With Mark Scheifele out, it’s Vladislav Namestnikov’s time to shine for Jets
The Winnipeg Jets could close out their first-round series against the St. Louis Blues on Friday night– but they’ll have to do without their top center, Mark Scheifele.
Scheifele was injured in Game 5 on Wednesday night after being involved in multiple collisions. He didn’t join the team on the road in St. Louis, leaving a significant hole in the team’s lineup.
The Athletic writer Murat Ates joined Daily Faceoff Live on Friday with Tyler Yaremchuk and Frank Seravalli to figure out who needs to step up:
Tyler Yaremchuk: “Who is going to step up? Is it as simple as when I fire up the DFO lines on our website and go ‘all right, Vladislav Namestnikov, do your thing?'”
Murat Ates: “Vlad Namestnikov is a player that Winnipeg acquired to no fanfare at all two years ago for a fourth-round pick. At this year’s deadline, the Jets worked to upgrade that position, looking for an upgrade at 2C. Suddenly, he’s your No. 1 center in one of the most important games of this era of the franchise’s history. That is a trip. That is a real pressure situation for him.
“If you watched Game 5, you saw an enormous second period from him. He was all over it even before that, making some big plays that led to a goal in the first period to put the Jets up 2-1. This is his moment.”
Frank Seravalli: “Namestnikov has punched way above his weight class. He’s been a great transaction, a great extension at that, too. But when you take a look at the way that this team is structured with their top three lines, does this not leave you wanting a little bit more? Is this team – without Scheifele – are they able to go toe to toe against the Blues? Yes, but against some of the rest of the competition in the Stanley Cup playoffs? I guess it just strikes me as thin seeing it all on paper.”
Murat Ates: “Yeah, it’s a fair question to ask. Remember, they tried to upgrade at 2C, now they’re without their 1C. This is a big deal. And indeed the Jets have not had a ton of success without Mark Scheifele in the playoffs. They haven’t won a playoff game when he’s been out, whether due to injury or suspension. If you count the qualification round against Calgary, when he went into the boards via Matthew Tkachuk, the Jets got one win and then lost two after that.
“They’re not the same team without Mark Scheifele. There’s no way around it. If they win tonight, it’s going to be a lot more about greasy plays, getting to the net front, and winning the battles, and a lot less about that Scheifele special, which is protect the puck along the wall, find Kyle Connor through a scene that nobody else imagined. It’s going to have to be a little bit different style of play and I agree with you, you put that up there, it looks thin and that’s why I’m pointing at Namestnikov and Lowry as two of the most important players tonight.
You can check out the full episode below:
