Game 69: Winnipeg Jets vs Pittsburgh Penguins pre-game report

The Jets left Boston where they began this three-game road trip with a pretty bad 6-1 loss to the Bruins. Luckily for them the teams around them didn’t really take advantage of it which makes a bounce back game critical for Winnipeg. It won’t be easy as they face a Penguins team in Pittsburgh also are in need of points as they look to maintain their spot in the Metropolitan Division with both the Blue Jackets and Islanders just a point back of them.

The Pens have been solid at home with a 16-9-8 record at PPG Paints Arena and are 4-3-3 in their last ten games. They’ve gone 4-3-3 in their last ten games including a drubbing of the Avalanche two games back.

Potentially there could be a return of Neal Pionk who was labeled as a possibility for a return from injury. If he does then expect Fleury to come out and Bryson to flip over to the left side. We shall also have to wait and see if the team returns to the lines from the 3rd period or how they started the game.

We will have to see what happens at warm-up.

Skate news:

No morning skate.

Jets projected lines & D pairs:

Connor – Scheifele – Iafallo
Perfetti – Lowry – Vilardi
Nyquist – Toews – Rosén
Koepke – Barron – Lambert

Morrissey – DeMelo
Samberg – Salomonsson
Fleury – Bryson

Hellebuyck

Penguins projected lines & D pairs:

Rakell – Crosby – Rust
Chinakhov – Novak – Malkin
Mantha – Kindel – Brazeau
Soderblom – Dewar – Acciari

Wotherspoon – Karlsson
Shea – Letang
Solovyov – Clifton

Skinner/Silovs

Odds:

With both teams looking to bounce back, this matchup feels tighter than the odds suggest, but Pittsburgh’s strong play at home gives them a slight edge over a Winnipeg side coming off a tough 6–1 loss. For the latest Winnipeg Jets hockey odds, visit NHL betting site Betway.

Up Next:

Puck drop is at 12 PM CT. 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 2:40 PM CT as we discuss and analyze the results of the game.