Leading up to the Olympic break, Winnipeg Jets head coach Scott Arniel was already plotting what his team’s return to the ice would look like after 12 days off.
So, when they assembled on Tuesday afternoon for the first time since a Feb. 4 loss to Montreal – save for the four players still at the Winter Games – everyone knew what was coming this week.
Which is to say a format similar to training camp, although as defenceman Dylan DeMelo put it, “with different weather.”
And judging by the way the skate was conducted, which included a practice plan with high-paced flow drills and rushes up and down the ice and concluded with a three-on-three game between the blue lines, the intent was to get the RPMs back up and redlining as soon as possible.
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Moreover, Arniel also mentioned that as the week progresses into the weekend, they’ll tailor their workouts to defensive and offensive zone coverage and finish with a special teams focus before their next game — a week from Wednesday in Vancouver.
It’s a strategy of preparation the Jets coaching staff hopes will allow the team to hear the starter’s pistol and begin a sprint to the finish with 26 games in 51 days and an 11-point deficit to make up in a desperate playoff push.
Or as Arniel said more succinctly after Tuesday’s skate, “we’re not working our way into the 26 games; we have to be up and running at full speed.”
The Olympics this year and previously the 4 Nations Face-Off last February have created an oddity in NHL scheduling, as the 20-day break between games for the Jets will attest.
But as they look to burst out of the blocks next week in full pursuit of making up some serious ground, perhaps this mid-season training camp will indeed help the Jets come out of the Olympic break better than the way they went into it.
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