Game 22: Jets vs Blue Jackets pre-game report

The Jets are coming off a win against the defending Stanley Cup champs on Tuesday which kicked off four straight in Winnipeg. They welcome Patrik Laine (potentially) and his Blue Jackets to town. Laine was just taken off IR by Columbus on Thursday (as was goalie Elvis Merzlikins) but we don’t know if they’ll be playing.

On the Jets side of the equation Logan Stanley is on IR but skated on Thursday in a regular uniform. If he’s ready to return it will necessitate a decision by Winnipeg as they currently sit with 23 players on the roster. The team was without Adam Lowry at yesterday’s practice.

Skate news:

According to Ken Wiebe of Sportsnet the starter’s net is occupied by goalie David Rittich. Ken adds that Axel Jonsson-Fjallby stayed out for extra work with Dominic Toninato so it appears that Sam Gagner draws back in.

Jets projected lines & D pairs:

Perfetti-Scheifele-Wheeler
Connor-Dubois-Barron
Maenalanen-Lowry-Gagner
Harkins-Gustafsson-Eyssimont

Morrissey-DeMelo
Dillon-Pionk
Samberg-Schmidt

Rittich
Hellebuyck

Betway Odds:

The Blue Jackets limp into town with a 1-4-1 record on the road sitting in the 8th and final spot in the Metro Division with an overall record of 7-12-2. They have a -27 goal differential. While Winnipeg are 14-6-1 on the season which includes an impressive 8-2-0 at Canada Life. Not a surprise that the odds favour the Jets. Be sure to check out the latest game day odds from Betway.

Players media availability:

Coach media availability:

Topics:

1) Questions regarding lineup.
2) How does he prevent history from repeating itself? (1:08)
3) Going with David Rittich tonight (1:59)
4) Facing opponents below them in the standings (2:53)
5) What has he learned about David Rittich? (3:43)
6) Paying attention to Patrik Laine (4:13)
7) Thoughts on Johnny Gaudreau (4:51)
8) Internal competition (5:57)

Up Next:

Puck drop is at 7:00 pm CST.  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).