Adversity has come a calling for the Winnipeg Jets who lost Mark Scheifele for four games due to a suspension handed down by Player Safety on Thursday after his hit on Jake Evans late in game 1. As well as the uncertainty surrounding Paul Stastny who didn’t play in game 1 and Dylan DeMelo who left after playing just one shift. Jets bench boss Paul Maurice wasn’t giving anything away on Thursday when asked for health updates.
Morning skate:
As per Ken Wiebe of Sportsnet veteran forward Paul Stastny is on the ice for an optional morning skate. Which means we won’t likely see any line rushes. Ken adds no Dylan DeMelo among the four D men on the ice and that Jordie Benn looks likely to draw back in.
Lineup news:
Paul Maurice said Paul Stastny is a game-time decision and added Dylan DeMelo is out longer than day-to-day with a soft tissue injury.
Warm up:
No Paul Stastny and no Dominic Toninato means Jansen Harkins and Kristian Vesalainen draw back into the lineup for Winnipeg as per Ken Wiebe.
Jets projected lines & D pairs:
Connor-Dubois-Wheeler
Perreault-Copp-Ehlers
Vesalainen-Lowry-Appleton
Harkins-Thompson-Lewis
Morrissey-Poolman
Forbort-Pionk
Stanley-Benn
Hellebuyck
Brossoit
Players media availability:
Coach media availability:
Topics covered:
1) What was his opinion of the suspension?
2) Status of Paul Stastny for tonight’s game?
3) How does he feel Mark Scheifele is doing after last few games?
4) The attacks on social media.
5) Experience dealing with adversity in the bubble last summer/increased depth this season.
6) Is there a precedent shift in where the game is heading in the future?
7) What is the status of Dylan DeMelo?
8) Is he expecting the next few games to be “rough”?
Up Next:
Puck drop is at 6:30 pm CDT. Be sure to head over to illegalcurve.com following the game for a recap of the action which includes post-game interviews from Jets players as well as from head coach Paul Maurice. You can also join us afterwards on the Illegal Curve Post-Game Show here (be sure to smash that like/subscribe button).
