The Jets were off yesterday following their final game of the road trip in Montreal, a game that will live on for quite some time after Winnipeg pulled off one of the most improbable comebacks of all time, erasing a four-goal deficit with just minutes remaining before winning in overtime. Of course, as my baba would say, “what was, was,” and the Jets need to put that game behind them and turn their attention to the Canucks.
Vancouver comes to town with just three wins in 17 games this season, leaving them dead last in the entire NHL. While they’ve lost three straight heading into tonight’s contest, they have actually scored 12 more goals than the home team. One area Winnipeg should be able to exploit is the Canucks’ defensive struggles, as they’ve given up a league-worst 77 goals, by a wide margin. We’ll see if the newfound Winnipeg offence can keep things rolling after that remarkable late-game flurry in Montreal two nights ago.
Since the Jets waived Brad Lambert (who cleared and was assigned to the Moose) there is an open spot, unless Josh Morrissey is ready to come off IR. That seems unlikely since he was in a yellow, non-contact jersey on Tuesday. Which means the organization will likely make a recall of Brayden Yager to give them a boost.
Recall news:
Not unexpectedly the Jets announced they have recalled Brayden Yager from the Moose. Since being sent back down he’s scored two goals (including a beauty shorthanded tally) in four games for Manitoba.
Skate news:
Josh Morrissey remains in yellow, non-contact today. Appears both Nino Niederrieter and Isak Rosén are extras.
Warm-up news:
No Elias Salomonsson (illness) which means Isak Rosén draws in. And sadly that means Tyrel Bauer’s time starting a game at forward ends before it begins.
Jets projected lines & D pairs:
Connor-Scheifele-Vilardi
Perfetti-Yager-Mercer
Iafallo-Lowry-Björck
Koepke-Barron- Rosén
Samberg-Pionk
Ferraro-DeMelo
Fleury-Bauer
Skinner
Canucks team projected lines & D pairs:
DeBrusk – Pettersson – Boeser
Öhgren – Rossi – Lekkerimäki
O’Connor – Quillan – Karlsson
Cotter – Sasson – Gallagher
Pettersson – Hronek
Oleksiak – Buium
Brisebois – Mancini
Lankinen
Meriläinen
Players media availability:
Coach media availability:
Topics:
1) Preparing the team after these last two wild games
2) Using Tyrel Bauer as a forward vs 11/7 (1:34)
3) What was his perspective of Adam Lowry missing from bench in 3rd (2:24)
4) Message to Brad Lambert and message to Brayden Yager (3:00)
5) What’s he seeing from Viggo Björck on the wing (4:30)
Odds:
The Jets return home following one of the most remarkable comebacks in franchise history, erasing a four-goal deficit late in the third period against Montreal before winning 5-4 in overtime to snap their nine-game losing streak. Now they’ll look to build on that momentum as they welcome a Canucks team to Winnipeg that has had its own struggles this season. The question is whether Tuesday’s Miracle in Montreal can provide the spark the Jets need to start stringing together some wins. For the latest Winnipeg Jets hockey odds, visit NHL betting site Betway.
Up Next:
Join us for the Daily Dose of Illegal Curve Hockey at 3 PM CDT on our YouTube channel as we get you set for tonight’s action. Puck drop is at 7 PM CDT. 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 9:40 PM CDT as we discuss and analyze the results of the game.
