WINNIPEG — Talk about a statement game.
On the heels of an up-and-down two weeks, the Winnipeg Jets were in need of a jolt. Something to rally behind.
Mark Scheifele, Kyle Connor and Gabriel Vilardi responded from Sunday’s dreadful showing against the Columbus Blue Jackets, combining for four goals while also outchancing the B’s 9-2 during five-on-five play. Scheifele registered two goals and an assist, sticking it to Team Canada GM/Bruins GM Don Sweeney less than a week after being left off the Four Nations Face-off roster.
“They came up huge for us throughout the game — dominant shifts — some huge goals at critical times to get us the lead,” said Adam Lowry.
Winnipeg’s top line propelled them to victory. But their efforts — and the team as a whole (which was outstanding) — aren’t what will define this game as an instance where, as Arniel likes to say, this group grew calluses.
The third-period melee was.
It all started after Alex Iafallo scored to give Winnipeg a 6-1 lead with 12:37 remaining in the final frame. On the ensuing faceoff, Trent Frederic cross-checked David Gustafsson on the back. Gustafsson retaliated. And then the gloves were off.
The fight went just about as you’d expect for such a mismatch. Frederic, who entered the game with 38 career fights, ended Gustafsson’s first career fight swiftly with a single right hook to his face.
As Gustafsosn was tended to by teammates and trainers, Logan Stanley dropped the mitts with Mark Kastelic.
But the latter fight didn’t simmer things down. The Jets were incensed. Especially Lowry, who was seen voicing his displeasure to Boston’s bench.
Scott Arniel was also furious. But not because of the fight.
“Something else happened… don’t need to get into it,” the Jets coach said.
He didn’t have to. The broadcast showed it all. Arniel was seen jawing at the Bruins coaching staff, and even the most amateur lip-readers could decipher that he was berating the Bruins’ staff for speaking to his players. When Bruins coach Joe Sacco appeared baffled by Arniel’s barking, the latter pointed at one of Boston’s assistant coaches.
Lowry went on to fight Nikita Zadorov off the next faceoff. While his teammates tried to convince him otherwise, the Jets captain felt compelled to take matters into his own hands.
“You go after arguably their toughest guy and then hopefully, all the other stuff just goes by the wayside,” he explained.
Arniel didn’t want this game to be solely defined by the third-period extracurriculars. And it shouldn’t be. The way they generated even-strength offence, displayed more of an ‘attack mentality’ on the man advantage and counteracted Boston’s aggressive forecheck was encouraging.
“I’m not going to sit and talk about what happened in the last 10 minutes of the hockey game. That’s detrimental for the game we played,” Arniel said. “We played a hell of a hockey game against a good hockey team. That’s more of what I’m concerned about.”
But you can’t overlook the impact of an entire team — from the coach all the way down to the 13th forward — sticking up for one another.
“That’s what good teams do: we stick together,” Scheifele said. “Good on [Stanley] and [Lowry] to get in there. We stick up for each other, we take care of each other. That’s what makes us a good team.”
Nikita Chibrikov had himself a game, recording a goal, an assist and four hits in his season debut.
“He’s fun to watch. He is. He’s a ball of energy,” Arniel said of the 21-year-old winger. “You can just see him, he’s always on the go.”
Given what we saw tonight, and throughout the pre-season, there’s no doubt Chibrikov is capable of being an everyday NHLer. Even once Ehlers returns, I wouldn’t rule out the possibility of Chibrikov remaining with the club. He’s a versatile player who can be slotted anywhere — be it in the top-six, or in the bottom-six — and his compete is contagious.
But even if he’s re-assigned, there’s no doubt that Chibrikov’s first in line for a recall should another injury arise. He’s more refined than Brad Lambert.
Is Frederic Solely to Blame?
It may not be as cut and dry as you think.
Gustafsson also put himself in a bad spot by accepting the invitation.
“I think it’s 50-50,” Lowry said. “You can’t just place all of the onus on Trent. That’s unfair. It’s a tough spot. You get challenged to fight and you don’t want to say no. Looking back, I think it just could have been handled differently.
“It’s the game of hockey. It’s unfortunate. That’s really where we get upset. You don’t want to see a teammate hurt. You don’t want to see a teammate down on the ice with a head injury. So, I think that’s where the emotion comes into it. Some of the responsibility is on both of those guys. We’ll leave it at that.”
