Koepke was one of the players Kevin Cheveldayoff brought in during free agency last summer, along with the additions of forwards Jonathan Toews, Gustav Nyquist and Tanner Pearson.
Through 52 games, Nyquist’s signing did not go as the Jets had hoped. The 36-year-old is yet to score and has eight assists in 32 games, spending much of January as a healthy scratch. That has opened the door for Koepke to earn fourth-line minutes in place of Nyquist.
A big issue around the club was the secondary scoring. While the Jets have received consistent contributions from their top line, the bottom nine have struggled for much of the season. However, since Christmas, the Jets have started to see offense throughout the lineup. The production has been inconsistent, but there have been periods where they piled up goals followed by dry slumps, including most recently three goals in three games.
The Jets did get contributions from Koepke and Nino Niederreiter in Tuesday’s 4-3 win over the New Jersey Devils.
“We need the secondary scoring. We’ve been talking about it all year,” said Jets head coach Scott Arniel. “We’ve been through periods where we haven’t made it. If you’re going to win on the road, everyone has to contribute, and that’s about what we got from everyone.”
In addition to his speed and hard-control, Brandon Tanev-esque presence, Koepke is also starting to contribute offensively, scoring five goals in his last 19 games. That’s the kind of production the Jets need from their secondary forwards, including players like Cole Perfetti (4G, 11A), Adam Lowry (4G, 8A), Vladislav Namestnikov (7G, 6A) and Niederreiter (8G, 11A), who have had years off thus far.
Arniel also had a lot of praise for Koepke after his performance on Tuesday.
“When he shows his speed like that, he is a difficult player to defend.” said Arniel. “We’re trying to get him into positions where we can get him racing against people. He’s also a good penalty killer. He closes quickly and does well that way. There’s a role to play, and he recognizes it and does his best.”
After going 17 games without a goal to open the season, Koepke has found his groove, scoring five times in the past 19 games.
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