WINNIPEG — Talk about a statement game.
After two weeks of ups and downs, winnipeg jets Needs shaking. Something to unite.
Mark SchaeferKyle Connor and Gabriel Vilardi responded to a horrific performance against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Sunday, combining for four goals while also going 9-9 in five-on-five play. 2 defeated Team B. Schaefer had two goals and an assist less than a week after being left off the roster for the Four Nations clash, handing it over to Team Canada general manager/Bruins general manager Don Sweeney.
“They made huge plays for us throughout the game – dominant transitions – some huge goals in key moments to give us the lead,” said Adam Lowry.
Winnipeg’s top line propelled them to victory. But their efforts – and that of the team as a whole (which is brilliant) – don’t define this game as an instance where, as Anil likes to say, the team grew calluses.
The third period of scrimmage is.
Alex Iafallo scored to give Winnipeg a 6-1 lead with 12:37 left in the game. During the ensuing confrontation, Trent Frederic cross-checked David Gustafsson’s back. Gustafsson fought back. Then the gloves came off.
The fight went as you would expect with such a mismatch. Frederic, who has fought 38 games in his career, quickly ended Gustafsson’s first career fight with a right hook.
While Gustav Thorne was in the care of teammates and coaches, Logan Stanley and Mark Castelic were no longer working together.
But the latter battle did not calm things down. The Jets were outraged. Lowry, in particular, was seen expressing displeasure with Boston’s bench.
Scott Arniel was furious, too. But it wasn’t because of the fight.
“Something else happened … that didn’t require intervention,” the Jets coach said.
He didn’t have to. The broadcast said it all. Anil was seen yelling curse words at the Bruins coaching staff, and even the most amateur lip reader could guess he was Scolded Bruins staff for talking to players. When Bruins coach Joe Sacco was confused by Anil’s rant, the latter pointed to a Boston assistant coach.
Lowry went on to face off against Nikita Zadorov in his next matchup. Despite his teammates trying to talk him out of it, the Jets captain felt the need to take the matter into his own hands.
“You can go after their strongest person and hope that all the other stuff falls by the wayside,” he explains.
Anil doesn’t want this game to be defined solely by third-period extracurriculars. But that shouldn’t be the case. It was encouraging that they ran a close attack, showed more of an “offensive mentality” on the man advantage, and neutralized Boston’s aggressive anticipation.
“I’m not going to sit down and talk about what happened in the last 10 minutes of a hockey game. It was detrimental to the game we played,” Anil said. “We played a good hockey game against a good hockey team. That’s what I’m more concerned about.”
But you can’t ignore the impact of the entire team – from the coach all the way down to the No. 13 forward – supporting each other.
“That’s what good teams do: We stick together,” Schaefer said. “very good [Stanley] and [Lowry] Get in there. We support each other and look out for each other. That’s what makes us a great team. “
Nikita Chibrikov had a game in his season debut, scoring one goal and adding four assists.
“He’s fun to watch. He is. He’s full of energy,” Anil said of the 21-year-old winger. “You can see him, he’s always busy.”
Given what we saw tonight and throughout the preseason, there’s no question that Chibrikov has the ability to be an average NHL player. Even if Ehlers returns, I wouldn’t rule out the possibility of Chibrikov staying at the club. He’s a versatile player who can be deployed anywhere – in the top six, or in the bottom six – and his competition is contagious.
But even if Chibrikov is reassigned, there is no doubt that if injuries arise again, Chibrikov will be the first to be recalled. He’s more elegant than Brad Lambert.
Is Frederick the only culprit?
It might not be as simple as you think.
Gustafsson also got himself into trouble by accepting the invitation.
“I think it’s 50-50,” Lowry said. “You can’t put all the blame on Trent. It’s not fair. It’s a difficult place to be. You have the challenge of fighting but you don’t want to say no. Looking back, I think it could have been handled differently.
“This is a hockey game. It’s unfortunate. That’s really where we get upset. You don’t want to see your teammate get hurt. You don’t want to see your teammate go down on the ice with a head injury. So, I think that’s where the emotion comes from, that’s Both people are responsible.”
