Jets look to make statement vs. Golden Knights after 'measuring stick' comment
Published
The Winnipeg Jets are the measuring stick in the eyes of head coach Scott Arniel.
Arniel bristled when asked if he saw Tuesday's 4-1 loss to the Los Angeles Kings as a measuring stick for his first-place club.
The basis for the question was the Jets dropping to 0-3 against the Kings this season, shrinking their Central Division lead over the Dallas Stars to four points.
“We’re sitting on top right now," Arniel replied after the loss. "So I don’t know if there’s a measuring stick.
"...We don’t measure that way. We go about how we play hockey. How we go against each and every opponent. We lost three games. At the end of the day, those happen. They’re all tight games, empty netters at the end type of thing. They’re a really good team. They’re in a tight division themselves. It is what it is.”
Winger Cole Perfetti also downplayed the loss to the Kings, who have an NHL-best 28-4-4 record on home ice.
“They’re obviously a really good team in this building and don’t give up much, but I thought we created some chances and had our looks,” Perfetti said. “A couple self-inflicted wounds, and they capitalized on some of their chances. … Obviously, you want to get a win, but we didn’t play that bad.”
Presidents' Trophy, Central Division far from secure
The Jets are not interested in overanalyzing Tuesday's loss, but there's no denying their hold on the Central Division isn't as firm as it once was entering another tough test Thursday against the Vegas Golden Knights.
Eric Comrie appears set for a rare start Thursday after working in the away net during the gameday skate. Comrie has a 8-9-1 record with a 2.49 goals-against average and a .909 save percentage in 18 games this season. Star netminder Connor Hellebuyck is 43-11-3 over 58 games with a .924 save percentage and a 2.03 GAA.
Winnipeg continues to sit atop the NHL standings, owning a one-point lead over the Washington Capitals in the Presidents' Trophy race. The Stars are third place in the league, sitting just four points back of the Jets with one game in hand.
And the Stars, who have just one regulation loss in their past 10 games, are focused on taking the top seed.
“We’re still trying to hunt down Winnipeg," Stars head coach Pete DeBoer said after Monday's 3-1 win over the Seattle Kraken. “And we’re probably going to have to win almost every night here in order to have a chance to do that, and that’s our group’s goal.”
Dallas is a heavy favourite at -300 to defeat the visiting Nashville Predators on Thursday at FanDuel. The Jets are slight underdogs on the road in Vegas, going off at +104, compared the Golden Knights at -125 to get the win.
A Stars win paired with a Jets loss on Thursday would open the door to Dallas pulling level with a victory on Saturday afternoon against the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Jets visit the Utah Hockey Club later on Saturday.
Finishing atop the Central could be paramount to playoff success for both teams this spring. The second-place finisher in the Central will be in line to face the Colorado Avalanche in the first round, while the top seed will draw the worse of the two wild-card seeds, likely either the St. Louis Blues or Minnesota Wild.
The Jets are 7-3-0 in their last 10 games to continue to lead the NHL standings. A key game against the Stars lies ahead on April 10.