Game 1: Winnipeg Jets vs Edmonton Oilers pre-game report

There was a nervous energy in Winnipeg with two-time Vezina winner Connor Hellebuyck missing his second straight practice with the team after dealing with a family matter but the good news for the Jets was he was able to get in a skate with goalie coach Wade Flaherty along with a pair of Moose veterans (Dominic Toninato & AJF) which allowed him to go through his day before a gameday routine and join the team on the flight to Alberta. Head coach Scott Arniel wasn’t prepared to name him his starter for the season opener against the Oilers tonight in Edmonton instead simply saying he will skate this morning.

Skate news:

As per Mitchell Clinton of the Jets no changes to the lines and D pairs and good news for the team is that Connor Hellebuyck is in the starter’s net.

Somewhat interesting, to me at least, is that Eric Comrie is the backup for the third straight game according to the lineup the team put out.

Jets projected lines & D pairs:

Connor-Scheifele-Vilardi
Perfetti-Namestnikov-Ehlers
Niederreiter-Lowry-Appleton
Barron-Kupari-Iafallo

Morrissey-DeMelo
Samberg-Pionk
Fleury-Miller

Hellebuyck
Comrie

Up Next:

Puck drop is at 9 PM CDT.  Be sure to head over to illegalcurve.com following the game for a recap of the action. Reminder to join us on the Illegal Curve Post-Game Show as we discuss and analyze the results of the game. And you can join us live at Boston Pizza on Taylor for a live IC Watch Party.