Winnipeg Jets hoping for a hot start against Utah Mammoth

The Winnipeg Jets are about to face one of their biggest early tests of the young hockey season.

Sunday’s clash with the Utah Mammoth at Canada Life Centre will be a showdown between two of the NHL’s top teams right now — not only in the Central Division, but league-wide.

Winnipeg enters with a 6-2-0 record, while Utah carries an identical mark into Saturday’s meeting with the Minnesota Wild in St. Paul. After a few years of steady progress, the Mammoth are beginning to come of age and announce their arrival to the rest of the league.

“We know the skill that they have, and obviously they’ve taken a big step forward. So it will be a challenge,” Jets defenceman Neal Pionk said Saturday following an optional skate at the downtown rink.

One possible advantage for Winnipeg is rest. The Jets are coming off back-to-back home games — a 3-0 loss to Seattle on Thursday followed by a 5-3 win over Calgary on Friday — but will still be the fresher side against a Utah team playing its second game in as many days.

“We want to have a hot start in any game, but especially if you can try and catch a team that’s coming off (a game the prior day),” said Jets forward Cole Koepke.

“A quick turnaround for them, so hopefully we can be a little more fresh, come out at the start and get all over them right away.”

The goal lights could be busy on Sunday. Entering Saturday’s action, both teams were averaging 3.5 goals per game, which was tied for seventh-best in the NHL.

Utah boasts plenty of young offensive firepower, led by centre Nick Schmaltz (5G, 8A), wingers Clayton Keller (4G, 8A), Dylan Guenther (4G, 5A) and JJ Peterka (2G, 5A), and centre Logan Cooley (5G, 2A).

“I haven’t seen any of their games, but I’ve seen their scores (including Thursday’s 7-4 win in St. Louis). They’re certainly impressive,” said Pionk.

Life in the Central Division is never easy, especially with proven powerhouses like Colorado, Dallas, and Winnipeg in recent years. Utah seems poised to join that mix sooner than later, as years of rebuilding and high draft picks are finally bearing fruit.

“It’s a gauntlet here. It’s very deep and very, very heavy at the top,” said Koepke.

“A lot of really good teams here, and everyone in there seems to play with a lot of speed and a lot of kind of grit and heaviness. (Utah) is off to a great start. Their top six is just as skilled as anyone. Those young guys, they got a lot of them, they’re off to really hot start on the season offensively. So they’re definitely joining the tough part of the Central.”

The Jets will likely see Mammoth backup goaltender Vitek Vanecek, who has been solid in his two starts this year behind workhorse Karel Vejmelka, who got the call Saturday against the Wild.

Winnipeg is expected to turn back to goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, who got a well-earned night off Friday while the No. 2 man, Eric Comrie, handled the crease. Since surrendering five goals in a season-opening loss to Dallas, Hellebuyck has allowed just seven in his five subsequent starts.

As for the rest of the lineup, updates will come at warmup, as there won’t be a morning skate ahead of the 5 p.m. puck drop. Defenceman Luke Schenn and forwards Parker Ford and Brad Lambert were healthy scratches on Friday and among a small group who skated Saturday.

Also on the ice were injured Jets Adam Lowry (hip surgery), Cole Perfetti (ankle sprain) and Dylan Samberg (broken wrist). Notably, Lowry shed his yellow non-contact jersey for the first time — an encouraging sign that his return may be near. Late October was always viewed as the most optimistic timeline.

Perfetti is expected back by mid-November, with Samberg likely not far behind.

The fact that Winnipeg has won six of its first eight games without those three key players is commendable. The Jets had a brief scare Friday when Pionk limped off after blocking a shot in the third period, but he quickly declared himself fit.

“All good. A little stiff, but it’s fine,” he said. “It was more that it caught me by surprise. I was looking for my guy in d-zone coverage and all of a sudden I heard a slapshot, I didn’t see it. Next thing I knew it hit my leg.”

Pionk said that kind of sacrifice is part of the job, especially on a penalty kill that leads the NHL at 94.1 per cent. Through eight games, Winnipeg has scored as many shorthanded goals (2) as power-play goals allowed (2), which is a mark of both efficiency and effort.

“I think we’ve been probably killing a little bit more than we’d like to, but it’s always good that we’re doing well,” said Koepke, who nearly added to that total against Calgary with a shorthanded breakaway but couldn’t beat goaltender Dustin Wolf.

“I think collectively, we’ve been able to put a lot of pressure on the other team’s power plays and kind of disrupt them on the entry. And think we’ve got to continue to do that, and it’s going to be huge throughout the season.”

This will be Utah’s only visit to Winnipeg this season. The Jets will play the Mammoth two more times, both in Salt Lake City (Dec. 21 and Apr. 14).

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

X and Bluesky: @mikemcintyrewpg