Arniel hints at playoff adjustments with line swap in Jets’ loss to Sabres

WINNIPEG — Give credit score the place it’s due, Scott Arniel makes some sound in-game changes. 

Certain, the Winnipeg Jets coach has saved his ahead strains intact all 12 months, however he’s additionally displayed a knack for making the proper changes when the video games name for it. 

Late within the third interval of Sunday’s 5-3 loss to the Buffalo Sabres, Arniel’s line-juggling — the place he swapped Nikolaj Ehlers in for Nino Niederreiter alongside Adam Lowry and Mason Appleton — led to an important purpose with 3:28 left in regulation. 

Ehlers took the puck end-to-end and transformed on his trademark slap shot from the left flank, making it a 4-3 sport.

However the line blender wasn’t introduced out to get Ehlers going. 

“I needed Nino to face on prime of the goaltender with Fetts and Vladdy,” Arniel defined.

For the primary two and a half intervals of a tight-checking affair the place Buffalo clogged up the impartial zone, owned the center of the ice and noticed James Reimer put forth a classic efficiency — the crew’s second line of Ehlers, Perfetti and Namestnikov struggled to create havoc internet entrance. Of the 9 shot makes an attempt they generated, only one got here from a high-danger space.

A number of shifts earlier than Ehlers’ purpose, Arniel’s preliminary plan performed out as meant — Namestnikov walked into the zone, curled across the internet, and set Niederreiter up for a Grade-A internet entrance likelihood. 

Come playoff time, Ehlers, Perfetti and Namestnikov’s effectiveness may dwindle — not simply because rush possibilities lower within the spring however as a result of producing offence off the cycle or in entrance of the web is bodily demanding. If and when — be it for a number of intervals, or perhaps a few shifts — that trio of six-foot and beneath forwards begins to get outmatched in these conditions, Arniel wants a backup plan. 

What we noticed towards Buffalo may very effectively foreshadow how Arniel re-configures his playoff strains if that second line will get outmuscled. In that situation, his plan ‘B’ lineup may look one thing like this:

Connor — Scheifele — Vilardi 

Ehlers — Lowry — Appleton 

Niederreiter — Namestnikov — Perfetti

Tanev — Barron — Iafallo

Lowry and Ehlers, alongside Iafallo, posted stellar outcomes throughout a four-game stretch when Namestnikov acquired harm in mid-January — closely outchancing (27-10) and outscoring (3-1) opponents throughout five-on-five play. 

“He wins loads of battles. And I believe he desires to make use of my velocity as a lot as attainable,” Ehlers stated of Lowry after the 2 first performed collectively on Jan. 11. “He creates loads of room for me to make use of that velocity.”

If Arniel reunites Ehlers and Lowry, historical past suggests Appleton — who was injured the final time they performed collectively — would spherical out the road, not Iafallo.

Niederreiter and Perfetti have been paired collectively throughout Namestnikov’s absence, with Rasmus Kupari centring them. The 2 learn off one another effectively within the offensive zone and that was earlier than these previous few months, where Perfetti has elevated his board battle efficiency. Whereas Namestnikov doesn’t have Kupari’s velocity, his hockey sense and compete stage can be an ideal complement to those two on this hypothetical situation. 

We’re not going to attract some loopy conclusions from one sport. However you may wager Sunday’s in-game adjustment gained’t be forgotten about within the Jets’ coaches room, even when it got here towards a lowly Sabres crew. 

Final spring, Winnipeg’s downfall towards Colorado was their lack of in-series changes.

This time round, you may depend on Arniel not dragging his ft if his middle-six wants a shake-up.

Mark Scheifele hasn’t scored in eight video games.

Arniel chalked it as much as poor puck luck. 

“Scheif had a few nearly empty netters [that] hit a stick, hit a blade, or no matter,” Arniel stated of his first-line centre’s outing towards Buffalo.

That stated, the pass-first centre has barely veered away from that ‘assault mentality’ he unlocked by means of the primary 63 video games of the 12 months. There have been a few sequences towards Buffalo the place Scheifele entered the zone, peeled again and appeared for a cross — a trademark transfer of his — quite than making the most of a transparent lane to the web. It’s comprehensible why a world-class passer would decide to make the additional cross in a sport the place you’re getting stonewalled by a red-hot goalie. However generally you’ve acquired to take the shot, even when it’s not good. Particularly once you’re tied for the fifth most targets within the league.

(Scheifele 5v5 Stats per sport)

Eric Comrie had an off evening, surrendering 4 targets on 16 photographs confronted. That stated, let’s not low cost the errors made in entrance of him. 

“Energy play. Shorthanded. [A lost] Faceoff. After which a line rush,” Arniel stated, itemizing off the methods through which Buffalo scored. “So we made some errors in a few of these conditions. You watch these video games, they occur — once you get all these possibilities we had — all the sudden [the puck] goes the opposite approach and it is within the internet. Have not had a kind of shortly, the place we dominate like that and never come out on the mistaken finish of it. Their goaltender performed actually, very well.”