Game 20: Winnipeg Jets vs Nashville Predators pre-game report

The Jets end their three-game road trip with a Central Division clash against the Predators. Both teams are hot. Winnipeg has won five straight games and Nashville counters with a four-game win streak of their own. That streak has put the Preds back into the conversation for a playoff spot while the Jets are battling for top spot in the division.

The big question ahead of morning skate will be the status of Gabriel Vilardi and whether or not he will play today. If Vilardi does come off IR the Jets would have to make a move as they are currently at the 23-man roster limit. The team also recalled Declan Chisholm from his conditioning stint as his two weeks with the Moose were up. He did get into six games in the AHL after not playing a game since the pre-season.

Skate news:

As per Mitchell Clinton of the Jets broadcast team no Brenden Dillon this morning. He skipped last morning skate as he deals with a lower-body issue but played in the last game against the Panthers. He’s got Laurent Brossoit in the starter’s position. And sounds like Gabriel Vilardi is not quite ready to make his return to the lineup.

Warm-up skate:

According to Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Free Press defenceman Brenden Dillon is paired with Neal Pionk and will play tonight as he continues to deal with something but it’s obviously not sufficient to keep him out of the lineup.

Jets projected lines & D pairs:

Connor-Scheifele-Iafallo
Perfetti-Namestnikov-Ehlers
Niederreiter-Lowry-Appleton
Barron-Gustafsson-AJF

Morrissey-DeMelo
Dillon-Pionk
Samberg-Schmidt

Brossoit
Hellebuyck

Coach media:

Tips:

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Topics:

1) What stood out about the defensive effort vs Panthers?
2) What stands out about Nashville right now? (1:08)
3) Dylan Samberg’s will defensively (1:54)
4) Having a third pairing which doesn’t require sheltering. (2:44)
5) Something he’s seeing in the Samberg/Schmidt pairing? (3:26)
6) His thoughts on Nino Niederreiter’s game since being acquired? (4:03)
7) Latest on Gabriel Vilardi? (4:30)
8) Is Brenden Dillon a game-time decision? (4:41)
9) Who is in net? (4:49)
10) Is seeing more explosiveness from Nikolaj Ehlers? (5:00)
11) Where to fit Gabriel Vilardi when he returns? (5:46)
12) Reports on Declan Chisholm’s games with the Moose? (6:04)

Health update:

Jets won’t use Gabriel Vilardi tonight confirmed head coach Rick Bowness. Said they’ll get him into a brace tomorrow and see if he’s ready to go on Tuesday. He also confirmed that Brenden Dillon would be a game-time decision this evening against the Preds.

Betway Odds:

While both these clubs are feeling good about their games the visitors do hold an eight point lead in the standings. The home team has been good at Bridgestone Arena going 6-4-0 while the Jets counter with a solid road record (6-2-1). The oddsmakers are giving a rather clear edge to the visitors team. Be sure to check out the latest game day odds from Betway.

Up Next:

Puck drop is at 7 pm CST.  Be sure to head over to illegalcurve.com following the game for a recap of the action. You can also join us afterwards for the Illegal Curve Post-Game Show. (Please be sure to smash that like/subscribe button).