OverDrive - Orlesky on the Jets' search for a series win, playing without Scheifele and Hellebuyck's integral stance

Episode Date: May 2, 2025

Winnipeg Jets Host Sara Orlesky joined OverDrive to discuss the Jets' first round matchup against the Blues, the mindset to win the series, the team's priorities without Mark Scheifele in the lineup, Connor Hellebuyck becoming the biggest factor in the game, the physicality of the teams in the series, Nikolaj Ehlers' return to the lineup, how the Jets can achieve the winning stretch and more.

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Yes. She didn't leave before game one so she could be there for game six. She flew down. It flies private. Private, yes. She flies private. JP, scratch this from the podcast. No, this is great. This is important information, man. Rivening talk. I'm telling you, Sarah would this from the podcast now this is a great nation revenue talk i'm going to hear this error with my cars like air into user sero less key believes that it's a few lots of when game six tonight she doesn't care about flying cars are quite safe there she is going to have what i want to walk into here and this is you know i'm all the times that i have been fortunate to be on with you guys I usually have some idea about what you guys are talking about but obviously

I should have been connected Sarah let me just put it this way let me let me put it this way no clue what you guys are talking about Ryan Hayes claims you're in st. Louis for a massive tilt tonight game six blues, blues, jets, okay? He thinks that five years you'll be flying your own little mini aircraft there and that's the way of the future. I didn't say five years. At some point personal aircraft will be like grabbing a cat, yes, 100%. No, not me. No. What you don't know is that I have a fear of small planes and helicopters, so there's not a chance that that will happen

may be ever i will go back to the horse and buggy okay so you go backwards you appreciate a horse and buggy okay i appreciate that and you know it's classic i like to think it's classic you don't want to be trendy very classic rey's supreme very true yes it's like a hipster way of transportation uh... yeah i don't know how we got to this we're talking with some guy flying under golf course and you know how it works around here uh... anyway

here we go game six tonight the the the significance of mark shifely missing the game in your opinion like how much does that factor into the mentality of the winnipeg jets going into the game tonight but it's huge that you don't have your number one center going into this game, but we did see in game five what other players step up in his absence. I would argue that it's one of the best games, not perhaps the best game that we've seen from Vladislav Nemesnikov as a Winnipeg Jet. So is it a huge hole? Absolutely it is, but

you're gonna look to your other players to be able to step up. This is the hand that you have been dealt. There's no excuses for it. Everybody needs to elevate their game, but this is certainly, you know, it's tough enough when it's in your own building, but this atmosphere in St. Louis has been electric as well, and we know that in this series, home ice up to this point has reigned but this atmosphere in St. Louis has been electric as well. We know that in this series, home ice up to this point has reigned supreme with all five games being won by the home team. So Sarah, I just did a SportsCenter hit and you're talking about potentially

Nikolai Ehlers coming back, no shy flee, who's going to step up? Is it just as simple as maybe the guy who's up for the heart and and the the Vezna and He's been pulled in that building two games in a row if he just has a statement game I mean he can close out the series maybe not by himself He's gonna need help But if is it is it present that he could have a statement game and maybe quiet down everybody who's been challenging him in the playoffs Well 100% who's been challenging him in the playoffs? Well, 100 percent. If he comes in and steals this game for it, then it will quiet the people down because that's what we've come to expect in Conor Halliburton during the regular season. We haven't seen it up to this point in the

post-season. You have to think that at some point we're going to. I mean, I keep waiting for it and expecting that this will be the time that it's going to. He is a leader on this team. He is the best goaltender right now. He's going to win another Vezna, a finalist for the hard. We know that he can do it.

This would be obviously a great opportunity for him to be able to step up, but it can't just be on him. They scored a combined three goals in the two games that they played here for games three and four. You need others to step up. So it would be a huge boost for this team in terms of speed, also potential help on their power play to have Nickly Eilers back in the lineup. He has a game time decision,

I know you guys have said that already, but he did take line rushes this morning. He did practice with the first power play unit. So I mean, all indications are that he will be back in the line up and make his first appearance in this series. But you need others to step up. Last game, I mentioned to Mestakoff, Nino Nidorajder had a good game and contributed with the goal.

Dylan DeMello got his first goal of the series. You can't just put it on the goaltender. But obviously, you need him to elevate his game, too. And he's been in. He has said this week, I'm sure you guys at some point have talked about it, he spoke to the media on Monday when it came out that he was, when it came out that he was the hardfarmist.

