Game 60: Winnipeg Jets vs Chicago Blackhawks pre-game report

The Jets will kick off the first of eight straight games at home this evening when they welcome the Hawks to Winnipeg. The local NHL club are coming off a road trip out west which saw them go 1-0-2 but they are not in a position to be losing points if their (very) slim playoff hopes are to be achieved.

We learned on Monday that they are targeting a weekend return for Josh Morrissey although even playing on Thursday wasn’t ruled out. Since it was a highly optional practice we will have to wait for morning skate to see what the lines will be this evening.

Meanwhile the Blackhawks are 2-6-2 in their last ten although they are coming off a 4-0 win over the Mammoth. They are still in rebuild mode which is evidenced by yesterday’s trade of defenceman Connor Murphy to the Oilers.

Skate news:

No changes from the lineup from last game as per Connor Hrabchak of WST who also reports that, as expected, Josh Morrissey is skating in a yellow, non-contact jersey.

Jets projected lines & D pairs:

Connor-Scheifele-Vilardi
Perfetti-Lowry-Iafallo
Nyquist-Toews-Duehr
Koepke-Barron-Pearson

Stanley-DeMelo
Samberg-Salomonsson
Fleury-Schenn

Hellebuyck

Blackhawks projected lines & D pairs:

Greene-Bedard-Burakovsky
Donato-Nazar-Teravainen
Bertuzzi-Dickinson-Mikheyev
Foligno-Moore-Slaggert

Vlasic-Crevier
Korchinski-__________
Grzelyck-Levshunov

Soderblom

Players media availability:

To follow.

Coach media availability:

To follow.

Odds:

The Jets return home to start a long homestand where they’ve been steady above .500, while the Blackhawks continue to search for consistency on the road. Winnipeg may deserve the slight edge on paper, but with both clubs sitting below the playoff line, urgency alone could make this tighter than expected. For the latest Winnipeg Jets hockey odds, visit NHL betting site Betway.

Up Next:

Puck drop is at 7 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 9:40 PM CST as we discuss and analyze the results of the game.