Jets' Arniel pokes at 'geniuses' who doubted Penguins
Not about to take any of this too far, but the 8-2-2 Penguins meeting the 8-3 Jets on their ice tomorrow at Canada Life Centre ... that's about as enticing as it gets for October.
Striking upstart vs. Presidents Trophy winner 'n' at.
"Yeah, they've gotten points in eight straight games," Winnipeg coach Scott Arniel would say of the Penguins after the Jets' practice here today. "Obviously, they've made a coaching change, and there are some different looks to them about how they play. They're led by one of the greatest players to ever play this game."
Referring to Sidney Crosby, of course.
He'd then add, "When you have those types of players -- and in my opinion, they've got three Hall of Famers on that team -- and they've got some good depth, some young guys are now in their lineup, and they're playing well. Their goaltenders are playing strong."
He didn't identify the third Hall of Famer. Evgeni Malkin was obviously his second, and I'd presume the third was Erik Karlsson, winner of the Norris Trophy three times.
Anyway, he'd proceed to have some fun.
"I think there was a lot of doubt about that team, probably. You geniuses," Arniel would say with a smile toward the reporters in the room, "that maybe picked them not to be as high as other teams ..."
He paused again to laugh, saying, "No disrespect."
Continuing, he'd say, "But at the end of the day, it's motivation for them, too. They're trying to prove people wrong. That's why this league is game-to-game. It's what you do next."
Mark Scheifele, the Jets' all-universe center, was asked if he was surprised by the Penguins, and replied, "Honestly, no, not at all. Both those guys, the Hall of Famers who've been in this league for so long, their hockey IQ is just amazing. So no, I'm not surprised at all. They're good, veteran guys. They work hard at their craft, and they keep pushing for more. It's really, really fun to watch."
There's no word on either team's starting goaltender, but Arniel threw out a hint that he might rest Vezina Trophy winner Connor Hellebuyck and get Eric Comrie his third start of the season.
Both teams' lines and pairings in their respective practices today, beginning with the Penguins:
Filip Hallander-Sidney Crosby-Bryan Rust Anthony Mantha-Evgeni Malkin-Phil Tomasino Tommy Novak-Ben Kindel-Ville Koivunen Connor Dewar-Blake Lizotte-Noel Acciari
Parker Wotherspoon-Erik Karlsson Ryan Shea-Kris Letang Owen Pickering-Harrison Brunicke
Of note: Tomasino took rushes on the second line because Justin Brazeau was held out. I'm not aware of anything significant amiss with Brazeau, as he completed the game Thursday night. I expect he'll be right back. And Brunicke looks like he'll finally get un-scratched, this at the expense of Mathew Dumba.
Of note: Gustav Nyquist, the regular third-line right winger, won't play today. He's one of several injured players for the Jets, joining fellow forwards Cole Perfetti, Adam Lowry and defenseman Dylan Samberg.
THE ASYLUM
Jets' Arniel pokes at 'geniuses' who doubted Penguins
Not about to take any of this too far, but the 8-2-2 Penguins meeting the 8-3 Jets on their ice tomorrow at Canada Life Centre ... that's about as enticing as it gets for October.
Striking upstart vs. Presidents Trophy winner 'n' at.
"Yeah, they've gotten points in eight straight games," Winnipeg coach Scott Arniel would say of the Penguins after the Jets' practice here today. "Obviously, they've made a coaching change, and there are some different looks to them about how they play. They're led by one of the greatest players to ever play this game."
Referring to Sidney Crosby, of course.
He'd then add, "When you have those types of players -- and in my opinion, they've got three Hall of Famers on that team -- and they've got some good depth, some young guys are now in their lineup, and they're playing well. Their goaltenders are playing strong."
He didn't identify the third Hall of Famer. Evgeni Malkin was obviously his second, and I'd presume the third was Erik Karlsson, winner of the Norris Trophy three times.
Anyway, he'd proceed to have some fun.
"I think there was a lot of doubt about that team, probably. You geniuses," Arniel would say with a smile toward the reporters in the room, "that maybe picked them not to be as high as other teams ..."
He paused again to laugh, saying, "No disrespect."
Continuing, he'd say, "But at the end of the day, it's motivation for them, too. They're trying to prove people wrong. That's why this league is game-to-game. It's what you do next."
Mark Scheifele, the Jets' all-universe center, was asked if he was surprised by the Penguins, and replied, "Honestly, no, not at all. Both those guys, the Hall of Famers who've been in this league for so long, their hockey IQ is just amazing. So no, I'm not surprised at all. They're good, veteran guys. They work hard at their craft, and they keep pushing for more. It's really, really fun to watch."
There's no word on either team's starting goaltender, but Arniel threw out a hint that he might rest Vezina Trophy winner Connor Hellebuyck and get Eric Comrie his third start of the season.
Both teams' lines and pairings in their respective practices today, beginning with the Penguins:
Filip Hallander-Sidney Crosby-Bryan Rust
Anthony Mantha-Evgeni Malkin-Phil Tomasino
Tommy Novak-Ben Kindel-Ville Koivunen
Connor Dewar-Blake Lizotte-Noel Acciari
Parker Wotherspoon-Erik Karlsson
Ryan Shea-Kris Letang
Owen Pickering-Harrison Brunicke
Of note: Tomasino took rushes on the second line because Justin Brazeau was held out. I'm not aware of anything significant amiss with Brazeau, as he completed the game Thursday night. I expect he'll be right back. And Brunicke looks like he'll finally get un-scratched, this at the expense of Mathew Dumba.
This was the Jets alignment:
Kyle Connor-Mark Scheifele-Gabe Vilardi
Vlad Namestnikov-Jonathan Toews-Alex Iaffallo
Nino Niederreiter-Morgan Barron-Tanner Pearson
Cole Koepke-Parker Ford-Brad Lambert
Josh Morrissey-Dylan DeMelo
Logan Stanley-Neal Pionk
Haydn Fleury-Luke Schenn
Of note: Gustav Nyquist, the regular third-line right winger, won't play today. He's one of several injured players for the Jets, joining fellow forwards Cole Perfetti, Adam Lowry and defenseman Dylan Samberg.
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