Game 23: Winnipeg Jets vs Chicago Blackhawks pre-game report

The Jets offence has appeared to have dried up as a team that was scoring quite a bit has been limited to just three goals in their last three games and one of those contests saw them get shut out. Which makes a visit by the cellar dwelling Blackhawks potentially just what the doctor ordered for an ailing offence. Chicago has given up the second most goals in the Central and they have the least goals for.

Of course fans will be excited to see phenom Connor Bedard skating in an NHL game in this city for the first time. The last time he played in the ‘Peg was just over a year ago when he was wearing a Regina Pats uniform playing a WHL game against the now defunct Winnipeg Ice.

We do know a few things about the Jets lineup based on yesterday’s skate and media session with head coach Rick Bowness. We know that Vlad Namestnikov is out with a lower-body injury, we know that Declan Chisholm will play his first NHL game in 23 months, we know that Connor Hellebuyck is starting and we know that Cole Perfetti and Gabriel Vilardi will flip flop at the 2nd line centre position.

Skate news:

No morning skate.

The projections below are based on the information provided by head coach Rick Bowness on Friday after practice.

Jets projected lines & D pairs:

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

Morrissey-DeMelo
Dillon-Pionk
Samberg-Chisholm

Hellebuyck
Brossoit

Betway Odds:

Not only do the Hawks have an issue keeping the puck out of their net they are also not scoring very many goals this season sitting in 30th spot in the NHL in the goals for category. Despite the fact that Winnipeg has lost three straight they are still 6-4-0 in their last 10 while Chicago counters with a 3-7-0 record during that same time frame. Not surprisingly the oddsmakers are giving a big edge to the home team. Be sure to check out the latest game day odds from Betway.

Up Next:

Puck drop is at 2 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).