Winnipeg, Manitoba – WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) — Jonathan Toews took center stage as the Winnipeg Jets took the ice in their season opener against Dallas on Thursday night.
Toews, a Winnipeg native, received a loud and prolonged ovation from the sold-out crowd when he was introduced to Lost to the Jets 5-4.
37-year-old Jets center playing his first NHL game from April 13, 2023With the Chicago Blackhawks, he logged 18:19 of ice time in his 1,068th career regular season game. He had one shot on goal.
The three-time Stanley Cup winner and former Chicago captain missed the last two seasons due to health conditions related to chronic inflammatory response syndrome. and long COVID-19.
“Just a lot of energy. A lot of excitement. I'm just trying to hang in there,” Toews said of the crowd reception.
Toews said he felt “close” to being in game shape. He played on the second line with forwards Gustav Nyqvist and Nikita Chibrikov.
“But there’s a lot of room for improvement, a lot of little things I can do better,” Toews said. “Definitely tried to get the puck going on the faceoff. It didn’t quite work out on my line. But other than that, there were some situations where the three of us created and had some chances, even on the power play.
“I was pretty close to being successful, getting us on the board, so I think there are some positives that I'm excited about. (I'll) just continue to try to build on that.”
Jets coach Scott Arniel said Toews was a lot like his teammates: Everyone took a while to get going.
“I thought I saw a change in his game in the second period,” Arniel said. “He started moving the puck a little more, he started looking better, that line started doing something.
“At the end of the day, it's a tough question because our whole group didn't play very well. And of course he would have liked the first game to have gone better.”
The Dallas Stars also praised Toews' efforts to return to the NHL.
“It's good to see him again,” said Mikko Rantanen. “I think it’s good for the league to have a player like him back in the lineup and back in the NHL, I’m really happy for him.
“It was a long way back and I thought he looked good there, so it’s just great for the league to have that face on the ice.”
Dallas coach Glen Gulutzan, making his second appearance on the bench for the team, also paid tribute to Toews.
“You know, I felt good for him,” Gulutzan said. “I've watched him and, you know, he's still big, strong with pucks. And you can see him, just some of his giddyness.”
“And for a guy who hasn't played in a while, boy, he's a great player. He still looks good and you get to watch him a little bit because he was one of the big guys in the game.”
___ AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
