Note: The Jets were off on Friday as they get ready for a more challenging stretch of schedule which will see them basically play every other day until Christmas. Tonight, they welcome Sidney Crosby and the Penguins to town for a game that is always highly anticipated. There will be plenty of content today so keep it locked here starting with the morning skate which gets underway at 9:30 AM. All the relevant news will be posted in the pre-game report so check back for that. Puck drop is at 6 PM.
Note II: Tonight, after the final buzzer sounds between the Jets and Penguins, we want you to be part of the conversation on the Illegal Curve Post-Game Show as we discuss and analyze the results of the game. This season you’ll have a chance to win great schwag including authentic Jets jerseys, hats, etc after every single game (For a variety of ways to enter click here).
Note III: The Moose have played a lot of “interesting” games but last night’s contest in Texas to kick off five games on the road is up there. They were without Jets prospects Declan Chisholm and Chaz Lucius as the pair are dealing with minor bumps. They stunk for two periods and only were in the game because of goalie Arvid Holm, who in the 1st period alone made 16 saves on 16 shots. Despite being dominated the game entered the 3rd tied 2-2 thanks to goals by Kevin Stenlund who scored on first shot of game (see here) and Leon Gawanke who left game due to a high stick but returned in same period and scored (see here). Whatever the coaching staff said in intermission worked because they came out on fire to start 3rd with back-to-back goals by Jeff Malott the first of which was solid (see here) but the second was a spectacular individual effort (see here). Penalties have been the story of the season and they allowed the Stars back into the game late in the 3rd as they erased two, two goal deficits to force OT and then won the game on the power play. Re-match tonight at 7 PM.
Note IV: The Ice will be going for their league leading 20th win of the season tonight in a re-match with Connor Bedard and the Regina Pats here in Winnipeg as the local WHL club go for their 15th straight victory. Puck drop is at 8 PM.
Note V: Join us on the Illegal Curve Hockey Show at 9 AM CST for two hours of mostly Jets talk. We will be joined by Mike McIntyre of the Winnipeg Free Press and Conor Geekie of the Winnipeg Ice.
Jets news:
The Athletic: Eric Duhatschek Notebook. (Paywall). Anything written by Eric is worth a read and while his notebook covers a lot of NHL ground he wrote about Connor Hellebuyck leading the Jets at the end of it.
Photo Credit: Colby Spence (Illegal Curve)
The Athletic Winnipeg: In Winnipeg, the appreciation for Jets greatness never goes away. (Paywall). An excellent article by Murat as he connects the love the city has for Selanne and Numminen and how those players reciprocated it in a truly tangible fashion.
Global News: Jets’ coach deserves credit for team accountability. John Shannon feels that Rick Bowness is getting the most out of his players this season even though they are the same group largely as last year. Given last year’s squad went 9-3-3 (which clearly had a different strength of schedule) it will be interesting to see how this team does in the next stretch of 15 games.
TSN: Injuries forcing Winnipeg Jets to consider all options. Originally this was just Darren Dreger adding his two cents on Nikolaj Ehlers but I fleshed out the post to include a look at the Jets laundry list of skating wounded.
Jets audio:
Sportsnet: 32 Thoughts Podcast. Some Jets talk including Marek lauding the play of Connor Hellebuyck, Friedman crediting better collective team defence and both lamenting Kyle Connor missed opportunity to pay homage to Teemu Selanne with a goal scoring celebration.
