Game 73: Winnipeg Jets vs Colorado Avalanche pre-game report

The Jets held a lightly attended practice in Winnipeg on Friday. Ahead of skate we learned that Parker Ford (here) and Danny Zhilkin (here) would be coming on the road and then we learned that both players had been recalled on an emergency basis. While we know that Morgan Barron was in concussion protocol there sounds like a second player who potentially could be dealing with something, which is why they brought two players up from the farm.

Going on the presumption that Barron won’t be a player either Ford or Zhilkin can play centre. What will be interesting is to see if head coach Scott Arniel is willing to chance that young a line.

While the players asserted that they don’t see the games as “must win” the reality of their situation with ten games left and trailing by five points is that tonight’s game is absolutely one they have to win if they want any hope of catching one of the team’s ahead of them.

Skate news:

No morning skate. We will have to wait for warm-up to confirm changes.

Warm-up skate:

So Danny Zhilkin and Parker Ford dress in place of Morgan Barron and Gustav Nyquist. As well Jacob Bryson comes in for Haydn Fleury.

Jets projected lines & D pairs:

Connor-Scheifele-Iafallo
Perfetti-Lowry-Vilardi
Koepke-Toews-Lambert
Rosen-Zhilkin-Ford

Morrissey-DeMelo
Samberg-Pionk
Bryson-Salomonsson

Hellebuyck

Avalanche projected lines & D pairs:

Landeskog – MacKinnon – Necas
Lehkonen – Nelson – Nichushkin
Kelly – Kadri – O’Connor
Bardakov – Drury – Colton

Kulak – Makar
Toews – Malinski
Manson – Burns

Wedgewood

Odds:

The Jets head into the back half of a home-and-home in Denver looking to bounce back after a narrow loss, but doing so won’t be easy against the rolling Avalanche who have won four straight. With Winnipeg dealing with a few bumps up front and Colorado continuing to set the pace, this matchup leans heavily toward the hosts, though the Jets have kept things close enough to suggest another tight contest could be on tap. For the latest Winnipeg Jets hockey odds, visit NHL betting site Betway.

Up Next:

Puck drop is at 6 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 8:40 PM CT as we discuss and analyze the results of the game.