Game 10: Jets vs Canadiens pre-game report

The Jets come into the three-game homestand which begins with Montreal tonight without Logan Stanley, without Nikolaj Ehlers and without Morgan Barron. They did get Jansen Harkins back on an emergency recall on Wednesday. There were also a number of players missing from practice so that could factor in as well.

With Morgan Barron not expected to play will it be Jansen Harkins or Dominic Toninato getting inserted into the lineup on the 3rd line? Might there be other changes? Normally morning skate would provide those answers but it is scheduled to be an optional which may mean that the information may become known when Jets bench boss Rick Bowness speaks.

Skate news:

As per Scott Billeck of the Winnipeg Sun netminder Connor Hellebuyck is going through his starters routine. He reports that guys who are on the ice are Blake Wheeler, Pierre-Luc Dubois and Josh Morrissey who skipped practice on Wednesday. Still no Mason Appleton which could mean both Toninato and Harkins play.

Because it is an optional the lines and D pairs are based on practice from two days ago when the full group was skating.

Update:

Head coach Rick Bowness confirmed that Mason Appleton will play and that Dominic Toninato will draw in for Morgan Barron. He also indicated that Jansen Harkins will take warm-up because there remains a question mark.

The Jets bench boss did say they are planning on moving Saku Maenalanen up to the third line and put Toninato on the fourth.

Jets projected lines & D pairs:

Connor-Scheifele-Appleton
Perfetti-Dubois-Wheeler
Maenalanen-Lowry-Gagner
Toninato Gustafsson Jonsson-Fjallby

Morrissey-Pionk
Dillon-Schmidt
Samberg-DeMelo

Hellebuyck
Rittich

Betway Odds:

While the Jets haven’t been playing their best hockey they’ve been securing points because they have one of the top goalies in the NHL. Clearly the oddsmakers feel that the play of Connor Hellebuyck coupled with a young, inconsistent Habs club who have plenty of firepower but are sitting at .500 on the season is enough to favour the home team in this contest. Be sure to check out the latest game day odds from Betway.

Player media availability:

Coach media availability:

Topics:

1) Facing an Original 6 team/divided house/different vibe.
2) Anything like that when he coached in the States? (:54)
3) Status of Morgan Barron and Mason Appleton? (1:28)
4) Update on Nikolaj Ehlers? (1:40)
5) Is Toninato or Harkins drawing in? (2:04)
6) Further clarity on Barron’s injury (2:20)
7) Still being in the business of hockey for so many years (3:06)
8) What stood out from first nine games? (3:49)
9) Finding balance between players getting points and following structure? (5:39)
10) On players choosing to skate at an optional (7:18)

Health news:

Jets head coach Rick Bowness indicated that Morgan Barron will have surgery on his wrist tomorrow which will mean a 4-5 week recovery for the third year pro. He also advised that Nikolaj Ehlers is progressing but didn’t offer any timetable for his return.

Up Next:

Puck drop is at 7 pm CDT.  Be sure to head over to illegalcurve.com following the game for a recap of the action which includes post-game interviews from Jets players as well as from head coach Rick Bowness.

You can also join us afterwards for the Illegal Curve Post-Game Show. (be sure to smash that like/subscribe button). This season you’ll have a chance to win great schwag including authentic Jets jerseys, hats, etc after every single game (For a variety of ways to enter click here).