Little tribute, Crosby visit make for special Sunday – Winnipeg Free Press

There will be no Sunday scaries for the Winnipeg Jets.

In fact, it’s shaping up to memorable day at the downtown rink.

First off, the 4-0-0 hockey club is hosting the annual visit from Sidney Crosby, which is always a special event. Puck drop at Canada Life Centre is set for 2 p.m.

“Always fun,” Jets centre Mark Scheifele said following Saturday’s practice. He took media on a bit of a trip down memory lane.

“I still remember the first time I played against him, we were in Pittsburgh and our line started and Sid’s line started. I was 20 years old and I won the faceoff.”

Scheifele turned to his bench, a smile as big as the Red River on his face, as then teammate Chris Thorburn gave him gears.

“Obviously a huge fan of his. He just keeps on getting better and better. A guy I respect so much and love to watch. It’s always fun playing against him,” he said.

Crosby, 37, has averaged at least a point-per-game in every season of his career, which began in 2005 when he was selected first overall. He has six points, including one goal, in six games so far this year.

Winger Nikolaj Ehlers, who spent two years playing junior hockey in Nova Scotia, admitted he still gets star-struck seeing No. 87 on the same sheet of ice.

He also shared a story he can now look back on and laugh, about how he broke his wrist during a 2019 game against the Penguins as his follow-through on a shot struck Crosby’s posterior,

“He was kind of turning his ass into me and my wrist hit him and that was it for me for the next seven weeks,” said Ehlers. “He’s a guy you love watching. Growing up. Still. He’s a great player. Everyone sees that.”

Secondly, a beloved former teammate in Bryan Little is set to be honoured in a pre-game ceremony. Little will sign a ceremonial one-day contract with the Jets, then officially retire with the franchise that drafted him 12th-overall in 2006.

“Very excited,” said Scheifele.

“Littsy was such a big part of me developing. Watching him play, making me a better player, he was an awesome guy. Very quiet, keep to himself guy but one of those guys who just went at it every single day and gave it his all and a guy that I respect so much. He made an impact in not only just me but a lot of other guys’ hockey careers and lives. It’s going to be an awesome day.”

Little’s career ended in 2019 when he suffered a catastrophic ear/head injury after he was struck by an errant shot from Ehlers. However, his remaining contract didn’t expire until this past July 1, which is why this ceremony is just happening now.

The Jets are coming off a dominating 8-3 victory on Friday night over the San Jose Sharks which kept them perfect in the young campaign. The Penguins lost 4-1 on home to the Carolina Hurricanes to fall to 3-3-0.

“You’re sort of going to get that lion with the thorn in the paw kind of deal,” predicted Jets assistant coach Davis Payne.

“We expect them to be ready to go. As a motivated group, they’ve been playing some real good hockey, especially (Crosby and Evgeni Malkin), they’re the ones that lead the charge. We’re going to need to tighten up some of the things that we addressed this morning.

“It’s all about limiting opportunity, limiting chances, and limiting space for world class players because we all know what they can do when they get it. So it’s not going to take one guy. It’s going to take everybody.”

One thing Winnipeg would like to see continues is a red-hot power play that went 4-for-7 against the Sharks and is now a sizzling 7-for-14 on the year to lead the NHL. Payne, who was hired this past summer to revamp the unit, is obviously loving what he’s seeing.

“We know we’re going to deal with some good killing and some pucks that don’t go our way. We just want to continue to focus on our principles, the mindsets, the pace we want to do things,” said Payne.

“So far we’ve made some progress with that. We just gotta make sure we continue with that learning curve, because as the season goes on teams get better, the killing gets better. And then you get playoffs and the killing’s even better. And we’re going to have to be as well.”

It’s not just quality, but quantity: The Jets have been on the power play twice as many times as they’ve been short-handed, going 6-for-7 so far on the penalty kill.

“I think the one thing our team has done a very good job of is to play with pace and to play with the puck. To attack areas of the ice (wher) opponents are forced to potentially take a penalty,” said Payne.

Scheifele said it all begins with strong five-on-five play, which Winnipeg had in spades against San Jose and will look to keep going.

“We were all over them. When you get the puck in the O-zone and you have control of the puck, that’s when you draw penalties,” he said. “And when you have a lot of good players like we have, you take advantage. I think it shows, first of all, getting that amount of power plays in the first place and then capitalizing on them.”

Winnipeg has won 12 straight regular-season games dating back to last season, which ended with eight straight triumphs heading into the playoffs.

Payne wouldn’t reveal if there could be any lineup changes coming.

So far, the Jets have rolled the same 18 skaters in every game, with defenceman Dylan Coghlan and forward David Gustafsson the healthy scratches. And goaltender Connor Hellebuyck has played every second while Eric Comrie waits for his first start.

For what it’s worth, there were no changes to the line rushes during Saturday’s on-ice session, which lasted about 40 minutes.

After wrapping up this homestand, the Jets will hit the road for three straight games next week — Tuesday against the St. Louis Blues, Thursday against the Seattle Kraken and Saturday against the Calgary Flames.

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Mike McIntyre
Sports reporter

Mike McIntyre is a sports reporter whose primary role is covering the Winnipeg Jets. After graduating from the Creative Communications program at Red River College in 1995, he spent two years gaining experience at the Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in 1997, where he served on the crime and justice beat until 2016. Read more about Mike.

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