How the top line reacts to benching will determine the rest of the Jets' season

RALEIGH, North Carolina – Rick Bowness didn’t like what he saw, so he sent a stern message.

How the message is received and how the trio of Mark Scheifele, Kyle Connor and Nino Niederreiter respond will be critical during the final 14 games of the regular season for the fortunes of the Winnipeg Jets.

Quite frankly, it could mean the difference between the Jets qualifying for the Stanley Cup playoffs or having a long off-season full of questions and regrets.

After the Jets had fallen behind 3-1 in the second period of what finished off as a 5-3 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes, Bowness made it a three-line game.

And this time, it wasn’t the fourth unit that had its turn skipped on multiple occasions because the team had fallen behind and was chasing the game.

Instead, Bowness decided to bench his top line for the final 11:45 of the second frame.

The Scheifele trio was on for all three goals against and this wasn’t a case of them generating enough at the other end to offset what they had given up.

Compounding the problem was that the line had generated a grand total of zero shots on goal and one shot attempt (from Niederreiter) through the first 32-plus minutes of the hockey game.

Scheifele and Connor declined to speak to reporters after the game, while Niederreiter not only shared his thoughts, he agreed with the decision and knew exactly why his line was asked to take a seat before returning to action in the third.

“I mean, we didn't deserve to play,” said Niederreiter, who extended a personal point streak to seven games by scoring in the third after he was moved onto a line with Adam Lowry and Morgan Barron. “We just simply weren't good enough. We weren't engaged. We weren't doing the job we were supposed to do. We definitely deserved that. I mean, he definitely made that message pretty clear. We've got to be better. We've got to show up, especially this time of year and yeah.

“It was definitely unacceptable. But we definitely found that we (stuck) with it, we found a way to keep being in the game, and obviously, I was fortunate enough to be there in the right spot, right time, to give us a chance to get back in the game but, overall, like I said, that's definitely not good enough from our line.”

This is what longtime NHL head coach Bruce Boudreau meant when he told me after the trade was completed that Niederreiter would quickly become the most popular player on the team.

Although he was mostly guilty by association, Niederreiter showed excellent leadership and Bowness was quick to point out he was vocal on the bench and encouraging his teammates during his benching.

When asked if players appreciate being held accountable when things aren’t going well, Niederreiter answered in the affirmative.

"Yeah, absolutely. I think he definitely made the right choice,” said Niederreiter, who has four goals and seven points in eight games since being acquired from the Nashville Predators. “I mean, he played the guys who were going and who were good enough and we simply weren't good enough. We definitely have to bounce back against Boston and be better and go from there.”

No head coach wants to go to the nuclear option of benching his top line, especially in the middle of a playoff race and the clock ticking down on the season.

But Bowness essentially felt they left him no choice, so he acted accordingly.

“Well, it’s two-fold. I mean, first of all, the other three lines were going really well. And they were creating momentum. So you try to get them out there as much as you can,” said Bowness. “And some nights, it’s just not going your way, so yeah, that’s all it was. It’s more the other three lines were going, it wasn’t going their way so we need them in the third and played them in the third.

“No, you don’t like to do that. But again, the other three lines were going so good and creating. Overall, listen, that’s the best game we played on the road trip. It really is. We held a high shot volume team to 24, 25 shots on net. They didn’t have 10 scoring chances. So the team game was really really good. So (I’m) really happy with that. Did a couple guys have a tough night? Yeah, that’s going to happen. But you move on and get ready for Boston Thursday night.”

Scheifele is just two games removed from a two-goal outing that included the overtime winner against the Florida Panthers.

He leads the team in goals with 38 and has 60 points in 68 games, plus his effort in the defensive zone has been improved of late.

On Tuesday, he was a bit loose in coverage on Jesperi Koktaniemi’s wraparound goal but the marker had more to do with Jets goalie David Rittich not getting his stick down to cover the five-hole.

However, Scheifele was held without a shot attempt in the game and he was visibly frustrated when he slammed the gate after returning to the bench at one point in the third period.

As for Connor, he leads the Jets in scoring (73 points in 68 games) and is averaging more than a point per game for a second consecutive season.

While he had six points in his previous five games, he’s now been limited to only one goal in his past 11 games and has 27 on the season after notching a career-high 47 in 2021-22.

He’s proven to be a consistent sniper for this group, but right now something is amiss.

His sights are slightly off and even when the dangerous chances have landed on his stick, he hasn’t been able to convert them at the same frequency.

Dry spells and off nights happen for all goal scorers, but the timing for the Jets couldn’t be much worse – especially with defenceman Josh Morrissey missing a second consecutive game with a lower-body issue and Pierre-Luc Dubois sitting out with an upper-body injury.

Both Morrissey and Dubois are scheduled to return for Thursday’s game against the Boston Bruins, but their absence was definitely felt against a hungry Hurricanes team that found out Tuesday that Andrei Svechnikov would be lost for the season with a knee injury.

Jets forward Nikolaj Ehlers expects Scheiefle and Connor to bounce back quickly.

"You always want to play well. You want to play well for the team. Sometimes it's not working out and those guys have been extremely important for us in turning it around these last couple of games. I'm not worried. I don't think coach is worried either,” said Ehlers, whose third-period goal made it a one-goal game. “They are guys that we need, obviously. We need everyone in that room. (Stuff) happens.

“I think you could see how hard everyone was working out there. I think we played really well. We worked our asses off and sometimes you have nights you let in a few goals and it's not going well. These guys have had a lot (more) better nights than bad nights for this team. We're not worried.”