, the Avs held a slight lead in attempts at 46-39, including a 28-19 lead on the shot clock, but the Jets had the better scoring chances (23-18), high-danger attempts (11-4), and, crucially, a 2-1 lead where it really counts. So, how did it all go so wrong? Winnipeg's demise began with Mason Appleton's tripping call in the offensive zone, and only got worse just over a minute later with Gabriel Vilardi's high-sticking double-minor early in the third period. It ended with the Jets taking 10 minutes worth of penalties in the first 10:35 of that final frame. Advertisement 3 Article content By 12:35, Colorado had reversed the 2-1 deficit into a 5-2 lead, scoring twice on the power play and one more just a second after Neal Pionk's delay of game penalty for firing the puck over the glass expired. The game was effectively over at that point, the Avs winning 6-2 after rubbing salt in the wound with a shorthanded empty-netter from their own end. “We were just hoping to not give them those chances,” Jets defenceman Josh Morrissey said. “That's really the story of the third. First 10 minutes, for sure. We gave them a lot of time on the powerplay and they've got a bunch of elite players on that unit and they capitalized. “So we got to do a better job of trying to stay out of the box.” The Avs hit the afterburners to open the period, forcing their tremendous speed and aggressiveness on Winnipeg. Advertisement 4 Article content Appleton's and David Gustaffson's respective tripping calls in the offensive zone had little to do with speed. Vilardi's careless stick had nothing to do with it at all. And the same was true with Pionk's delay-of-game call. That's four unforced errors while trying to hold a lead. “If we can win the faceoff and get it down the ice, then be a little more aggressive up ice so they are not getting in,” Jets coach Rick Bowness said of stopping Colorado's power play. “And then on their other entries, be more aggressive. Once they get control of it, we've gotta protect the seams better and gotta protect that down and in they found a couple of times. Then it's a matter of tightening up, cutting that ice in half. We can do a better job of that.” Advertisement 5 Article content They say the four-letter word for fecal matter flows downhill. The third period on Friday night was proof-positive of that. Colorado is already a big challenge when playing at even strength. Sending out four players to defend five of theirs only drains the batteries faster. Connor Hellebuyck played brilliantly through the first 40 minutes, turning aside 27 of the 28 shots he faced. But as the foundation that got Winnipeg a lead began to crumble beneath, Hellebuyck could do little to stop the avalanche that had already trampled over those in front of him. Toss in a bad giveaway by Mark Scheifele, and a worse backcheck followed, and that was all she wrote. The Jets now have the unenviable task of trying to put that behind them and rebound in Game 4 on Sunday afternoon. Advertisement 6 Article content It's not just the power play the Jets need to avoid. Puck management, a problem that's plagued this team all season, didn't suddenly disappear on Friday. “As soon as we take a shot and there's a loose puck, they're getting it and they're gone,” Bowness said. And then there's a team that simply needs to shoot more. Tyler Toffoli's goal in the second period, which tied the game 1-1, exploited Colorado's weakness — its goaltending. Alexandar Georgiev had a solid Game 2. But it still stands to reason that if the Jets put more pucks on net, from anywhere and everywhere, they'd score more goals, combined with better offensive zone puck management. “When we're playing in their zone, we still pass up too many shooting opportunities for sure,” Bowness said. “We've got to stop looking for that extra play and just do what they do — throw it at the net. Advertisement 7 Article content “Even when we did that, they were getting the retrievals and coming out. We've got to be careful watching that, too, because that's where they're so strong off the rush. We can't waste shots. We've got to make sure they're on a good chance. But there were times when we had two forwards swinging in behind the net, looking for those pucks, and that's why they're getting those odd-mans. “Listen, we can play better than that. There were parts of the game, the discipline, staying out of the box is going to be a huge factor for us.” Indeed, it may be Winnipeg's only chance to survive the series. [email protected] X: @scottbilleck Article content Share this article in your social network Share this Story : BILLECK: Penalty-fest shot down Jets' chances in Game 3 Comments Join the Conversation Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion. Please keep comments relevant and respectful. Comments may take up to an hour to appear on the site. You will receive an email if there is a reply to your comment, an update to a thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information. Loading... Latest National Stories News Near Elliot Lake This Week in Flyers

Talk about shutting it down before it could even begin. Article content

Advertisement 1 Share this Story : JETS NOTEBOOK: Jets sticking with Hellebuyck; Jonsson-Fjallby called upon for speed, tenacity JETS NOTEBOOK: Jets sticking with Hellebuyck; Jonsson-Fjallby called upon for speed, tenacity Author of the article: Article content Talk about shutting it down before it could even begin. Advertisement 2 Article content JETS NOTEBOOK: Jets sticking with Hellebuyck; Jonsson-Fjallby called upon for speed, tenacity Back to video Any thoughts of Rick Bowness turning to backup Laurent Brossoit, with his No. 1 Connor Hellebuyck struggling between the pipes for the Winnipeg Jets, were shot down faster than you can “Vezina.” Article content “It's Connor Hellebuyck's net,” Bowness told reporters in Denver after the Jets put in a short practice at Ball Arena on Saturday. Say no more. The truth is it wouldn't have mattered who was between the pipes in Game 3 on Friday evening, a game the Jets lost 6-2 in the end after coughing up power play after power play in the third period after leading the game 2-1 through 40 minutes. You give Colorado a chance to cook, and they'll plate something you'd find in a Michelin-star kitchen. In fairness to reality, Hellebuyck has been far from his Vezina self. Advertisement 3 Article content His .890 save percentage during 5-on-5 play in this series is 12th among goalies who have featured in the postseason so far. Interestingly enough, those who believe Alexandar Georgiev is outduelling him only have a case when power plays are introduced. Georgiev has a .867 save percentage in the series at 5-on-5. Another reality for Winnipeg is that they haven't been able to keep themselves out of the box. Their penalty kill has only worked 63.6% of the time, good for just 13th among the 16 playoff teams. “Our penalty kill has to do a better job,” captain Adam Lowry, one of Winnipeg's top penalty killers, said. “We've got to get a couple stops. It's tough when you take that many penalties against a lethal power play like Colorado has. And you get down in the game and you take some more.” Advertisement 4 Article content And while it might be exhausting, Lowry believes it impacts a team more in terms of rhythm. “There's only certain guys that kill penalties,” he said. “There's other guys that you'd like to get on the ice and they don't get the opportunity. They're not playing shifts, or one shift in 15 minutes. It's tough to get them going, it's tough to mount our counter-attack and things like that. “With the high-end talent they have, discipline is going to be critical for us.” In addition, the team as a whole is giving up nearly 40 shots per game on average, the most of any team coming into Saturday's action. Tallied up, it paints a grim picture, even with the Jets only trailing the series 2-1. The analytics may offer some friendly shades, but the fact is this: If Hellebuyck can't perform miracles, and the Jets can't stop ending up in the sin bin, it will be lights going before a winner-takes-all game ever comes to fruition. Advertisement 5 Article content Jets confident in their 5-on-5 play It's been their greatest strength all season long. So, getting back to it would seem paramount if they're to earn a split in Colorado on Sunday. “If you look at the majority of 5-on-5 play (on Friday), I thought we did a lot of really good things,” Lowry said. “Chances off the cycle, creating chances off the forecheck and things like that. In Games 1 and 2, we didn't really sustain a lot of o-zone time. The number went up (in Game 3) but it's still one of those things, we don't want to be one and done against this team in terms of the chances we create. “Any time you don't get those loose puck recoveries, they do such a good job in transition and that's where they can really hurt you. The more time we can make MacKinnon's line and Mittelstadt's line have to defend, the more likely our chances of winning the game go up. That's where we do a really good job of getting in, cycling, changing and creating chances like that.” Advertisement 6 Article content And then they can't allow it to sag at any point. In Game 2, the Avs scored three goals in a span of 5:37, effectively ending the game. In the third period on Friday, a six-minute chunk in the third period reversed Winnipeg's 2-1 lead into a 4-2 deficit. “Just stay with it,” defenceman Neal Pionk said. “I know it's cliché, but we've got to play a full 60 (minutes). We have these five-, six-, seven-minute lapses that are really slipping away from us. “In a couple of games, we've given up two, three goals in a five-minute span. So we've got to stick with it and the leaders gotta lead. We've got to make some plays when they're there, and if they're not, flip it out and restart.” Advertisement 7 Article content AJF's speed on tap for Game 4? Winnipeg's recall of speedster Axel Jonsson-Fjallby from the AHL on Saturday comes at a time when the Jets need those afterburners. Known for his blazing speed and tenacity on the penalty kill, Bowness suggested those taps will be opened for Game 4 on Sunday afternoon, providing he gets into the lineup. “He gives us more