Note: The Jets are in Edmonton to close out 2018 against the Oilers. Of course they will be doing it without the services of Dustin Byfuglien who we learned yesterday will be out for quite awhile due to his lower-body injury that he sustained in the game on Saturday against the Wild. It was a busy day of practice on Sunday for Winnipeg. Morning skate gets underway for the Jets at 12:30 pm CT and the pre-game report will bring you up to speed with the latest news and audio. Puck drop is at 8 pm CT and the post-game recap will follow on here.
Note II: The Moose got a few healthy players back on Saturday and it was evident as they picked up a 4-0 win over the Colorado Eagles who were visiting the city for the first time as the AHL’s newest franchise. Eric Comrie was sensational making 38 saves for his first shutout of the season. After the game I asked Coach Vincent whether he knew who would be recalled for an injured Dustin Byfuglien but he didn’t have an update at that time. Today they close out the 2018 campaign with another afternoon game (at 4 pm) here in Winnipeg at a close to sold out Bell MTS Place.
Jets news:
Grand Forks Herald: Meet Dan Shrader, the full-time sanitation worker who the Winnipeg Jets call upon for draft advice. (Require you to answer survey questions to read). But those survey questions are well worth your time on Brad’s really interesting article about this Jets amateur scout.
Winnipeg Sun: Jets and Oilers set to square off in New Year’s Eve rubber match. Ted previews the game and his big matchup is Mark Scheifele vs. Connor McDavid. His five keys to the game include: 1) The rubber match. 2) Who gets the net? 3) Picking up the slack. 4) Pour it on. 5) Power up.
Photo Credit: Colby Spence
Winnipeg Sun: Maurice hopes rigorous practice brings Jets back up to speed. It will be interesting to see how fast the Jets play tonight.
Winnipeg Sun: Jets lose Byfuglien for at least a month. I suspect that timeline is optimistic but for the Jets as long as it isn’t gonna be more than a month or two and they have big 33 back in time to get back into game shape ahead of the playoffs that will be the big win.
Winnipeg Free Press: Central Division the place to be for struggling teams. (Paywall). Seemed like just yesterday that everyone was making fun of the Pacific Division but that mirth has flipped to the Central. Mike has plenty to digest in this article.
Winnipeg Free Press: Big Buff out at least four weeks. (Paywall). Four weeks until an update so I suspect it will be longer than the All-Star game (January 26th) but we shall have to wait and see.
Jets video:
TSN: ‘Good teams don’t capsize because you lose a player’. With Dustin Byfuglien out until February, Dennis Beyak and Craig Button react to the news and weigh in on how the injury will impact the team and who will likely need to step up in his absence.
Moose news:
Illegal Curve: Eric Comrie earns shutout as Moose soar past Eagles in 4-0 win. Peter broke down the goals and provided his thoughts on the Jets prospects on the squad. Hear from Sami Niku, Skyler McKenzie, Eric Comrie and coach Pascal Vincent who spoke following the game.
