Game 32: Winnipeg Jets vs Ottawa Senators pre-game report

The Jets were off on Sunday but will be back on the ice this morning as they look to show some consistency for the first time in some time following up an impressive win over the Capitals with another this evening against the Senators. Getting MVP goalie Connor Hellebuyck back a week earlier than projected was clearly big for this Winnipeg team as was getting more secondary scoring. Now that the health of the team is back to full, the question is can they get their first back-t0-back win in almost a month?

They’ll face a Senators team that has been on a slide in the Eastern Conference sitting six points back of a playoff spot which means points will be at a premium for a team, like the Jets, who do not want to lose ground. Ottawa comes into the game with the 5th best PP in the NHL but their PK is at the other end of the spectrum in 31st.

Special teams remain a concern for the home team as they have the 12th ranked power play and a penalty kill which has dropped like a stone down to 22nd.

Skate news:

Starts at 9:30 AM.

Jets projected lines & D pairs:

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

Morrissey-DeMelo
Samberg-Pionk
Stanley-Schenn

Hellebuyck

Senators projected lines & D pairs:

Tkachuk – Stutzle – Zetterlund
Perron -Cozens – Batherson
Amadio -Greig -Giroux
MacDermid – Halliday – Cousins

Sanderson – Zub
Kleven -Spence
Matinpalo -Jensen

Ullmark/Merilainen

Players media availability:

To follow.

Coach media availability:

To follow.

Odds:

Oddsmakers favor Winnipeg here, and the Jets will look to take advantage of home ice against an Ottawa team searching for answers. The Senators are just 3-7-1 in their last ten and coming off a loss sealed in the final minute, leaving little margin for error. If Ottawa can settle early, they may keep things close — but Winnipeg’s stability with Connor Hellebuyck back in net could give them the edge at home to control the game’s rhythm. 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. You can 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.