WINNIPEG, Manitoba -- The Jets aren't the NHL's best team. They reached the Western Conference final this past spring, and they're contending again, but others are better until proven otherwise.
What the Jets are, without question, is the best at super-sizing their speed.
"We've got some big boys in here, for sure," Tyler Myers, their 6-8 defenseman, was telling me Tuesday morning inside the home locker room at Bell MTS Place. "I mean, look around."
It didn't take more than a glance: Patrik Laine, fresh off a five-goal Sunday in St. Louis, stands 6 feet, 5 inches. Blake Wheeler, maybe the league's most under-appreciated winger, is 6-5. Mark Scheifele, co-owner of that same category, is 6-3. Dustin Byfuglien, the most physically imposing defenseman on the planet, is 6-5 and a linebacker-thick 260 pounds. Jacob Trouba, their other top defenseman, is 6-3. And Myers is the tallest player at his position this side of Zdeno Chara.
They can skate, too. All of them. In a couple cases, notably Wheeler and Byfuglien, they can fly.
And that had me wondering on this wintry day in Manitoba's capital -- all of 12 degrees outside! -- whether or not size and physicality is really getting pushed out of the NHL, as so many seem to have surmised amid a wave of increased speed, skill and scoring.
"I don't think size is getting pushed out," Myers would reply to that question. "The transition is to speed. If you're a small guy or a tall guy or a very tall guy ..."
He grinned at that.
"If you can skate, you're still in today's game. That's how I see it. You can tell the league is trending toward speed, but I honestly don't believe size has anything to do with that. It's whether you can keep up or not. And there's still a value to size. You look at our group, and we have a pretty big team, but one of our strengths is how we move with how big we are. And we'll use it. We'll hit. I think that complements today's game. It helps you, especially in the latter part of the season. It's not one or the other."
That's basically the Penguins' stance.
They're obviously nowhere near as big as their opponents on this night -- 8:08 p.m. faceoff, Pittsburgh time -- but Mike Sullivan stresses being physical to his players, at least within the context of his system. He doesn't want wasted checks. He wants checks with a purpose.
Zach Aston-Reese, one of the lineup's sturdier bodies, explained a couple of the schematics for me after the visitors' skate:
I asked Sullivan about this, as well.
"There's always an element of physicality to the game. I just think it's part of the fabric of the game," he replied. "It boils down to one-on-one play. Whether you're in the battle areas or in front of the net or trying to deny a scoring chance, there are details associated with it. You've got to get to sticks. Stick detail is important. But at the end of the day, there's an element of physicality associated with it."
He then acknowledged the obvious, evidently having figured out I was asking because of the Jets.
"If you're looking at our group, I don't think we're a bone-crushing, physical hockey team. But that doesn't mean there isn't an element of physicality associated with our game. I just think, to a man, we all have to be willing to embrace that and participate in that. You can do it in different ways. It isn't about bone-crushing body checks. It's about winning puck battles, getting your nose over the puck and being strong in those areas, being strong on your stick and in one-on-one play. It's really about a competitive mindset. We talk with our guys about that a lot."
They've also taken action toward that, adding bigger bodies in Garrett Wilson and Derek Grant. Tanner Pearson plays a more physical game than Carl Hagelin. That said, none of those players is anywhere near some sort of bruiser. The only consistent hitters in the lineup are Jack Johnson and Jamie Oleksiak.
I asked Wilson if there's still strategic value in the standard hit.
"Man, I sure hope so. It's a big part of my game," he came back with a grin. "Yeah, I think there's value. You're wearing the other team out. You're intimidating them a little bit. They know they're going to get hit next time, and maybe they'll make a mistake. Definitely, there's value in it."
THE ESSENTIALS
THE INJURIES
• Penguins: Grant, out with an upper-body injury, was a full participant in the skate. He isn't expected to play, based on coming off the ice well afterward. ... Patric Hornqvist, right winger, was diagnosed with a concussion and did not accompany the team on the trip. ... Matt Cullen, center, is out longer term with a lower-body injury. Justin Schultz, defenseman, is expected to miss four months after fracturing his leg Oct. 13 in Montreal.
• Jets: Andrew Copp, forward, was diagnosed with a concussion last week and will miss the game. ... Byfuglien and Trouba, Winnipeg's top defensemen, were given maintenance days Monday at practice, but both will play.
THE SKATE
• All healthy players were full participants in the optional skate other than Phil Kessel, Kris Letang and Brian Dumoulin. And yes, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin were out there, too, superstitious as ever coming off a solid victory.
• Casey DeSmith was the first goaltender off the ice, and he's almost certain to start. That will set up Tristan Jarry for tomorrow in Denver.
• Sullivan, on Laine's masterwork Sunday: "It's impressive. Scoring five goals in one game isn't easy in this league. He's one of the great young players we have in our game."
• Crosby on the same: "Coming off a five-goal game, he'll obviously be really confident. But they've got a lot of guys who can score."
• No, Crosby didn't make the six-block walk from the team hotel, as he's done in the past to prove he's still got that Nova Scotian blood. I always have to ask.
• Malkin didn't make it, either, though he claimed the current temps here are "nothing" compared to his native Magnitogorsk, Russia. Can't even imagine.
THE OTHER SIDE
• The Jets had a full skate, including Copp. Conner Hellebuyck was the first goaltender off the ice and will start.
• Scoring doesn't come by accident. Laine followed up his five goals Sunday by being the third-to-last skater off the rink, repeatedly practicing one-timers until finally running out of ice time.
• Paul Maurice, on what he's seen of the Penguins on tape of late: "It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter what's on tape. It's what they're capable of doing, regardless of what their last game looked like. They're capable of being an elite team in the NHL. They've got five or six, certainly three or four extremely dynamic players who, each one of them, can win a game on their own."
• The Penguins and Jets have had a chippy history in recent years, uncommon between non-conference opponents. I brought that up with Wheeler:
• Wheeler and Kessel have a history together, having both come through the Boston system, as well as the U.S. national program, and the two shared some time here the day before the game. "Phil's a different guy, and I think he gets misunderstood by some in the media. He's just a great, fun personality. We love any chance we get to share some stories."
THE COMBINATIONS
• Here's an educated guess at the lines and pairs, based on what was shown in practice Monday and who could be out:
Guentzel - Crosby - Simon
Pearson - Malkin - Kessel
Aston-Reese - Brassard - Rust
Wilson - Sheahan - Sprong
Dumoulin - Letang
Johnson - Oleksiak
Maatta - Riikola
• The Jets' lineup will look like this:
Ehlers - Scheifele - Wheeler
Connor - Little - Laine
Tanev - Lowry - Perreault
Petan - Roslovic - Lemieux
Morrissey - Trouba
Chiarot - Byfuglien
Morrow - Myers
THE SCHEDULE
Faceoff tonight is at 8:08 p.m. The Penguins fly to Denver immediately after this game for a 9:30 p.m. tilt tomorrow against the Avalanche. They will not hold a morning skate there. Sullivan will speak to the media at 7:30 p.m.
THE COVERAGE
Visit our Penguins team page for everything.
MATT SUNDAY GALLERY
Penguins at Jets morning skate, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Nov. 27, 2018 - MATT SUNDAY / DKPS
