Veteran Niederreiter says this year's Jets have more pilots than 'passengers'
It was just over a year ago when Nino Niederreiter made a frank assessment of the Winnipeg Jets.
The veteran forward said there were too many "passengers" on the team as it was fighting to grab the second wild-card spot for the 2023 Western Conference playoffs.
Flip the calendar to this season and there are a lot of pilots to take the controls.
"We need to have a full team going to be successful," Niederreiter said after Winnipeg's morning skate Tuesday.
"The team-first mentality and buying into our system and go from there, I think that's something we did a lot better job of this year. We're more consistent than last year -- and that's why we are where we are right now."
A group effort was required ahead of Tuesday's Game 2 as the Jets aimed to take a 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven opening-round series against the Colorado Avalanche
Winnipeg hung on for a 7-6 victory in Sunday's Game 1 at Canada Life Centre.
Last season, the Jets won the first game of their opening-round playoff series against the Vegas Golden Knights but dropped the next four and were knocked out.
Winnipeg defenceman Brenden Dillon says there's been a different vibe around the team this season.
"It's just a way better, more positive feeling than last year," he said.
The Jets snapped a six-game losing streak late in the regular season and surged with eight consecutive wins to finish the campaign.
"Between the coaches' messaging, between us as teammates' messaging, everyone was just, we know how good of a team we are, we know that we've been here before and we've got to be mature about this and stop it before it snowballs," Dillon said.
The players were dialed in ahead of Game 2.
"The mood is definitely very great in the room, but we all know we've got to be so much better than we were in Game 1," Niederreiter said.
"They kind of outplayed us for most of the game and we found the way to keep getting the lead and found a way to expose their goalie a little bit. We did a good job of it, but we all know it's going to be a whole different game."
BOOST FROM CAPTAIN
Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog was on the ice for Tuesday's morning skate with his teammates, but he was wearing a hoodie and sweatpants and not participating in drills
Landeskog is still recovering from cartilage replacement surgery in his right knee last May and there's no timeline for his return to action.
His presence around the team is still invaluable.
"It's just fun to have him in the room with everybody," Colorado forward Nathan MacKinnon said. "He's such a great person, great leader.
"He's definitely giving us good insight. He's kind of like a coach right now."
Injuries have kept Landeskog from playing since June 2022, when Colorado won the Stanley Cup.
Speaking of that Cup victory, MacKinnon was candid about where the Avalanche are now compared to that skilful team.
"I'm not sure we'll ever be on as good of a team as we were in '22, but we're still good enough to win in this room and excited for the challenge (Tuesday) night," he said.
GOALIE SWITCH
Alexandar Georgiev was scheduled to start again for Colorado on Tuesday, backed up by Ivan Prosvetov, recalled from the American Hockey League's Colorado Eagles late Monday afternoon. Goalie Arvid Holm was reassigned to the Eagles.
Colorado regular backup netminder Justus Annumen remains out with an illness.
Prosvetov got into 11 games for the Avalanche during the regular season, registering a 4-3-1 record with a 3.16 goals-against average and .895 save percentage.
Avalanche defenceman Samuel Girard was listed as a game-time decision.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 23, 2024.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'I just can't believe that it took so long': Body found in wreckage 3 months after deadly fire
A man accused of arson in a January Old Strathcona apartment fire is expected to be charged with manslaughter after a body was discovered in the burned building late last month.
No proof man lied to brother about number of kittens born in litter, B.C. tribunal rules
A man was denied a $5,000 payout from his brother after a B.C. tribunal dismissed his claim disputing how many kittens were born in a litter.
Quebec police hand out hundreds of tickets to Hells Angels and other bikers before 'first run' meeting
Quebec provincial police handed out hundreds of fines to Hells Angels members and other supporting motorcycle clubs who met for their 'first run' in a small town near Sherbrooke, Que.
Grandparents killed in wrong-way crash on Hwy. 401 identified
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
Auston Matthews skates ahead of Game 7, status unclear with season on the line
Centre Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs hasn't been ruled out of tonight's Game 7 against the Boston Bruins.
Snakes almost on a plane: U.S. TSA discovers a bag with small snakes in passenger's pants
According to an X post by the Transportation Security Administration, officers at the Miami International Airport found the small bag of snakes hidden in a passenger's trousers on April 26 at a checkpoint.
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
Russia puts Ukrainian President Zelenskyy on its wanted list
Russia has put Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on its wanted list, Russian state media reported Saturday, citing the interior ministry’s database.
Britney Spears 'home and safe' after paramedics responded to an incident at the Chateau Marmont, source tells CNN
A source close to singer Britney Spears tells CNN that the pop star is 'home and safe' after she had a 'major fight' with her boyfriend on Wednesday night at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.