speed and we need some help on the penalty kill at this point,” Bowness said. “If he plays, and we'll talk about those things today, that's what we're going to use him on.” With the Jets struggling to slow Colorado down, particularly on the penalty kill, it seems likely that the Swede will get his first shot at playoff action this season. Who comes out is unknown, with Bowness telling reporters they would speak about that following his media availability. My guess is David Gustafsson. [email protected] X: @scottbilleck Article content Share this article in your social network Share this Story : JETS NOTEBOOK: Jets sticking with Hellebuyck; Jonsson-Fjallby called upon for speed, tenacity Comments Join the Conversation Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion. Please keep comments relevant and respectful. Comments may take up to an hour to appear on the site. You will receive an email if there is a reply to your comment, an update to a thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information. Latest National Stories News Near Elliot Lake This Week in Flyers

The Winnipeg Jets will be playing for their playoff lives when they return home for Game 5 against the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday. Article content

Advertisement 1 Share this Story : Avs score twice more on power play, push Jets to brink with 3-1 series lead Avs score twice more on power play, push Jets to brink with 3-1 series lead Author of the article: Article content The Winnipeg Jets will be playing for their playoff lives when they return home for Game 5 against the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday. Advertisement 2 Article content Avs score twice more on power play, push Jets to brink with 3-1 series lead Back to video Winnipeg allowed another pair of power-play goals in a 5-1 loss to the Avs on Sunday afternoon, failing to walk the walk after repeatedly talking about being more disciplined. Article content The Avs now hold a commanding 3-1 series lead, and teams with such an advantage have historically won 90% of those series. If only Winnipeg's penalty kill had such a lofty percentage, they might not have as many nails already driven into their playoff coffin. Valeri Nichushkin bookended an eight-minute, three-goal surge by Colorado in the second period, potting his fourth and fifth of the series on the power play. He'd cap off the hat trick with an empty netter with 12.4 seconds remaining in regulation. Cale Makar provided the meat to the power-play sandwich, allowed to cut through the middle of the zone before placing perfectly a wrist shot high above Connor Hellebuyck's blocker side. Advertisement 3 Article content Winnipeg's penalty kill, a big question mark all season, has killed off just nine of their 15 times shorthanded in the series now, an ugly 60% success rate that has their series against the Avs on life support. The Jets didn't have much from the get-go. They were outshot 9-1 early, with Hellebuyck the only person standing in the way of being down by two or three early. Artturi Lehkonen gave Colorado a deserved 1-0 lead with his fourth of the series at 8:10 of the opening frame. Nate Schmidt tied it at 13:56, a play that featured a lengthy review for offside before it was found inconclusive, and the goal stood. The second period was reminiscent of Game 2 and the third in Game 3, complete implosions where the Jets barely showed up to play. Advertisement 4 Article content Colorado outshot Winnipeg 17-7 in the frame and, at that point, held a 30-16 advantage. Hellebuyck was handed a mercy pull for the third, with Laurent Brossoit making four saves in relief. The Jets endured a scary incident for the second game running after Schmidt caught Vladislav Namesnikov in the side of the head with a slap shot. Namesnitkov crumbled to the ice, lying motionless for a time before eventually getting to his feet and being helped down the tunnel. He wouldn't return to the game. Defenceman Brenden Dillon didn't play in Game 4 after suffering a gruesome cut to his left hand during a fracas after the final whistle blew in Game 3. He's a possibility for Game 5, head coach Rick Bowness told reporters before Sunday's game. [email protected] X: @scottbilleck Article content Share this article in your social network Share this Story : Avs score twice more on power play, push Jets to brink with 3-1 series lead Comments Join the Conversation Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion. Please keep comments relevant and respectful. Comments may take up to an hour to appear on the site. You will receive an email if there is a reply to your comment, an update to a thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information. Latest National Stories News Near Elliot Lake This Week in Flyers

Article content If the Winnipeg Jets had a third foot, they'd also fire a bullet point-blank into that. Article content

Advertisement 1 Share this Story : BILLECK: Players shouldn't bear brunt of blame amid puzzling coaching decisions BILLECK: Players shouldn't bear brunt of blame amid puzzling coaching decisions Author of the article: Article content If the Winnipeg Jets had a third foot, they'd also fire a bullet point-blank into that. Advertisement 2 Article content BILLECK: Players shouldn't bear brunt of blame amid puzzling coaching decisions Back to video Self-inflicted? Without a doubt. Article content But head coach Rick Bowness owns just as much of the blame as he levied onto his players following his team's 5-1 loss in Game 4 on Sunday afternoon. He quickly identified the problems that led to Winnipeg's demise at Ball Arena, a third straight loss in the best-of-seven first-round series against the Colorado Avalanche. Discipline, puck management and poor penalty killing have plagued the Jets in this series. “You saw us play the right way for 10 minutes in the second half of the first period,” Bowness told reporters in Denver. “You take four penalties, you turn the puck over. That's exactly how they want to play. The issues are self-inflicted.” But these issues are nothing new to this team, are they? Advertisement 3 Article content Aside from being a relatively tame team, averaging just over eight penalty minutes per game in the regular season, the Jets have gifted pucks and killed penalties inefficiently all year. They didn't just suddenly start doing it against Colorado after beating up on them three times during their 82-game slate. The Jets were way down the list in 21st place on the kill, allowing a goal nearly 25% (77.1%) of the time. Against a team that scored on one of every four power plays they had (24.5%), the Avalanche have exploited one of the wounded parts of Winnipeg's game. As the series has evolved, the Jets have remained stagnant while Colorado has adjusted. Speaking of not adjusting, Winnipeg's power play is now 2-for-11, or 18.2%, down slightly from their 18.8% mark in the regular season. Advertisement 4 Article content Winnipeg was 0-for-4 in Game 4, generating just four shots. Looking back, Winnipeg's 7-6 win in Game 1 has been the exception to the rule. The Jets went shot for shot with Colorado in that game, feasting on brutal goaltending. Colorado has since grown quicker and more stout defensively, and their goaltending has improved. “You want adjustments? Stay out of the box,” Bowness said. “Manage the puck better and go from there.” Seems simple. But it's clear his players can't do that. Perhaps a better question is, what is the coaching staff doing to fix it? At the deadline, they received reinforcements, including a second-line centre, a top-six scoring winger, and a depth defenceman. You have your pieces, and coming into the playoffs, minus Morgan Barron, the Jets had a healthy contingent to work with. Advertisement 5 Article content Losing Brenden Dillon to a gruesome hand injury in a melee after Game 3 ended and Vladislav Namestnikov to a puck to the head in Game 4 doesn't help. Then again, Bowness sat Logan Stanley in favour of Nate Schmidt in Game 3 and didn't turn to Colin Miller, that depth deadline addition with his 40 games of playoff experience, in Game 4 with Dillon out, electing instead to go back with Stanley. On that note, where is Cole Perfetti? Too slow? Too small? Toss out any excuse you want, but the kid sure knows how to defend and manage the puck. These are two things the Jets are finding very difficult at the moment. “We'll make some lineup changes,” is all Bowness would reveal when asked about Perfetti. Bowness was once again trying to find consistency in his lines on Sunday. If you've been following along all season, it's been a problem from Day 1. Advertisement 6 Article content But he's still trying to bash a square peg through a round hole with his top line. Mark Scheifele's had a good series, but the difference between him with Kyle Connor and Gabriel Vilardi and him between Connor and Nikolaj Ehlers was once again evident in Game 4. The first iteration of the line had fairly even numbers across the board regarding possession, shots, chances, etc. But once Ehlers was there, it was one-sided in favour of Winnipeg's adjusted top line. “Just trying to find some consistency from the offence… trying to reignite the offence,” Bowness said, This came with the Jets down 4-1 and cruising toward being pushed to the end of the plank. Now the Jets are there, one loss away from tee-time season. And no one will remember this team playing well for 10 minutes in a game they got slapped around in. These changes could have come in Game 3, if not earlier. There is evidence to support their effectiveness. Now, it might be too little, too late. [email protected] X: @scottbilleck Article content Share this article in your social network Share this Story : BILLECK: Players shouldn't bear brunt of blame amid puzzling coaching decisions Comments Join the Conversation Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion. Please keep comments relevant and respectful. Comments may take up to an hour to appear on the site. You will receive an email if there is a reply to your comment, an update to a thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information. Latest National Stories News Near Elliot Lake This Week in Flyers