Game 10: Jets vs. Penguins pre-game report

The Jets were off on Saturday following a pair of back-to-back games on the road Thursday and Friday night.  We will have to wait to see how Mark Scheifele is after he took a bad hit from Boone Jenner in Columbus.

Morning skate notes:

Via Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Sun we learn that Adam Lowry has hit the ice but remains in a non-contact uniform.  Joel Armia, who missed last game, is also out there fore the Jets.  Mark Scheifele is on the ice for the skate today.  Jets didn’t do line rushes this morning so we will have to wait to see if Joel Armia draws back into the lineup.

Connor Hellebuyck was first goalie off the ice and looks to get start. Marko Dano stayed on with Ben Chiarot, Tucker Poolman and Adam Lowry which likely indicates Joel Armia will, in fact, draw back into lineup.

Projected lines, D Pairs & starting goalie:

Connor-Scheifele-Wheeler
Ehlers-Little-Laine
Tanev-Copp-Matthias
Lemieux-Hendricks-Armia

Morrissey-Trouba
Enstrom-Byfuglien
Kulikov-Myers

Hellebuyck
Mason

Extras:  Dano, Poolman and Chiarot.

Above based on Columbus lines as well as Scott Billeck of NHL.com indicating that Armia is in for Dano and that Connor Hellebuyck gets the start.

Health Update:

Adam Lowry was wearing a bright yellow non-contact uniform and coach Maurice indicated that “we’re just waiting for him to get into full contact.  He’s making improvements.  It’s slower than we had hoped but there is not much we can do with it.  He feels better each day and there is going to come a point in time where he can start banging.  Now at least we can work on the conditioning so when he turns the corner to full contact he shouldn’t be far off.”  The Jets bench boss didn’t have a timeline other than “day-to-day” for Lowry.

The other injured Jets player is forward Mathieu Perreault who was initially given a four-week timeline a few weeks back.  At the mid way point in that timeline coach Maurice said that “he gets back on the ice when we get back from Minny (October 31st).  And the Dallas, Montreal at home he’ll join us on the ice and then if everything looks right we will push him really hard going in.  If he doesn’t play those first 2 road games then we would expect him on the other side of it.”

Audio:

Patrik Laine

Blake Wheeler

Coach Maurice:  Lineup moves?  Status or Armia?  Status of Lowry?  On the Jets power plays and how to improve it.  Are teams being more aggressive at blueline when killing a penalty?  Is 3 on 3 something teams practice?  What was his take on the Blue Jackets OT winner?  On the way Byfuglien played in the OT?  Hellebuyck starts?  Status of Perreault?  Where is the Jets belief level?  What is the most important key when facing Penguins?

All audio courtesy of TSN 1290 Winnipeg.

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