Note: It was a wild day in Jets land on Thursday as the team indicated in the morning that top centre Mark Scheifele was in the NHL’s COVID-19 protocols. There was some hope if he had a negative test he would be able to play but those hopes were dashed when his next test came back positive and he had to stay out of the lineup for the home opener. It would be the first time in the 11 year history of Jets home openers that neither Blake Wheeler nor Mark Scheifele took part in the first game of the season in Winnipeg.
Note II: Despite all of the above there was still a game to be played as Anaheim was in town. While the Ducks got on the board first the Jets would score the next five goals to take it by a final score of 5-1. While it was by no means a perfect game it will certainly provide solid building blocks for this team to try to create some momentum as they look for a second straight win tomorrow night when they welcome the Predators to town. Today they hit the ice for a practice at 12 noon so stay tuned for the Practice Report.
Note III: From one home opener to another as the Moose will welcome the Griffins to town for their home opener. It is the first time they’ve played a US based team since March 8th, 2020 and the first time they’ve played Grand Rapids since January 11th, 2020. Puck drop is at 7 PM.
Jets news:
Sportsnet: Jets carve out first win but lineup troubles deepen with Scheifele in COVID protocols. While it certainly wasn’t a Picasso there were a lot of good things done in last night’s game. Ken with more.
Winnipeg Sun: Jets break goose egg against Ducks. Despite the roster adversity they pulled off a big win to help get the good feelings flowing once again.
Photo Credit: Alexander James (Illegal Curve)
Winnipeg Free Press: Fans go home happy as club records first victory of season. (Paywall). They waited a long time to be able to sing O’ Canada together, belt out some boos for the refs, cheers for the home crowd. Jay gives you his thoughts on last night’s contest.
CBC: Excited Winnipeg Jets fans don’t quite fill the stands for 1st regular-season home game since pre-pandemic. It will be interesting to see how things look on Saturday but the reality remains the same. Many folks are wary of attending a massive event like that and the pandemic caused a lot of economic hardship.
Jets video:
Sportsnet: Should the Jets be concerned about a quiet start from Ehlers? Sean Reynolds and Ken Wiebe discuss the start of the Winnipeg Jets’ season including the progress of Nikolaj Ehlers and what to expect against the Nashville Predators on Saturday.
Sportsnet: Vintage Hellebuyck showed up for Jets against Ducks. Sportsnet’s Sean Reynolds and Ken Wiebe discuss Connor Hellebuyck’s performance against the Anaheim Ducks and how Pierre-Luc Dubois and Kyle Connor stepped up for the Winnipeg Jets.
TSN: Copp steps up to fill void of Jets’ stars. With Blake Wheeler and Mark Scheifele both out for the Jets due to COVID-19 protocol, TSN Hockey analyst Mike Johnson feels that Andrew Copp, with his goal while playing over 22 minutes really stepped up to help fill the void.
TSN: How have the Jets been dealing with their current COVID-19 concerns? How have the Jets been dealing with their current COVID-19 problems? How can Winnipeg turn their play on the ice around? The TH panel has more.
