Game 26: Winnipeg Jets vs Anaheim Ducks pre-game report

The Jets went from losing three straight to winning three straight and they’ll be hoping to make it four in-a-row this evening when they take on a wounded Ducks club. This game will be important given all the teams in the Central (except the Hawks) lost on Saturday which could allow Winnipeg to leapfrog Dallas and Colorado into top spot in the division.

The only potential change to the lineup is Vlad Namestnikov who could be ready to return after missing the last three games for the Jets after he got tangled up with the Oilers Darnell Nurse back on November 30th.

Morning skate news:

No morning skate today.

Warm-up:

As per the TSN broadcast centre Vlad Namestnikov will return after missing last three games to centre the second line with Cole Perfetti and Gabriel Vilardi. Nate Schmidt will miss his fourth straight game.

Jets projected lines & D pairs:

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

Morrissey-DeMelo
Dillon-Pionk
Samberg=Stanley

Hellebuyck
Brossoit

Betway Odds:

While the Jets have not fared particularly well against the Pacific this season (1-5-0) the Ducks have been a team on a bad slide having lost two straight and having gone 1-9-0 in their last ten games. They are just 5-9-0 at Honda Center with a -19 goal differential. Meanwhile Winnipeg counters with a solid 7-3-1 road record, a +13 goal differential and are 7-3-0 in their last ten. Not surprisingly the oddsmakers are giving a big edge to the visitors. 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).