SNAPSHOTS: Hockey world loses legend; Schmidt ready to ride in Game 3

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The death of legendary play-by-play man Bob Cole on Wednesday reverberated through the dressing rooms of the Winnipeg Jets and Colorado Avalanche in Denver on Thursday.

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Cole, who was 90, passed away in St. John’s, NL.

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For five decades, he became the soundtrack of Saturday nights as the play-by-play man on Hockey Night in Canada.

“He’s such a legend, such a great man and I’ve met him a few times over the years at charity golf tournaments in Halifax,” Avalanche superstar Nathan MacKinnon told reporters in Denver. “He’d come out and support Atlantic Canadians. Amazing person, super funny. Just a great guy and obviously some of the best calls of all time, so super sad to hear that.”

MacKinnon grew up as a big Pittsburgh Penguins fan, following the career of good friend and fellow Cole Harbour native, Sidney Crosby.

“Just growing up, every playoff, it was unreal,” MacKinnon said. “I was a big Penguins fan and anytime Hockey Night in Canada came on, I loved watching them. I’m from Nova Scotia. So, games are pretty late for me. I didn’t see much, but he’s a legend.”

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Jets forward Tyler Toffoli, a native of Scarborough, Ont., said it was tough news to wake up to on Thursday.

“Plenty (of memories),” he said. “Seeing that this morning, waking up, was pretty disheartening. Real unfortunate. The career he had affected so many people, and so many guys’ careers as well. Definitely a sad day in hockey for sure.

“You see some of the videos, some of the calls. It’s definitely very emotional. Just a huge part in hockey and affected a lot of people.”

Jets head coach Rick Bowness said the hockey world lost a legend and a wonderful human being.

“I spent a lot of time with Bob over the years,” Bowness, 69, said. “There’s not necessarily a specific story, but the most important thing is that all the coaches around the league and all the hockey people, they trusted him.

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“He was a true pro. You could tell him anything and he called a great game. Very respectful, very professional. I had a good rapport with Bob. I’m from the Maritimes, he was from Newfoundland. He’s not a Maritimer, he was a Newfoundlander. But I always had a great rapport with Bob. I just had nothing but respect for him.

“The hockey world lost a really good human being today.”

Jets turn to veteran Schmidt

Bowness appears set to return to a defensive pairing that relinquished very little during the regular season.

Veteran blue-liner Nate Schmidt will likely return to the fold for Game 3 of Winnipeg’s best-of-seven series with the Avalanche on Friday.

During their time together this season, Schmidt was paired with Dylan Samberg, a duo that gave up a league-low 11 goals at 5-on-5 (minimum 500 minutes played) and the second-lowest goals against per 60 minutes at 1.25.

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Schmidt will replace Logan Stanley, who played 31 shifts over the first two games, with no points and no shots on goal.

“It’s been an exciting series so far, can’t wait to be a part of it,” Schmidt said. “A lot of energy in Winnipeg. Hopefully, bring that over here in the next two games, Games 3 and 4.”

If Schmidt does play, Bowness said, he’ll be back on the right side.

“That right side for a left hand, that’s a tough position,” Bowness said. “You get stuck in the corner, and the way they forecheck and the way they bring the puck in, it’s hard for a lefty going back into that right corner.

“We do want to move the puck a little quicker, we still played a little too slow for our liking last game. So get moving the puck quicker and playing north — a lot faster game — is going to help us, for sure.”

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Schmidt said he has seen a couple of things that can be done to slow Colorado’s speed when they start churning in the offensive zone.

“Trying to cut off before they get into that motion is No. 1,” he said. “No. 2, when we do have a chance to outnumber in the corner, we can’t let them off. When we let them out, and they start getting low to high, and all of a sudden, their forwards in the corner can swing low to high and get above the top of the circle, and all of a sudden, the zone opens up.

“It’s something we talked about (on Thursday) and hopefully will be able to implement (in Game 3).”

Meanwhile, Schmidt feels the communication skills fostered between himself and Samberg will play a crucial role.

“That has to be the foundation for him and I,” Schmidt said. “I believe we’ve laid those bricks. Now, it’s time to reap the rewards.”

They said it

Jets head coach Rick Bowness on the confidence he has in goalie Connor Hellebuyck:

“I never worry about his confidence. He’s very confident in himself. He knows he’s an elite goalie. He wants the ball. He loves being in there in these big moments.”

sbilleck@postmedia.com

X: @scottbilleck

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