Note: The Jets had a glorious opportunity on Saturday night thanks to Sidney Crosby and his Penguins going into Dallas and defeating the Stars 5-3. If Winnipeg could go into Utah and win they’d have themselves a six point lead over the second place Stars for top spot in the Central with less than a handful of games left in the regular season. Instead they squandered it with a 4-1 loss to the team with no name. So the difference remains four points with Dallas having one game in hand on Winnipeg. They are off today and will be back on the ice tomorrow as they try to stop the blazing hot St. Louis Blues who have won an insane 12 straight games.
Note II: The Moose were also in action on Saturday as they welcomed the Wolves to town for the first of two matinees this weekend. Things got off to a great start as they scored goals 32 seconds apart (Phillips & Lambert) but a poor start to the middle frame derailed things. They got back on track in the final frame including C.J. Suess scoring the game tying goal in his 300th AHL game with Manitoba (first 2.0 player to do so). He spoke about this a few times (here and here) after the game. Penalty trouble continued into overtime where Chicago got their third PP goal of the game to win it 4-3 in OT. Manitoba and Chicago are back in action this afternoon at 2 PM CDT.
Note III: A pair of prospects were in action on Saturday night. Over in the OHL 2024 4th rounder Kevin He saw his playoffs come to an end when Niagara lost game 5 to Barrie. Now we wait to see if he gets assigned to the Moose to get some pro experience for the next few weeks. Over in the WHL it was the end of a junior career for 2023 7th rounder Connor Levis whose hometown Vancouver club lost to Spokane in five games. While he joined Manitoba last year after his season ended this time around he is set to head to the NCAA where he is committed to playing for Bowling Green. Jets have until June 1st to sign him to a contract.
Jets news:
Sportsnet: Jets look lost without pending free agent Nikolaj Ehlers. Team might want to start singing the Seinfeld “Get well, get well soon, we want you to get well” as it isn’t pretty when 27’s blazing speed isn’t in the lineup. Of course with Gabriel Vilardi and Neal Pionk missing the Jets are missing some pretty big pieces.
Photo Credit: Colby Spence (Illegal Curve)
Winnipeg Sun: ‘It wasn’t our night’: Jets lose to the Utah Hockey Club once again. Fairly certain that Karel Vejmelka is the Manitoba equivalent of the boogeyman cause when you mention his name to folks around these parts it conjures up a guy who seemingly stymies the Jets every single time he plays against them.
Winnipeg Free Press: Jets miss chance to widen gap in Central Division, Western Conference races. (Paywall). Wieber was in Utah and filed this game report.
The Salt Lake Tribune: Utah Hockey Club beats the best team in the NHL: ‘It’s a step in the right direction. Check out a game recap from a writer that covers the Jets opponent.
Jets video/audio:
Illegal Curve Hockey Show: Saturday Podcast. Two hours of Jets talk from us yesterday morning as we recapped the week that was in Jetsland, previewed the game between Winnipeg/Utah, discussed if it’s best to be home free or being pursued in quest for top spot in the Central, whether the team might try a right shot on the 3rd pairing left side and a prospect roundup. We also spoke with Jacob Stoller of Sportsnet and Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff.
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