Game 40: Jets vs Canadiens pre-game report

The Jets left Winnipeg on Wednesday without their captain as Blake Wheeler is dealing with the ramifications of a hit to the head he took on Monday against the Senators.  As a result we saw a change in the configuration with Andrew Copp moving into Wheeler’s spot, Mathieu Perreault taking Copp’s spot on the third line and Jansen Harkins going back into the lineup for the first time since February 19th.

The Habs are coming off a 3-2 regulation loss to the Leafs last night in Toronto.

Jets projected lines & D pairs:

Connor-Scheifele-Ehlers
Stastny-Dubois-Copp
Perreault-Lowry-Appleton
Harkins-Thompson-Lewis

Morrissey-DeMelo
Forbort-Pionk
Stanley-Poolman

Hellebuyck
Brossoit

Players media availability:

Coach media availability:

Topics:

1. Jets (Wheeler) and Habs (Gallagher) missing big pieces from their lineups.
2. New opportunity for veterans to extend their careers.
3. His expectations for Pierre-Luc Dubois and has he met them?
4. Does he change his deployments with Wheeler out of the lineup?
5. More on young players learning from veterans.
6. Keeping young players like Jansen Harkins engaged.
7. Andrew Copp’s minutes.

Up Next:

Puck drop is at 6:00 pm CDT.  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 Paul Maurice.  You can also join us afterwards for our post-game show here (be sure to smash that like/subscribe button).

David Minuk

Working hard on a daily basis to provide the latest Winnipeg Jets and Manitoba Moose news for our readers and listeners. I also appear on the Illegal Curve Hockey Show every Saturday on our YouTube channel as well as the Illegal Curve Post-Game Show after every single Jets game. And I occasionally jump in the play-by-play booth at Canada Life to provide colour analysis during Manitoba Moose games.

Recent Posts

Winnipeg Jets Afternoon Links

Getting you set up for tonight’s Jets game.

8 hours ago

Neal Pionk takes next step at Winnipeg Jets morning skate, weekend return possible

He's closing in on his first game since January 13th.

9 hours ago

First media availability with Winnipeg Jets prospect Alfons Freij after first skate with the Moose

The 2024 2nd rounder is in Winnipeg where he'll spend the rest of the season…

10 hours ago

Game 68: Winnipeg Jets vs Boston Bruins pre-game report

A look at the projected lineups and pre-game interviews.

13 hours ago

Winnipeg Jets Morning Papers: Today’s Hockey Headlines | Mar 19, 2026

A daily roundup of Jets, Moose coverage — all the pro hockey news that matters…

16 hours ago