The Jets and Sharks are both on the outside looking in which makes this game more about saying goodbye to NHL hockey for these respective markets for the next five months as this is the last time you’ll see these guys playing games for Winnipeg or San Jose for the next five months.
For the home team the only question was if they’d use any of the three recalls they had left to give a player like Tyrel Bauer or Colby Barlow or Domenic DiVincentiis their first NHL game. Bauer has been dealing with an injury which could have cost him his chance, Barlow played last night for the Moose in Chicago and DiVincentiis backed up in goal. So it seems unlikely although not impossible we see another NHL debut this evening.
Skate news:
A few lineup tweaks but same players. Actually gonna be Eric Comrie in goal.
Jets projected lines & D pairs:
Connor-Scheifele-Vilardi
Perfetti-Lowry-Niederreiter
Rosén-Toews-Lambert
Koepke-Yager-Chibrikov
Morrissey-DeMelo
Samberg-Miller
Fleury-Heinola
Comrie
Sharks projected lines & D pairs:
Chernyshov-Celebrini-Smith
Eklund-Wennberg-Sherwood
Graf-Misa-Toffoli
Goodrow-Ostapchuk-Gaudette
Mukhamadullin-Orlov
Dickinson-Ferraro
Cagnoni-Desharnais
Askarov
Players media availability:
Coach media availability:
Topics:
1) Difficulty in playing final game of the season.
2) Facing Macklin Celebrini (:40)
3) What has he seen from Brad Lambert since recall? (2:00)
4) Thoughts on Nikita Chibrikov since being called up? (3:12)
5) Thoughts on Brayden Yager in his first couple of games? (4:09)
6) Latest on Elias Salomonsson? (5:11)
7) Reason for not using any of remaining recalls? (5:35)
8) Using Yager on the PK (6:12)
9) What is his message to the fans? (7:29)
Health update:
Not great news for prospect Elias Salomonsson who is still in concussion protocol after failing recent test.
Odds:
With both the Jets and Sharks out of the playoff race, this one is about pride more than anything. Winnipeg appears to have a slight edge on paper, but games like this can quickly stray from expectations. For the latest Winnipeg Jets hockey odds, visit NHL betting site Betway.
Up Next:
Puck drop is at 7 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 9:40 PM CT as we discuss and analyze the results of the game.
