Note: The Jets have officially begun their bye week which will run five days. So they will return to the ice here in Winnipeg on Monday the 27th. Of course with the trade deadline a week away there could be plenty of news. Or none at all but either way we will still be busy during the next five days so make sure you keep it locked to illegalcurve.com and follow us on social media including Twitter | Facebook | Instagram.
Note II: One of the ways we will keep ourselves busy with the Jets on their bye week is the Manitoba Moose who play three more games over the next five days. Following the 4-3 loss to the IceHogs last night these two teams will do battle again tonight with a 7 pm puck drop.
Jets news:
Sportsnet: 30 Thoughts. Couple of Jets thoughts including: 8 (Panthers interest in Perreault), 16 (Wheeler’s leadership), 17 (Malkin hit on Wheeler) and 18 (Trouba’s progression).
Winnipeg Sun: Jets will face tough task when they return from 5-day break. There is both good and bad news coming out of the bye week blues that most NHL teams have faced. The bad news is that the Jets face one of the top teams in the Western Conference when the Minnesota Wild come to town on Tuesday. The good news is that the Wild are also coming off their bye week so whatever malaise that is impacting the Jets will likely similarly be impacting Minnesota.
Winnipeg Sun: Scheifele, Laine a special combo for Winnipeg Jets. Quite the duo for the foundation of this franchise. Ted writes about this pair.
Winnipeg Sun: Which Jets might be exposed, taken? Ken takes a look deep into his crystal ball to try and figure out who may or may not be with this team when all is said and done factoring in the upcoming trade deadline as well as the expansion draft.
The Hockey News: Confusing Jets history means Laine has rookie goal record, not Selanne. The commingling of both the Jets 1.0 as well as the Thrashers history will likely continue in both the obvious official capacity as well as unofficially for those of us who reside in the 204 and now 431. While it may cause some confusion I don’t anticipate it ever changing.
The Athlectic: Auston Matthews, Patrik Laine and the rebirth of the Canadian NHL team superstar. Good read on what these two players mean to these two franchises.
ESPN: Who is the better franchise player, Auston Matthews or Patrik Laine? Six of their analysts have a little morning debate on the topic everyone in Toronto seems to love to discuss.
Winnipeg Sun: Laine, Jets fall to Matthews’ Leafs in OT. Two goals for one, three assists for the other. Neither player failed to bring it on the big stage with all eyes on them last night. Ted breaks it all down.
Toronto Sun: Maple Leafs emerge victorious after OT clash with Jets. Read about the game from a beat writer that covers the Jets opposition.
Winnipeg Sun: Jets battle inconsistency, find identity. Ken puts on his teacher hat and hands out his third quarter grades for the Winnipeg Jets.
Toronto Sun: No need to pick a side in this great debate. While it is premature to start judging players based on their first season the good news is there will be plenty of excitement for years to come for fans across this country.
Toronto Sun: Laine-Matthews not exactly same as Ovechkin-Crosby. Mathieu Perreault had a first hand look at this battle and as I’ve been saying last couple of days is I’m not upset this circus only happens a couple of times a year.
Winnipeg Free Press: Jets sputter against Leafs to cap off grueling road trip. (Paywall). Read about the game as Jeff filed this report from the ACC.
Winnipeg Free Press: For the Jets, hope is a cheap and universal cure. (Paywall). Lots to digest in this one as Paul looks at the recent success the Jets have had an what it means. Or doesn’t mean.
Toronto Star: Humility the star of Matthews-Laine show. Written from a Toronto perspective I would suggest.
Toronto Star: Laine-Matthews rivalry is bringing the show back to Canada. While the media hype storm can be a tad much there is no denying the excitement these players are bringing to these franchises.
TSN: Laine vs. Matthews 2 lives up to the hype. (Video). Auston Matthews and Patrik Laine lived up to the hype for the second time this season. Mark Masters has more on their latest showdown.
Sportsnet: Ben Chariot hints at revenge on Nazem Kadri for high hit. I was a little surprised to hear him spitting fire but that is what you get in post-game chats when the adrenaline is still firing.
Sportsnet: Matthews-Laine matchups proving to be worth the hype. Chris reflects on the nature of the game when these two young players are involved and how it benefits the NHL overall.
Sportsnet: The top 5 goals of Patrik Laine’s rookie season. Chris takes a look back and picks his top five out of the 28 that Laine has scored this season. Of course this was written before Laine added goals 29 and 30 on the season.
Illegal Curve: What will the Jets do before the NHL Trade Deadline? A look at what may happen in the next week.
Game 63 – Leafs 5 Jets 4 in OT:
Illegal Curve: Post-game report. Game notes, stats and audio from Blake Wheeler, Patrik Laine, Bryan Little, Ben Chiarot and coach Maurice.
Jets audio:
TSN Toronto 1050: Laine, Matthews set the bar pretty high for their rivalry. TSN Jets TV voice Dennis Beyak chats Jets/Leafs match-up, the Jacob Trouba hit on Mark Stone, what makes Patrik Laine special, the growth of Mark Scheifele, and the young talent on both rosters.
TSN Toronto 1050: Laine-Matthews is not the same as Ovechkin-Crosby. TSN Maple Leafs reporter Mark Masters joins Scott MacArthur to discuss the Laine-Matthews rivalry, the Calder Trophy race, the Jets stretch run for playoff contention, and the Jacob Trouba hit compared to the Evgeni Malkin hit.
TSN Toronto 1050: Matthews, Laine are both dynamic but different players. Leafs Lunch co-host Dave Poulin joins Scotty Mac in-studio to talk about the Auston Matthews vs Patrik Laine debate.
TSN Toronto 1050: Matthews impacting his team more than Laine. Former Maple Leafs goaltender and TSN 1290 Jets analyst Trevor Kidd joins GameDay to talk about the validity of a Laine/Matthews rivalry and how both teams set up down the stretch for the playoff race.
TSN Winnipeg 1290: Laine playing best hockey of the season. Color analyst Shane Hnidy joined the Big Show ahead of the highly anticipated showdown between the Jets and Leafs to breakdown the play of Patrik Laine and Auston Matthews, and how the 18-year-old Finn has elevated his game over the past week.
Jets prospect news:
TSN: Who are the best players not skating in the NHL? Craig may want to update his list as Jack Roslovic should probably be higher up on this list in my opinion. Kyle Connor and Logan Stanley are also listed.
Brandon Sun: Stallard’s roller-coaster season ends early. (Subscription Required). In his WHL Notebook column a little discussion of the 2016 5th round selection by the Jets.
Moose news:
Illegal Curve: Post-game report. A look at the 4-3 loss to the IceHogs which includes a scoring summary, player highlights and post-game audio from Nolan Zajac and coach Vincent.
Winnipeg Free Press: Moose drop fourth in a row. (Paywall). Mike offers up his thoughts in the loss.
Winnipeg Free Press: Local boy Zajac makes early mark on Moose defence. (Paywall). In just his fourth AHL game and first for his hometown team he made an immediate impact scoring a goal and getting some praise from coach Vincent.
