Note: The Jets hit the ice for a practice on Friday as they prepared for their home opener this afternoon. The good news for them was that Nikolaj Ehlers was a full participant after he crashed into the boards late in the 3rd period on Wednesday night. Head coach Rick Bowness indicated after practice that there was “no injury concern. He’s ready to go.”. No morning skate but you can still check out the pre-game report this morning as Winnipeg gets set to host Florida in an afternoon matinee. Puck drop is at 3 PM and we want you to join us after the final buzzer on the Illegal Curve Post-Game Show.
Note II: The Moose kicked off their 2023-24 season by welcoming the Wranglers to Winnipeg for a two-game series which began last night at Canada Life. Manitoba played as good a 1st period as could have been expected which saw Nikita Chibrikov scored a goal he definitely didn’t expect to score, Brad Lambert score a goal he definitely expected to score and then a tilt to end all tilts between Jeffrey Viel and Alex Gallant. However the visitors took control and would score four goals over the remaining 40 minutes to secure themselves a 4-2 win. Manitoba will practice today at 11 AM ahead of tomorrow’s afternoon re-match. We have four tickets in the IC Zone if you want to go. Send me an email (dave@illegalcurve.com) or slide into my DMs here.
Note III: Reminder to join us today for two hours of Jets and Moose talk on the Illegal Curve Hockey Show at 9 AM. We discuss it all with Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Free Press and Frankie Corrado of TSN. Join us here.
Jets news:
Winnipeg Sun: Jets look to build upon ‘recipe for success’ they cooked up in season-opening loss. The club did a lot of good things in that game on Wednesday in Calgary. Which is probably a similar mentality the Panthers have after dropping their first game of the season in Minnesota despite dominating the contest.
Photo Credit: Colby Spence (Illegal Curve)
Winnipeg Sun: Jets still don’t love that Maurice walked away but respect what he has done with the Panthers. Not a surprise that players don’t love being quit upon during the middle of a season.
Winnipeg Sun: Jets players taken aback by NHL decision on Pride Night. Paul caught up with some players to discuss the controversy which became an issue due to the policy the NHL adopted recently.
Winnipeg Free Press: Jets aim to please in home opener. (Paywall). As Rick Bowness said from the Matt Frost Media Centre on Friday they will win some games they deserve to lose and lose some games they deserve to win. He felt it balances itself out.
Winnipeg Free Press: Maurice likes look of his former team. (Paywall). Mike caught up with the former Jets bench boss who shared some thoughts on his former franchise.
Jets video:
TSN: Jets ready for home opener after ‘pretty complete game’ vs. Flames. Despite losing to the Flames, the Jets like a lot about what they did against Calgary and hop to translate that to a victory as they take on the defending Stanley Cup finalist Panthers on Saturday in their home opener.
Moose news:
Illegal Curve Hockey: Moose have plenty of fight to start but drop season opener 4-2 to the Wranglers. We give you insight into the lineup, some of the notable details from the game, highlights and post-game media availabilities.
Winnipeg Free Press: Moose come up short in AHL season opener. (Paywall). Josh wrote about last night’s contest. Check out his recap.
