Note: The Jets held an optional practice on Monday as head coach Rick Bowness indicated a couple of guys were banged up so they couldn’t work on special teams yesterday. We did get an update from him on Rasmus Kupari and Ville Heinola following skate. With it being a gameday all eyes will be on morning skate which gets underway at 9:30 AM CST. All the relevant news will be posted in the pre-game report so check back for that. Puck drop is at 6:30 PM CST.
Note II: This evening, after the final buzzer sounds between Winnipeg and Detroit, 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.
Note III: The Moose were in action yesterday morning in Chicago as they took on the Wolves in their second school day game of the season. The Wolves were flying in the first couple of minutes (4-0) shot edge but then it was the Moose (9-1) who held onto the puck and turned it into goals by Wyatt Bongiovanni (see here) and Nicholas Jones (see here). After Manitoba squandered their two goal lead they once again got it back courtesy of Parker Ford‘s fifth goal of the year (see here). Tyrel Bauer had a rather spirited tilt, which was rather unnecessary given the hit he delivered just prior was clean and didn’t injure the opposing player. Bad news for the visitors was Chicago rolled in the 3rd and scored three goals to take it 6-3. Today they are in Des Moines, Iowa where they will have a few days of practice.
Jets news:
Sportsnet: Analyzing the impact of Winnipeg’s Ehlers-Scheifele-Vilardi line. There is no doubt about it that this trio has had a significant impact on games.
Photo Credit: Colby Spence (Illegal Curve)
Winnipeg Sun: ‘They’ve got to pay the price’: Jets’ Bowness wants more shorthanded heart. It’s funny because I spoke to Moose assistant coach Nolan Baumgartner about the reaction guys have when a player gets into a shooting lane and gets a big block for his team. On a late block by prospect Nikita Chibrikov (see here) he said “you could see by the reaction on the bench, everybody was fired up…when you get those types of efforts you’re going to win some games”. Jets bench boss Rick Bowness wants to see that sort of buy in from his penalty killers because he addressed shot blocking as one of two areas that is currently failing the PK.
Winnipeg Free Press: Cole Perfetti’s progress. (Paywall). Just like we saw him slowly acclimatize to the AHL going from the perimeter to the interior once he got a sense of the pro game, we are seeing a similar learning curve for the 2020 first rounder at the NHL level. His hockey intellect is already at a high level and his body is catching up to his mind.
Winnipeg Free Press: Overdue overhaul for Jets power play. (Paywall). Hard to argue that this isn’t necessary given the position they sit in the NHL on the power play (24th) and the fact that if it was firing a little more smoothly they’d likely have a few more points for their standings bank.
Jets video:
TSN: ‘Structural and personnel’: Bowness tweaks Jets’ PP, wants more from his special teams. The Jets went 0-2 on the power play, while allowing the Canadiens to score on two of their three chances, with one of those being the overtime winner. Rick Bowness says he plans to make some structural and personnel changes to their PP and emphasizes the need to block shots when they’re down a man.
TSN: ‘It’s why I get up in the morning’: Schmidt gets a kick out of frustrating his opponents. Nate Schmidt’s defensive numbers for expected goals against are near the top of the league and the Jets defenceman explains why he takes pride in those stats and gets a kick out of frustrating the opponents top offensive players.
Sportsnet: ‘You have to be willing to pay the price’: Bowness talks Jets’ penalty kill struggles. Jets Head Coach Rick Bowness discusses the team’s penalty killing woes and what the main two keys are to fixing it
