WINNIPEG, Manitoba — It was a Chamber of Commerce-type day in this Canadian prairie outpost.
Friday featured no snow, no stinging winds, and the only ice was the sheet found at the Canada Life Centre, where the Jets hosted the Bruins for their season opener.
It was a balmy 17 degrees Celsius (62 for Fahrenheit friends) with sunshine and blue skies as far as the eye could see.
That had Morgan Geekie, a native Manitoban, smiling.
“It’s always fun playing at home. It’s especially nice when you get here and it’s not December or January and you get to see that Manitoba’s not all that bad sometimes,” he said.
The 28-year-old was expecting to have his own cheering section for the game.
“Yeah, we’ll have some people here,” said Geekie, who grew up three hours west in Strathclair, a town known for producing wheat and hockey players. “I was talking to my dad the other day and [he said] there’d be a lot of people in the [wheat] fields, I think. So, if they can make it in, it’ll be good to see some people.”
A righthanded shot, Geekie was back on the right wing on Boston’s second line with a couple of lefties, center Pavel Zacha and left wing Casey Mittelstadt. In essence, he has taken the spot held by Viktor Arvidsson last season.
The trio is continuing to build chemistry, said Geekie, who spent most of last year on Boston’s top line playing left wing with fellow righties Elias Lindholm and David Pastrnak.
“I haven’t played with a lefty in a while, so it’s nice to have two of them, but it’s good. It’s a little different,” said Geekie. “Obviously, they played with Arvy most of the year last year, so I just try to get in there and be in the right spots for them.”
Geekie gives the second line a different look. Arvidsson is a puck hunter while Geekie is more in the sniper mold, possessing one of the game’s hardest shots.
“Everybody plays the game a little bit differently and I think those two work well off each other,” said Geekie. “So, I just try to find myself in spots where I can be an option for them. And being a righty, I’ll just try to find myself in the shooting areas in the right side and just try to convert on those.”
Geekie has been picking the brains of Zacha and Mittelstadt as he adjusts his game to create chances.
“I think it’s easy in the fact that they know where they’re going to be. A little bit harder for me coming in sometimes just because you’re trying to fit in and you’re trying to play to how they like to play,” said Geekie. “But they’re two really smart players and think the game really well. So, it definitely makes it a little easier and they’ve kind of been pulling me along and we’ve been talking a lot on the bench and stuff about figuring some stuff out. So, we had some chances [in the opener] and hit a few posts, but we’ll just try to build off that.”
It’s a small sample size, but Marco Sturm, who started camp with Geekie on the top line before making the switch, likes what he’s seen.
“Zacha and Mittelstadt are very straightforward hockey players, and we want Morgan to be more like that too,” said the coach. “But in [the] offensive zone, just with that shot, he’s a very big weapon. I mean those guys, they will find him. So, they need a few more games, I would say, just to get used to [each other], but there’s a lot to like.”
Jeremy Swayman keeps the net
Sturm stuck with his lineup from Game 1, including in net, where Jeremy Swayman was coming off a 24-save performance against the Rangers. The coach said he would decide after the game if Michael DiPietro would get the nod for the Wild game Saturday night in Minnesota ... Matt Poitras (lower-body injury) made the trip and skated for an extended time with healthy scratches Mikey Eyssimont and Frederic Brunet. Poitras remains on injured reserve ... Stuart Skinner got the start in the Jets’ net as the Connor Hellebuyck drama drags on. Hellebuyck, a three-time Vezina Trophy winner and Olympic gold medalist, has requested a trade and has subsequently been suspended by the team for failing to report to camp.
Jim McBride can be reached at james.mcbride@globe.com. Follow him @globejimmcbride.