Game 55: Winnipeg Jets vs Dallas Stars pre-game report

Winnipeg will wrap up their four-game road trip having gone 2-1-0 so far after wins over New Jersey and Florida with a loss against Tampa Bay in the middle. The game against Dallas will be another tough one as the Stars sit 3rd in the Central.

Of course the home team has won four games in a row so they are feeling good about the state of their game. They are one of the stingier teams in the West but unlike the visitors they score quite a few goals.

From a special teams perspective the Stars have the 2nd best power play in the league while the penalty kill checks in at 13th. Whereas the Jets are ranked 21st (PP) and 16th (PK).

Since Winnipeg didn’t skate on Sunday it is unknown if there will be any lineup tweaks coming off their 2-1 victory on the Panthers.  The only expected change would be Connor Hellebuyck getting the net after Eric Comrie backstopped them to a win on Saturday night.

Skate news:

Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Free Press reporting that no changes are expected for Winnipeg based on what he’s viewing at morning skate.

Jets projected lines & D pairs:

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

Morrissey-DeMelo
Samberg-Salomonsson
Stanley-Schenn

Hellebuyck

Stars projected lines & D pairs:

Hryckowian – Johnston – Rantanen
Robertson – Hintz – Bourque
Steel – Duchene – Benn
Back – Faksa – Erne

Lindell – Heiskanen
Harley – Lundkvist
Capobianco – Petrovic

Oettinger/DeSmith

Coach media availability:

Topics:
1) What he expects from the Stars?
2) Playing a patient game (:42)
3) Gustav Nyquist using his skillset (1:12)
4) Staying ready after being scratched 12 of 14 (1:53)
5) What has he seen from the Jets PP? (2:28)
6) Thoughts on the outdoor game? (3:05)

Odds:

The outlook leans gently toward Dallas, with the home side positioned to set the tone and control long stretches. Winnipeg has proven it can hang around in these spots, but the margin for error looks thin against a team carrying the heavier expectations. It shapes up as a competitive matchup, though the balance of probability rests with the Stars. For the latest Winnipeg Jets hockey odds, visit NHL betting site Betway.

Up Next:

Puck drop is at 7:30 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 10:10 PM CST as we discuss and analyze the results of the game.