Game 45: Winnipeg Jets vs Boston Bruins pre-game report

The Jets skated on Sunday in Boston. Well most of the Jets did as Gabriel Vilardi and Cole Perfetti both took maintenance days according to head coach Rick Bowness. Will bear watching to see if they are on the ice this morning. We do know that Mark Scheifele will not play tonight.

Boston is hot having won four straight games including pulverizing Montreal 9-4 on Saturday night. They will likely want a measure of revenge for the 5-1 loss they suffered back in Manitoba exactly one month ago on December 22nd.

Morning Skate:

According to Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Free Press it’s Connor Hellebuyck going through his starting routine this morning in Boston. As well he confirms that Gabriel Vilardi and Cole Perfetti are both skating. He did indicate that Brenden Dillon is exercising his option.

Health news:

Head coach Rick Bowness said that Gabriel Vilardi is a game-time decision.

Warm-up news:

As per Ken Wiebe no Gabriel Vilardi which means Axel Jonsson-Fjallby draws in.

Jets projected lines & D pairs:

Connor-Lowry-Iafallo
Perfetti-Namestnikov-Ehlers
Niederreiter-Toninato-Appleton
Barron-Kupari-AJF

Morrissey-DeMelo
Dillon-Pionk
Samberg-Schmidt

Hellebuyck
Brossoit

Coach media:

Topics:

1) Gabriel Vilardi & Cole Perfetti updates?
2) Going up against the Bruins (:07)
3) Team remaining focused (:37)
4) Adam Lowry playing a career high in minutes (1:09)
5) Is Brenden Dillon available tonight? Nikolaj Ehlers? (1:34)
6) What has he learned about Nino Niederreiter and where does he help them the most? (1:45)
7) The consistency of Nino Niederreiter  to score 20 every single season (2:19)
8) The defensive play of Niederreiter (3:00)
9) Latest on David Gustafsson (3:42)
10) Latest on Mark Scheifele? (3:50)
11) On the PP, his thoughts if attacking team started with the puck (4:00)

Tips:

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Betway Odds:

The Bruins have won four straight they are 6-1-3 in their last ten games while the Jets counter with a more modest two game winning streak but a 9-1-0 record in their last ten. Not surprisingly Boston is very good at home (15-3-3) while Winnipeg counters with a very good road record (14-4-2). Goal differential is excellent for both clubs with Boston at +38 and Winnipeg at +45. Given all of this the oddsmakers are giving the slight 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 6:00 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).