Winnipeg Jets Morning Papers

Note: The Jets delivered some bad news on Monday as Scott Arniel announced that winger Gabriel Vilardi was out week-to-week after he suffered an injury in the loss to the Sabres. As a result in practice the lines were tweaked to adjust for his absence which is how things will look at least for tonight’s big game against the Capitals. Morning skate for Winnipeg gets underway at 10:30 AM CDT so stay tuned for the pre-game report to ensure you’re up-to-date on the latest. Puck drop is at 7 PM CDT.

Note II: This evening, after the final buzzer sounds between Winnipeg and Washington, 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 starting around 9:40 PM CDT.

Note III: The Moose playoff dreams are hanging by a thread and tonight they are in Milwaukee to take on the Admirals in the first of three games on the road. Puck drop is at 7 PM CDT.

Note IV: The Jets have seven prospects playing in the CHL this season and the regular season just ended on Sunday. With playoffs around the corner we looked at how things went for:Colby Barlow, Jacob Julien, Kevin He & Kieron Walton (OHL) and Brayden Yager, Connor Levis & Markus Loponen (WHL). Check it out here.

Jets news:

Winnipeg Sun: Jets’ Josh Morrissey recalls first on-ice meeting with Ovechkin. Hard to think that was 12 years ago for number 44. Lots of players in this league will have similar memories of number 8.

Winnipeg Sun: ‘Probably get booed’: No Ukrainian love lost as Ovechkin visits Jets. I suspect Paul is right. This isn’t the same as when Steven Stamkos scored his 60th goal back in the inaugural Jets season and fans gave him a standing ovation. The local population will likely not appreciate the Capitals captain’s position.

Winnipeg Free Press: Capitals in town as Jets chase Washington for the Presidents’ Trophy. (Paywall). After the excitement from the game in Washington it will be interesting to see what kind of game we see in Winnipeg. Wieber sets it up.

Winnipeg Free Press: Injuries shake up Jets’ lines. (Paywall). The problem with not changing things up periodically is you don’t have a lot of muscle memory with other guys on the line. Now the Jets will have 10 games to try out some new look forward lines.

Photo Credit: Colby Spence (Illegal Curve)

Global News: Jets need to maintain ‘one game at a time’ mindset. That’s what they’ve done for the majority of the season so I don’t suspect they’ll change now. And with the importance of tonight’s game that will be the sole focus.

Jets video:

Sportsnet: Arniel explains decision to put Iafallo on top line for injured Vilardi. Jets head coach Scott Arniel confirms that forward Gabe Vilardi will be out week-to-week with an injury, and explains why he likes Alex Iafallo to replace him on the top line and first power-play unit.

TSN: ‘He just loves to score goals’: Jets in awe of Ovechkin’s record chase. Alex Ovechkin sits on 888th career goals, and is now within seven of breaking Wayne Gretzky’s record of 894. Ovechkin will continue his chase when Washington visits Winnipeg on TSN3. Happy he is so close from setting the record, the Jets joke that they just don’t want Ovi to score while in town.

TSN: Jets ‘want to prove’ they are amongst league’s elite in bout with Caps on TSN. The top two teams in the NHL meet up for the second time this season as the Jets host the Capitals Tuesday on TSN. Winnipeg won 5-4 in overtime in the last matchup with Josh Morrissey netting two goals. Eyeing the top spot in the NHL, the Jets know that they will have to be on top of their game.