Note: The Jets hit the ice yesterday afternoon for a practice in southern California before they took off for the northern part of the state where they will face the Sharks this evening to close out the three-game road trip. With it being a gameday all eyes will be on morning skate which gets underway at 1:30 PM CDT. All the relevant news will be posted in the pre-game report so check back for that. Puck drop is at 9:30 PM CDT.
Note II: This evening, after the final buzzer sounds between Winnipeg and San Jose, we want you to be part of the conversation on the Illegal Curve Post-Game Show as we discuss and analyze the results of the game. This season you’ll have a chance to win great schwag including authentic Jets jerseys, hats, etc after every single game (For a variety of ways to enter click here).
Note III: The Moose will get loose this evening as they look for a measure of revenge against the Rocket after they lost on Sunday by a final score of 4-1. There was some heat at the end of the game so it will be interesting to see how that impacts tonight’s contest. Puck drop is at 7 PM CDT.
Note IV: The Ice will have another day of practice as they continue to prepare for their first game of round 1 when they welcome the Tigers to town on Friday night.
Jets news:
Sportsnet: Jets’ Namestnikov proving versatility in lineup as Bowness tries to spark offence. Folks are curious about the line blending but perhaps this will be the right formula to get the numerous players who are in a rut out of same.
Photo Credit: Colby Spence (Illegal Curve)
Winnipeg Sun: Turtle-slow Winnipeg Jets in playoff ‘race’ with two snails. It really feels like the Spider Man meme except in this instances there are three Spider Men all pointing at each other. The number still suggest that the Jets are the favourites to make the playoffs but nothing about this has been inspiring.
Winnipeg Free Press: Ehlers dropped to third line as struggling Jets search for scoring. (Paywall). One of these days we will learn why Rick Bowness refuses to go back to Ehlers, Dubois and Connor. One of these days.
The Hockey News: Either the Flames or Jets will face the woe of missing the playoffs. I’d switch out the word ‘woe’ for ‘wrath’ as neither fan base is particularly happy right now and one of them will be even more so when the regular season concludes in April.
Sportsnet: 32 Thoughts – Elliotte Friedman talks Jets, Pierre-Luc Dubois and the Canadiens. If you don’t want to listen to the audio below here is the transcription from the hockey insider discussion the Jets centre and his future.
Global News: Jets in need of leaders. Note the plural on the word leaders. While Mark Scheifele is gonna have to be the primary driver if Blake Wheeler is gonna log big minute then he has to produce. Same goes for Kyle Connor and Pierre-Luc Dubois.
The Athletic Winnipeg: Jets’ Brenden Dillon Q&A: ‘There’s just no time to feel sorry for yourself’. (Paywall). An excellent chat between Murat and the well-spoken dman from BC.
Jets audio:
Sportsnet: 32 Thoughts Podcast – Discussing the future of the Jets core. On the podcast which was released yesterday Jeff Marek and Elliotte Friedman spoke about the Jets core and the comments from Rick Bowness. Friedman spoke about the Dubois to Habs connection, Marek discussed the downhill nature since the departure of Dustin Byfuglien and then the two discuss the one-game suspension that the Kings Blake Lizotte got for cross-checking Josh Morrissey in the face.