And he did say that, look, he needs to be better. He knows that. And I expect that we'll see, you know, we'll see him do it, we'll see him do it's will seem to it today there you go i'll say that will seem to expect sarah about monty do you think monty's up for any free dinners in winnipeg anytime sooner was the vibe in the peg about monty and some of his car tonight

can i say that the banter i mean you guys appreciate good banter back or if the line going back and forth between Jim Montgomery and Scott Arneal, I mean I'm all for a little bit of He said this morning he does I don't know if you heard that the blues had Plane issues yesterday and weren't able to fly out in the morning like they were supposed to. So they didn't get in until around 9 o'clock last night. They were supposed to be in around 1 in the afternoon. And so he was asked about what they did to kill time in Winnipeg and he referenced cards, Netflix, whatever.

And then he made some joke about how he spent his time in the OR alluding to his medical decrease. I appreciate some good sarcasm. joke about how he spent his time in the o r alluding to a medical decrease i appreciate some good sarcasm as you should get your mark ever that was great and he and scott are now i appreciate his his retort but he was happy that yeah absolutely nor should he be a mean i i get no problem with that he knew likely the status of shy free but i mean stepped up to the podium uh... which is

significant of course because now he's not playing in game six tonight. But in terms of what the Blues have done and in terms of how physical they've been, have you been taken aback by that? Were you expecting it? Because it has been a gruesome, gruesome series so far. I think, look, I expect it to be a physical physical series but i don't know if maybe to the extent that you've seen on both sides the way that it's been they've been able to handle it for all five days through this

even i thought that maybe at some point that they were that it would slow down a little bit and we just haven't really seen that we have seen anything earlier in the series you saw logan stanley with some big hits and then you see the way that the blues are continually trying to take the body with Josh Morrissey, what they're doing with Mark Shifely. I thought that it might peter out a little bit by now but no they just kept going and no we'll see. We're in store for I think a great game here tonight again. And the energy, I mean, you know how great it is inside this building and especially,

I mean, playoffs, the atmosphere between the ranks, both in Winnipeg and here in St. Louis has been great. And you expect nothing less from a central division matchup. I thought to myself, and maybe this is a little bit old school for me, but Adam Lowry is not a guy who's shy to drop the gloves. And neither is Braden Shen. When's the last time we saw a captain's fight? Was that at Ginla and Le Cavier?

Ginla and No. 4. I don't know. With Shen running around, to me I could feel like it could be a scenario where Adam Lowry just goes, I'm fighting you whether you like it or not, and Shen would be a welcome recipient of it. He's a guy who's not shy, but for some reason in my mind, maybe it's just wishful thinking.

Wouldn't that be amazing to have a captain's fight tonight? I mean, it would be, but you also, like special teams have not played in Winnipeg's favorite throughout this series so far so I mean the benefits might not outweigh the potential negatives because you really can't afford with the status of Mark Shifely unknown going forward you can't lose another center and and Adam Lowry contributes so much in a variety of different ways and we've seen him play injured last year during the postseason

this thing that they have been almost responsible in the way that they have responded to the physicality in this series I think that it would be wise for them to continue doing it whether that be because you don't want to be shorthanded or you don't want to have the potential risk of injury because then they are very thin down the middle. Maybe we get the old Primo. There's me just being too responsible with it. Yes, we want to see the fight. I want to see maybe Luke and Braden go out. I don't know I just think something can happen it just to me and I know it's game six and the stakes are high it's just at some point because Shen has been

literally you know Brad shan has been literally you know braden shan has been blowing up the jets legitimately like blowing them up and at some point somebody's gonna step up and say that's enough yeah and i'll be interested to see and whether or not that happens tonight but if that i and my only

my only concern would be for their b any potential downside of it might outweigh it but these you said before and i mean all you have when you know you talk about adam larry's ever since he became captain what you like about what he brings to this team and the elements that he has and so he certainly he's a leader on this team whether he drops the gloves or not. Sarah Oleski live from St. Louis horse buggy the whole nine yards enjoy the game tonight. You know what now that they only have one game in between games we've had so many

two games the two-day breaks in between games in this series now that they only have the one day in between. It might be challenging for me to get back for a game seven. So good luck perspective. Here's hoping that they close it out tonight. Otherwise I'll be in Fargo, North Dakota, and I'll join you guys on Monday. We will FaceTime you from Fargo. Thank you, Sarah. Thanks so much guys.

There's a Sarah Leske. Introducing Brian Adams radio. Thanks so much guys. There's Sarah Leske. Introducing Brian Adams Radio on I Heart Radio. Hosted by Brian Adams himself. Join me for an insider look on a wild ride through 40 years of global rock and roll. Brian Adams Radio. Now available on the free iHeart Radio app. Or ask your smart speaker to play Brian Adams Radio on iHeart Radio.

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