The Jets left Boston where they began this three-game road trip with a pretty bad 6-1 loss to the Bruins. Luckily for them the teams around them didn’t really take advantage of it which makes a bounce back game critical for Winnipeg. It won’t be easy as they face a Penguins team in Pittsburgh also are in need of points as they look to maintain their spot in the Metropolitan Division with both the Blue Jackets and Islanders just a point back of them.
The Pens have been solid at home with a 16-9-8 record at PPG Paints Arena and are 4-3-3 in their last ten games. They’ve gone 4-3-3 in their last ten games including a drubbing of the Avalanche two games back.
Potentially there could be a return of Neal Pionk who was labeled as a possibility for a return from injury. If he does then expect Fleury or Bryson to come out. We shall also have to wait and see if the team returns to the lines from the 3rd period or how they started the game.
Which means we will be watching to see what happens at warm-up.
Skate news:
No morning skate.
Pre-game news:
Neal Pionk is off IR which makes his return today all the more likely.
Warm-up news:
As per colour analyst Mitchell Clinton of 680 CJOB no Jacob Bryson skating. Ville Heinola is the extra while Neal Pionk is paired with Haydn Fleury. As per Mike McIntyre of the Winnipeg Free Press the Jets have flipped Alex Iafallo and Gabriel Vilardi but otherwise the forwards remain the same.
Jets projected lines & D pairs:
Connor – Scheifele – Vilardi
Perfetti – Lowry – Iafallo
Nyquist – Toews – Rosén
Koepke – Barron – Lambert
Morrissey – DeMelo
Samberg – Salomonsson
Fleury – Pionk
Hellebuyck
Penguins projected lines & D pairs:
Rakell – Crosby – Rust
Chinakhov – Novak – Malkin
Mantha – Kindel – Brazeau
Soderblom – Dewar – Acciari
Wotherspoon – Karlsson
Shea – Letang
Solovyov – Clifton
Skinner/Silovs
Odds:
With both teams looking to bounce back, this matchup feels tighter than the odds suggest, but Pittsburgh’s strong play at home gives them a slight edge over a Winnipeg side coming off a tough 6–1 loss. For the latest Winnipeg Jets hockey odds, visit NHL betting site Betway.
Up Next:
Puck drop is at 12 PM CT. Be sure to head over to illegalcurve.com following the game for a recap of the action. You can join us on our YouTube channel for the Illegal Curve Post-Game Show around 2:40 PM CT as we discuss and analyze the results of the game.
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