Game 71: Jets vs. Oilers projected lines

The Jets take their three game winning streak on the road where they will kick things off tonight in Edmonton.  They remain a healthy group according to their bench boss from Tuesday’s practice so you can likely expect the same lineup this evening against the Oilers.

Skate News:

No Connor Hellebuyck at morning skate according to Scott Billeck of the Winnipeg Sun which is a good indicator he will start tonight.  He also adds that Patrik Laine is not participating.

Jets Projected Lines & D Pairs:

Connor-Scheifele-Wheeler
Ehlers-Eakin-Laine
Copp-Lowry-Roslovic
Perreault-Shore-Appleton

Morrissey-DeMelo
Kulikov-Pionk
Beaulieu-Poolman

Hellebuyck
Brossoit

Audio:

Josh Morrissey on what has allowed he and Dylan DeMelo to work so well, does having confidence in his D partner allow him not to try to do too much, staying in rhythm on the bench being paired with a line, does he have conversations with Leon Draisaitl (ho he played with in junior) on the ice, was it obvious that Draisaitl would look like this in the NHL back in junior, the upcoming games against these western Canadian teams, all four western teams trending in the ‘right direction’ and how weird would it be playing in an empty arena in the NHL.

Dmitry Kulikov on how weird it would be to play in front of an empty NHL rink, would it change the game from a player’s perspective, being a matchup pairing, does his defending style change depending on whether he is facing McDavid or Draisaitl and what makes the Oilers power play so effective.

Coach Maurice on the challenges they face from the Oilers, status of Patrik Laine, same lineup, update on Mark Letestu, Coronavirus, how odd would it be to play in an empty NHL arena, more on the Coronavirus impact on the dressing room, the four Canadian teams battling for the playoffs and what it means for the NHL, specialty team focus from the last time these two teams played, what does Mike Smith playing in net do when you face him and trying to defend against a PP with three QBS?

All audio courtesy of TSN 1290 Winnipeg.

Health News:

Patrik Laine didn’t skate but coach Maurice indicated that because he skated yesterday he had option to not skate today.

Up Next:

Puck drop is at 8:00 PM CDT.  Be sure to head over to illegalcurve.com following the game for a recap of the action which includes post-game audio from the Jets room as well as from Coach Maurice.