Game 40: Winnipeg Jets vs Columbus Blue Jackets pre-game report

The Jets were off yesterday after picking up a clean sweep of their three-game road trip with mentors in tow. In total this team has won six straight and has points in 12 straight games (10-0-2) as they sit at the top of the NHL standings. They continue to play a consistent game which has been evident during this streak of not allowing three or more goals 29 straight games which is just six away from the record set by the 2014-15 Minnesota Wild.

While we do not expect any lineup changes tonight when they welcome Columbus to town there could be some guys who are closer to a return to the lineup. David Gustafsson and Kyle Connor were both in yellow, non-contact on the road trip while Ville Heinola and Rasmus Kupari were in regular uniforms but neither had the benefit of a full practice. While we may get some insight today any substantive changes will likely come after tomorrow’s first practice in over a week.

The most significant thing about the Blue Jackets this season for folks in this province is the return of Pascal Vincent who is in his first year as an NHL head coach. The circumstances with which that came about at the start of the season were certainly a challenge for the well liked former assistant coach with the Jets and head coach with the Moose. Of course the franchise is without former Winnipeg winger Patrik Laine who is expected to miss three more weeks with fractured clavicle and they just got back Jack Roslovic who missed 4-6 weeks with fractured ankle but has played the last five games.

Morning Skate:

Ville Heinola skating with the Jets today at morning skate in a regular jersey although lines and D pairs remain same.

Don’t see Rasmus Kupari, Kyle Connor or David Gustafsson on the ice.

Jets projected lines & D pairs:

Ehlers-Scheifele-Vilardi
Perfetti-Namestnikov-Iafallo
Niederreiter-Lowry-Appleton
Barron-Toninato-AJF

Morrissey-DeMelo
Dillon-Pionk
Samberg-Schmidt

Hellebuyck
Brossoit

Player media:

Coach media:

Topics:

1) Jets power play moving in right direction?
2) Being where they are in standings absent good PP/PK numbers (:52)
3) Considered a Stanley Cup contender (1:22)
4) Success not changing mindset of the players? (2:00)
5) Not taking foot off the gas in Arizona (2:30)
6) Continuing to improve vs “peaking too early” (3:48)
7) How would he assess Adam Lowry’s captaincy? (4:27)
8) What don’t we see behind the scenes as captain? (5:13)
9) Is this Connor Hellebuyck’s most dominant stretch? (5:48)
10) Benefit to 37 of better team defence (6:15)
11) Have they mapped out the starts in second half for goalies? (6:53)
12) Moving from assistant coach to head coach re: Pascal Vincent (7:10)
13) Health updates (8:32)

Betway Odds:

To suggest Columbus are struggling is an understatement as they come to Winnipeg just 3-3-4 in their last 10 games sitting dead last in the Metropolitan Division. They are just a 5-8-5 road team with a -24 goal differential. They’ve allowed 150 goals against this season which is the third most in the NHL. Given this and how well the Jets are playing it isn’t a surprise that the oddsmakers are giving the big edge to the home team for this contest. Be sure to check out the latest game day odds from Betway.

Up Next:

Puck drop is at 7:00 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).