Note: The Jets were supposed to practice before traveling to Florida on Thursday but instead cancelled and just went directly to Del Boca Vista Phase III. Presumably that was all of them except Pierre-Luc Dubois who is dealing with an upper-body issue which the team is hopeful won’t preclude him from joining them on the road. Today they are scheduled to practice in Sunrise at 10 AM CST as they get ready to kick off three very hard road games beginning with Florida tomorrow night. Check back for the Practice Report.
Note II: The Moose used Thursday as a travel day going from Abbotsford, B.C. to Des Moines, Iowa. Today they will practice as they get set to take on their division rival in the Wild in a back-to-back set which gets underway on Saturday night.
Note III: The Ice are chasing some team history as they look to surpass their win total from last season (53). They are currently sitting with 50 wins with eight games remaining in their regular season. This is just the second time in the history (dating back to both Edmonton and Kootenay) that they have achieved the 50 win plateau and worth noting that 2018–19 it was a 72 game season not 68). Tonight they face the Oil Kings here in Winnipeg. Puck drop is at 7:05 PM.
Jets news:
Global News: Road trip may be what Jets need to get back on track. We are certainly going to see what this team is made of given the Murderers’ Row of teams they will be facing over the coming days.
Winnipeg Sun: Jets find heart, lose hands, Hellebuyck. They are gonna need those hands, heart and Hellebuyck over the next few games as they take on the best in the Eastern Conference.
Winnipeg Free Press: Jets’ once-sure playoff hopes hanging by a thread. (Paywall). All those banked points in the Jets standings bank that we spoke about early in the season are being cashed in hard right now and the cushion they once afforded Winnipeg has been practically eliminated.
Sportsnet: Jets must put past disappointments behind them on season-defining road trip. The key for this Jets group is whether they can continue to control play and hope they get some puck luck on their side in the next couple of games.
Daily Faceoff: Diagnosing Connor Hellebuyck: Why has the Jets’ star goalie lost his way? If Jets fans want insight into Connor Hellebuyck as well as his team’s defensive play (or lack thereof sometimes) check out this great read from former pro goalie and one of our favourite Illegal Curve guests Mike McKenna.
Photo Credit: Colby Spence (Illegal Curve)
Daily Faceoff: Jets nearing ‘panic time’ as losing streak puts playoff spot in jeopardy. Suspect many Jets fans have long since worn out their panic buttons.
TSN: Winnipeg’s nightly dependence on Hellebuyck is staggering. Feels like this has literally been a talking point for a 1000 years but perhaps folks outside this market are coming to understand just how much 37 has done for this team.
TSN: ‘The off-season in Winnipeg is going to be a tremendous story’. Insider Darren Dreger joined the fellas on Overdrive and the subject of the Jets came up. Including touching on Pierre-Luc Dubois, Mark Scheifele and Connor Hellebuyck.
Calgary Sun: Can the Flames catch the Jets in playoff race? Despite their games in hand, with the Preds losing to the lowly Coyotes last night it does appear to be a two-horse race between the two former Atlanta franchises.
Jets video:
Sportsnet: Assessing the Winnipeg Jets as they enter the stretch drive to the playoffs, maybe. Sean Reynolds of Sportsnet joined Nick Kypreos and Justin Bourne to chat about Rick Bowness’ positivity about the Minnesota/Winnipeg game, what is up with Connor Hellebuyck, narrative surrounding Nikolaj Ehlers, on ice issues and more.
Sportsnet: What will Jets’ offseason look like if they fail to make the playoffs? Elliotte Friedman joins the Jeff Marek Show to discuss what it would mean for the Winnipeg Jets if they miss the playoffs given the number of expiring contracts on their roster.
Winnipeg Sports Talk: Analyzing Nikolaj Ehlers 2022-23 season and his role on the Winnipeg Jets. Murat Ates of The Athletic Winnipeg joined Hus for a chat about his deep dive on Nikolaj Ehlers season and then the two spoke about 27’s role on the Winnipeg Jets.
Global News: John Shannon on the Jets. 680 CJOB hockey analyst John Shannon did his weekly hit before the game against the Wild. He spoke about the Jets powerless power play, if any Jets should still be up for any end of season awards and the number of points the Jets need to earn over a five-game spread.
