Note: The Jets practiced in Winnipeg on Friday and there was plenty doing so ensure you are caught up. There are some question marks ahead for the roster and since there is no morning skate we will have to keep our eyes open for warm-up skate. Be sure to check back for the pre-game report as the Jets look for a critical win to end their six game losing streak against a very good Blues team. Puck drop is at 2 PM CST and following the final buzzer we want you to join the conversation on the Illegal Curve Post-Game Show.
Note II: There are currently seven Jets players (that we know of) dealing with some sort of injury as well as one in covid protocol. For the latest on David Gustafsson, C.J. Suess, Nikolaj Ehlers, Logan Stanley, Dylan Samberg, Josh Morrissey and Nathan Beaulieu click here.
Note III: The Moose have another tough test and that is before we even look at their opponent. Once again the parent club has pilfered all of the D prospects from the Manitoba lineup. However we’ve seen that no matter what happens to the lineup they keep chugging along. They will need to have all hands on deck against a Canucks team that has won three straight. It is the first ever game between Manitoba and Abbotsford. Puck drop is at 2 PM.
Note IV: Be sure to join us on the Illegal Curve Hockey Show today at 9:00 am CST on our YouTube channel and social media platforms. Guests will be Jesse Pollock of TSN’s Bar Down and Lou Korac of NHL.com covering the Blues.
Jets news:
The Athletic Winnipeg: How Johnathan Kovacevic’s family story helps him put his hockey pursuit in perspective. (Paywall). Murat tells a fantastic story of the Kovacevic family and how it has helped to form the person the 2017 3rd rounder is today.
Winnipeg Sun: Jets lacking identity, passion amid season-long skid. The leaders need to produce more, the role players need to contribute and the goaltending needs to be better. Other than those things everything is running smoothly in Winnipeg.
Winnipeg Sun: Jets desperately need a win. Gonna be all hands on deck for this afternoon’s game against a Blues team that sits 16 points up on the Jets in the standings.
Winnipeg Free Press: Plenty to blame for Jets woes. (Paywall). As I’ve been saying for awhile the only good news for this club is there is plenty of blame to go around for everyone.
Photo Credit: Alexander James (Illegal Curve)
Winnipeg Free Press: Struggling, inconsistent Jets seek elusive winning formula. (Paywall). It seems to be a little late in the game to be trying to come up with an answer to that question. Having said that does a team need an official identity? Win games and that question quickly goes away.
Daily Faceoff: Jets’ season beginning to slip away. The next stretch could certainly make or break this season for Winnipeg.
Global News: Ongoing identity search contributing to Jets’ slide. Are they fast? Are they hard to play against? Are they physical? What are they exactly seems to be a common question for this Jets group.
Sportsnet: Answers to Winnipeg Jets’ current rough patch have to come from within. As I said last night. This is a collective team loss which is obviously not great but also means that they can collectively dig themselves out if they band together and play better as a team.
Jets video:
TSN: Jets searching for answers right now. Having lost six-straight games, the Jets are searching for answers right now, some say they look lost on the ice, while Mark Scheifele admitted they lack an identity. That’s Hockey discusses how Winnipeg can get back on track.
TSN: Orlesky on Jets: ‘This looks like a team in search of an identity’. Jets on TSN reporter Sara Orlesky shared her thoughts on a team she believes looks ‘lost’ in Winnipeg right now, as they continue to try and find an identity for their club.
Sportsnet: Scheifele says Jets have tons of talent, but don’t have an identity right now. Mark Scheifele says every guy has to lean on each other during these team struggles, and when asked whether the team has an identity right now, he says “probably not, no,” we’re still trying to figure that out.
