Game 26: Jets vs Blackhawks pre-game report

The Jets picked up their third straight win last night defeating the Blues 5-2 in St. Louis. They didn’t escape the game unscathed however as third line winger Saku Maenalanen was lost during the 1st period to an upper-body injury that will be evaluated when they get back to Winnipeg. The only other forward on the roster since they sent Toninato to the Moose is Sam Gagner which means he is your likely 12th forward. It is possible they make a recall but with the Moose in Abbotsford it may be tough to get someone to Chicago on short notice.

The other question mark surrounds the defence as Dylan DeMelo didn’t take morning skate on Thursday and it’s possible, he may not be available. Rick Bowness was evasive when asked about DeMelo post-game last night suggesting “could be another game decision tomorrow. We’ll worry about that one when we get there tomorrow.” If he can’t play, will they insert Dylan Samberg back into the lineup or Kyle Capobianco, who is comfortable playing on his right side?

Also it is not confirmed that David Rittich starts but given the stretch of games the Jets play in December it seems likely they use him against the Hawks.

Skate news:

No skate.

Lineup update:

As per Mitchell Clinton of JetsTV, assistant coach Marty Johnston it will be the same lineup for Winnipeg with the exception that Sam Gagner comes in for the injured Saku Maenalanen (as expected) and David Rittich starts in net (as expected times 2).

Jets projected lines & D pairs:

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

Morrissey-DeMelo
Dillon-Pionk
Stanley-Schmidt

Rittich
Hellebuyck

Betway Odds:

The Jets have almost double as many points as the Hawks in the standings. Despite having played last night, Winnipeg are the favourites in tonight’s action even with the fact that Chicago hasn’t played since Tuesday. The Jets are 7-4-1 on the road while the Hawks are a dismal 4-7-2 at United Center. The goal differential is substantially different as well between these two clubs with Winnipeg at +21 and Chicago at -30. Be sure to check out the latest game day odds from Betway.

Coach media availability:

Up Next:

Puck drop is at 7:30 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).