Game 26: Winnipeg Jets vs Montreal Canadiens pre-game report

The Jets hit rock bottom on Monday, losing to the last-place Sabres in the East. And it wasn’t rock bottom because Buffalo is a bad team—after all, the Sabres had just knocked off the red-hot Wild in their previous game. It was because of how uninterested and detached Winnipeg looked for the full 60 minutes. The effort was so lacking that captain Adam Lowry called a players-only meeting after the game, with the team slipping to a 13-12-0 record.

They were off on Tuesday, which means we won’t know Neal Pionk’s status until the morning skate in Montreal. If he’s not ready to go, one would have to assume the team will insert prospect Elias Salomonsson into the lineup in place of either Luke Schenn or Colin Miller. It’s also entirely possible that, even if Pionk is available, Salomonsson could still draw in to give the team a spark.

Up front, you have to think Cole Koepke will be reinserted on the fourth line in an attempt to inject some energy into a group that looked listless.

They will face a Canadiens team that lost 5-2 to the Senators last night in Montreal. The Habs are in a bit of a swoon themselves having lost two straight and are 3-6-1 in their last ten games.

When it comes to special teams the visitors would do well to stay out of the penalty box as the home team ranks 4th overall on the PP while the away guys remain at 10th. Where Winnipeg would have an advantage is if they can get Montreal to take some penalties as the PK for them is 25th in the league and the Jets remain 6th.

Skate news:

According to Mike McIntyre of the Winnipeg Free Press it will be a trio of moves with Cole Koepke coming in for Gustav Nyquist up front and on the backend Neal Pionk returning for the first time since November 23rd and prospect Elias Salomonsson for Colin Miller and Luke Schenn.

On the ice Mike indicated that Vlad Namestnikov took a puck to the face which had him down on the ice. He would skate to the room on his own and Mike said he saw him after skate and he was “all good”.

Jets projected lines & D pairs:

Connor-Scheifele-Vilardi
Namestnikov-Toews-Perfetti
Niederreiter-Lowry-Iafallo
Koepke-Barron-Pearson

Morrissey-DeMelo
Samberg-Pionk
Stanley-Salomonsson

Comrie

Canadiens projected lines & D pairs:

Caufield-Suzuki-Bolduc
Slafkovsky-Kapanen-Demidov
Texier-Evans-Anderson
FXhekaj-Veleno-Gallagher

Matheson-Dobson
Struble-Hutson
AXhekaj-Carrier

Montembeault

Players media availability:

Coach media availability:

Topics:
1) Reviewing the Buffalo footage.
2) Three lineup changes (:30)
3) Scouting Montreal (1:22)
4) Oldest vs Youngest rosters tnt (1:58)
5) Toews inspiring during grind (2:50)
6) Importance of his leadership (3:50)
7) Has Haydn Fleury resumed skating? (4:53)
8) Update on Connor Hellebuyck (5:17)

Health news:

Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck is close to getting back on the ice as per head coach Scott Arniel via radio colour analyst Mitchell Clinton.

Odds:

The Jets head into Montreal to face a Canadiens team that played at home just last night, with both clubs looking to halt their recent slide. Winnipeg is trying to rebound from another uneven outing, while Montreal continues to search for answers despite the comfort of home ice. With this one viewed as more or less a toss-up, it sets the stage for a matchup that may hinge on whether the Jets can steady themselves on the road or the Canadiens can muster enough jump on the second half of a back-to-back to spark a turnaround.. For the latest Winnipeg Jets hockey odds, visit NHL betting site Betway.

Up Next:

Puck drop is at 6:30 PM CST. Be sure to head over to illegalcurve.com following the game for a recap of the action. Reminder that we are hosting our first IC Watch Party at Boston Pizza on Taylor Avenue so come say hello and watch the game with us. If you cannot make it for the live show, then we still want you to join us on our YouTube channel for the Illegal Curve Post-Game Show around 9:10 PM CST as we discuss and analyze the results of the game.