After the Winnipeg Jets fell 5-1 to the Los Angeles Kings on Oct. 17, the attention shifted to the status of Gabriel Vilardi. Vilardi went down awkwardly after a collision with Kings’ forward Blake Lizotte, twisting his knee in a direction knees don’t normally go.
The news came in the morning after, as it was announced Vilardi would be sidelined for 4-6 weeks with a sprained MCL. With two very solid games under his belt, the injury puts a damper on what had been a terrific start for the Jets’ top line.
The combination of Vilardi, Kyle Connor, and Mark Scheifele had been one of the most dominant forward lines in the first few games of the NHL season, but the injury derailed that swiftly and ultimately shuffled the entire lineup around it.
After Vilardi departed the game, a few solutions began to take shape in the form of promotions from lower in the lineup, but it felt like more of a rotation than a true positional swap. The Jets’ contest against the Vegas Golden Knights on Oct. 19, however, saw Mason Appleton get the bump to the top line, a move that lasted just four periods.
Now, since the second period of the Oct. 21 game against the Edmonton Oilers, it appears the lines are set going forward. Some combinations have found more success than others, but it has showcased several players in different situations that are worth noting.
Iafallo Gets the Bump
After the Appleton experiment ended, Alex Iafallo was the next in line to take a turn alongside Scheifele and Connor, and while it hasn’t found immediate success, it has the makings of a good placeholder until Vilardi returns.
Iafallo spent time in the top six when playing with the Los Angeles Kings, and stylistically it works to have somewhat of a Swiss Army knife that can slide in without sacrificing too much offence. When the Jets acquired Iafallo in the Pierre-Luc Dubois trade, that was most certainly part of why they wanted him included.
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His career highs in goals and points were set in 2019-20 when playing with the Kings, where he tallied 17 goals and 43 points in 70 games. Based on where he’ll be spending the bulk of his season, he has the opportunity to rival that number and that’s something the Jets need. They can’t expect a full season of Iafallo producing at Vilardi’s level on the top line, but even matching his career marks would be a welcome offensive boost to a team that has historically struggled with depth scoring.
Bottom Six Success Stories
The Jets’ bottom six has a different look than past years, in that there appears to be more offensive cohesiveness among the two lines. Since the line shuffling, both the third and fourth lines appear to be providing more pop, something that was heavily on display in the 4-3 shootout loss to the Montreal Canadians on Oct. 28.
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In the game, Adam Lowry had a pair of goals, Nino Niederreiter had a goal and a helper, and Appleton had a pair of assists, and it shows the conversion of their chances to goals at a high rate. According to Moneypuck, the trio holds the highest expected goals percentage of the Jets’ forward group, humming along at 64.9%, a mark that ranks 15th in the NHL.
The fourth line, consisting of Morgan Barron, Rasmus Kupari, and David Gustafsson has also looked solid from an offensive standpoint while not giving up much defensively. Their minutes have been limited, but it’s a line created of players who have been in the discussion to receive more opportunities to succeed.
As a line, they’re hard-working, smart, and fast, often pressuring the opposing line into their own zone. They aren’t immune to mistakes, as they’re looking to make the most of their ice time, but they tend to do a decent job of keeping things clean and working hard to run down their matchups.
For the time being, it appears the Jets have found their forward group to counter the loss of Vilardi. On paper, things seem more balanced and that is a welcome sight for a team that has seemingly had a top-heavy lineup for the better part of the past five years.
In terms of production, the addition of Iafallo will be something to watch over the next several games as he settles into the top-line role. If he can begin producing with Connor and Scheifele, the Jets should be a team to watch in the West even after losing such an impact player.