Note: We are at the conclusion of the seventh week of the Team Illegal Curve Beard growing competition as Ezra and Drew help support the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Manitoba in conjunction with the Festival du Voyageur in the 31st annual beard growing contest. Every Friday we will be giving readers an update on the beard progress and here is Ezzy and Drew’s growth from Week 6 to Week 7:
Note II: Tune into the Illegal Curve Hockey Show on TSN Radio 1290 from noon to 3 pm on Saturday as the guys discuss all the latest Winnipeg Jets and NHL news. Guests: Sean Fitz-Gerald (National Post) and Jesse Rogers (ESPN Chicago).
Note III: Be sure to stay tuned to @illegalcurve as we will be bringing you all the latest from the Tampa Bay Times Forum as the Jets visit the Lightning. During the game you can win IC Gear by participating in our twitter Game Winning Goal contest.
Jets news:
Winnipeg Free Press: One messy meltdown. Five goals in the 3rd period probably qualifies as a meltdown. Of course similar to fans not getting too high after three wins in a row, perhaps a couple of losses shouldn’t send anyone into panic mode, just yet.
Winnipeg Free Press: Spotlight on Pavelec. He looked great in the 1st period as he held his team in a game that they looked lackluster in. Unfortunately his rebound control was not great in the latter half of the game and it burnt the Jets.
Winnipeg Free Press: Scheifele sits again. The last thing the Jets need right now is their 2011 first round pick to lose confidence in his game. This is the problem with bringing him along for the ride but sitting him, he starts to question his ability.
TSN: Special teams do Jets in against Panthers in Florida. There was nothing special about the Jets special team efforts last night. The PP looked less than spectacular and you already know about the PK.
CBC: Road woes resurface. Losing Buff exposes what fans knew and that is this team cannot afford any injuries if they hope to compete. A major injury to a Dustin Byfuglien and the tailspin might be too significant for the Jets to pull out of.
Winnipeg Sun: Zach Redmond comes on strong in debut. It was difficult to take any positives from last night’s contest. Redmond gained confidence as the game progressed and you could see why Robin Short of the Telegraph in St. John’s told us back in December that he was the number one defenceman for the IceCaps this season. Finished third on the Jets in total ice time (20:56).
Winnipeg Sun: Lack of discipline does in Winnipeg again. It was simply ugly. After 5 games being one of the least penalized team in the NHL, the Jets have fallen off the wagon (or is it on the wagon?). They have done a 180 and in the last two games have started taking penalties like it is going out of style. Based on the poor penalty kill, this pattern of losing will continue if the Jets continue to play undisciplined hockey.
Illegal Curve: Jets on a Deadline – Panthers 6 Jets 3. Game recaps, video highlights and the NHL.com 3 Stars of the night.
NHL news:
USA Today: Greg Jamison misses Coyotes deadline; what’s next? Essentially he missed a deadline with the City of Glendale but not with the NHL. Jamison can still attempt to move forward but the sweetheart deal that the old administration was offering him appears to have passed with the 11:59 MT deadline he missed last night.
National Post: Canucks’ decision to play Roberto Luongo over Cory Schneider sensible but complicated. This situation is just too bizarre. If you are in the trade Luongo camp, the good news is he is increasing his worth as trade bait. The problem is he is proving invaluable to Vancouver right now which could hamper the development of the prospective number one tender Cory Schneider.
CBC: NHL not ready to expand to Ontario, Quebec Bill Daly says on HNIC Radio. Regardless of whether you believe this is the position held by the NHL or not, Bill Daly always is an interesting interview. He also touches on the problems in Phoenix and his relationship with Commissioner Bettman who is celebrating his 20th anniversary as NHL commish today.
Toronto Star: A new arena for Markham would dash Hamilton’s NHL hopes. With all those advantages for Markham, it would appear that if the arena does get built, Hamiltonians are going to continue having to get their NHL fix in other cities.
Sportsnet: Top 10 NHL tweets of the Month. Kudos to the Kings and Stars official twitter accounts for using levity in their tweeting. Also a fan of Luongo’s “secret” account.
NHL video of the Night:
There was a special surprise awaiting the contestants at the end of a promotion during a timeout at a Carolina Hurricanes game.
