Ahead of Saturday’s game, Sheldon Keefe discussed Calle Jarnkrok’s week-to-week injury, Ryan Reaves re-entering the lineup, Nick Robertson’s impact of late, and the challenge in the rematch against Winnipeg.
What is the latest on Calle Jarnkrok? How do you adjust to his loss from the lineup?
Keefe: He has a broken knuckle and is going to be out week-to-week.
We just call on others. We have a number of other guys who have stepped up in different spots, whether it is Domi, Robertson, Holmberg, Kampf, Gregor, and all the way through.
Reavo will come in. He will get his opportunity to rejoin the team. That is it.
Jarny is a very important player for us. We will miss him for sure, but you just press on and adapt.
What is the message to Ryan Reaves returning to the lineup after a long time without playing?
Keefe: Reavo has played for a long time. He has been in this position coming in and out of this lineup throughout his career. I think he knows exactly who he is as a player and what he needs to do. For us, it is just about getting him in and giving him that opportunity. It comes at a good time, too.
It is the end of the — we’ll call it — first half with the break looming. For him to come in, it will give the room, the bench, and the guys a little bit of a boost. It will be an emotional game. It is good timing for that.
Where do you see his ability to be the most effective or what adjustments would you like to see from when Ryan Reaves last was in the lineup?
Keefe: For him, like any line, you have to get out of your end, get on the forecheck, get on the attack, be a presence around the net, manage your shift lengths, and get off the ice in good spots.
The line has been McMann, Kampf, and Gregor for a while. It is the same kind of messaging. Any time you are a player like Reavo who is playing in that spot, that is what you are trying to do: You are trying to win shifts — winning shifts is about spending time in the offensive zone, generating some pucks to the net, and generating some momentum for your team that way. Reavo has made a career of being that type of player.
With the way things went early on, it created some opportunity for others — as did his injury — and we have been wanting to give some others a look with Gregor, McMann, Holmberg, and Robertson coming back in. It has made it a little bit harder for someone like Reavo, but we know who he is. We have some younger, inexperienced guys we want to give some time, and then Reavo has had to be more patient as a result. The McMann and Jarnkrok injuries create an opportunity.
Tyler Bertuzzi returns to the lineup. What can he bring to the rematch that was maybe missing from the first game against Winnipeg?
Keefe: It is another guy. We talked about us losing Jarnkrok. We are bringing Bert back into the lineup after losing him the other night.
Bert is a guy who is going to forecheck well. The way that he gets on the puck and gets on the inside — all of the things I think we lacked offensively — are real strengths of Bert’s in terms of creating some chaos down in the offensive zone. That is going to be something we do a lot better job of tonight. Bert is going to help in that area.
In addition to an aggressive forecheck, what other elements at five-on-five do you want to see to counteract the Jets’ strengths at even strength?
Keefe: Urgency on our breakouts would be a big part of it. They were causing us some real problems in the first period the other night, and we didn’t move the puck well. Also, they make it hard on you. When we don’t move it at our sharpest, and this team forechecks and defends the way that they do, it is going to be difficult on you.
I thought it was less of an issue through the second and third periods. We kind of found our way through it. That is a big piece of it. The other side is finding ways to get access to the net. They have done an incredible job of protecting their goaltenders this year. We certainly saw that the other night.
Is there a temptation to elevate Nick Robertson up the lineup or are you happy to encourage him to keep it up in his current spot?
Keefe: There is temptation there for sure — as there was the other night, which is why I moved him around a little bit with some double shifts and things like that.
You have a young player who is coming back into our lineup and is finding himself. I think it’s important we don’t get too carried away but also recognize that the further we get up the lineup, there are a lot of things that come with that in terms of matchups and such.
He has played a lot with Domi and done a good job of that. If he continues to play the way he was the other night, there will be a lot of temptation to move him around for sure. Nick has done a really good job for us of late, especially. He has come in and out of the lineup, which in my mind, has really helped him.
We played him about 24 or 25 games in a row off his recall. He had done well for us there, but I thought he really sort of leveled off or plateaued for the last 10 games or so. To me, it encouraged us to give him some breaks. While he has come in and out of the lineup — especially this month when it’s been a very challenging schedule for us in competition, the volume of games, and travel — he has given us a boost and a jolt. He is energized.
That has really helped us and I think it has really helped him. His production has gone up in that period of time. In terms of how I want to use him, as our team looks to be fatigued and slowing down a little bit, he has really helped us with his pace.
We are going to need more of that tonight. In his third game in a row, we are going to need him to maintain that level.
With a big break coming up, how do you keep the focus on this game and not look ahead to it?
Keefe: It is a challenge. Obviously, everyone is excited and wants to get their time away, but you have to be professional about it. You have to put your work in first.
I do think it is an advantage in that sense to be on the road. There are fewer distractions within your routine versus the distractions there might be looming at home.
We are focused on the game, and being in this environment, it is easier to understand we have 60 minutes to get done here. It is going to be a game in which we have to play our absolute best. Anything other than that will make it tough on ourselves.
We experienced that the other night. They are going to be better tonight. I suspect we will be, too.
