Note: Make sure to @ tweet @illegalcurve with your guess during tonight’s game you can win IC Gear by participating in our twitter Game Winning Goal contest. Remember that for your vote to qualify you must send in your guess by hashtaging (#) our Game Winning Goal (GWG) contest. (i.e. #ICGWG Enstrom).
Jets news:
CBC: 3 best trades for Winnipeg ahead of deadline. Would you like to see Ribeiro setting up Kane?
Winnipeg Free Press: Looking for a new label. The Jets are masters of their own destiny for the remainder of the season and if things play out as expected they don’t even need to play spectacular hockey to get to the playoffs.
Winnipeg Free Press: Yummy, healthy food for players. A little information on the way in which players prepare for games.
Winnipeg Sun: How will Winnipeg Jets measure up to mighty Penguins? There is a huge debate as to what coach Noel should do tonight in terms of which goalie to start. Some believe this would be the perfect game to give Pavelec his first night off since the first week of March believing the Jets have little chance to beat the Pens. As well you could save him for the more important game against the Hurricanes on Saturday at the MTS Centre. Others would suggest that with Pavelec in goal, the Jets have best chance to get some all important points to solidify their hold on the Southeast. Update: It will be Montoya in net tonight. Read more with Ezzy’s preview.
Winnipeg Sun: City of horrors for Jets. A long history of losing for the combined Thrashers and Jets franchise in the Steel city. Can the Jets end that streak in addition to the Penguins 13 game winning streak? Stay tuned to find out.
Winnipeg Sun: Winnipeg Jets know Penguins can be beaten. The Jets know better than to try and play a run and gun style with Pittsburgh. Expect them to try and grind down the Penguins with a greasy goal or two to give them a chance for the win.
Globe and Mail: 52+ points or bust. Based on Mirtle’s math the Jets need to simply play .500 hockey for the stretch run to get into the playoffs. Considering they have been playing .600+ hockey over their last 10 games, this shouldn’t prove too tall a task.
USA Today: Buyer or seller? Team-by-team look at trade deadline. Kevin Allen looks at all 30 NHL teams and labels the Jets as neither buyers or sellers but as traders.
Jets affiliate and prospect news:
IceCaps official site: Red-hot Gagnon, O’Dell power IceCaps to victory. Just when it looks like the IceCaps season was over, they start ripping off some wins. The strong play of Eric O’Dell who has scored in six straight games (an IceCaps record) and has recorded 25 goals (also an IceCaps record) is helping propel this team forward although they still have a huge mountain (10 points back of 8th spot) to climb.
NHL.com: Colts down Frontenacs to sweep first-round matchup. Mark Scheifele helped lead his team to a four game sweep in the first-round. He finished last night with one goal and two assists.
Jets opposition (Penguins) news:
Pittsburgh Tribune: Penguins go all in and acquire Jarome Iginla. Before Calgary GM Jay Feaster broke the news that Iggy was off to Pittsburgh it was being reported that Iginla was going to Boston. About 40 minutes after the 1st “official” trade report of Iginla to the Bruins, Feaster held a presser wherein he announced that they had in fact traded Iginla to Pittsburgh. A wild night. The Pens are certainly going all-in to try and win their second Stanley Cup in five years. EA Sports put out this image.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: New defenseman Murray’s game — keep the hits coming. A big rugged presence which will add some sand paper for what many in Pittsburgh expect to be a long post season.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Kris Letang goes on injured reserve. Doesn’t appear to be too serious although he will obviously not be playing tonight against the Jets.
Winnipeg Free Press: The Hart Trophy front-runner Is Sid better than ever? He is playing inspired hockey right now and with the cast of characters around him that GM Ray Shero has provided, should be able to do some significant damage in the post-season. This could be Gary’s best ever ending to one of his columns.
NHL news:
Globe and Mail: Chance at elusive Cup ring deciding factor in Iginla’s move to Pittsburgh. While there appear to be a number of Canadian teams headed for the post-season, you can expect many fans to become quasi Pens fans once their team get eliminated. Much like Ray Bourque did when he left Boston for Colorado, you have to think many NHL fans (aside from those in Philadelphia and Boston) would be happy to see a great ambassador for the game win the Stanley Cup. Eric Duhatschek offers up his thoughts on the move.
Boston Globe: Jarome Iginla deal falls apart. Taking a look at the deal from the Boston perspective.
SI.com: Coyotes on the move? Relocation could throw a wrench in the realignment plans if the Yotes were to move to an Eastern location like Quebec City. While rumours of their demise have been many, the situation cannot remain unresolved any longer. Of course Glendale City Council just hired a new firm to help find Jobing.com a new arena management firm. Might be too little too late in the desert.
Globe and Mail: Geeks no more, ‘capologists’ become integral part of any trade. Interesting to read about the roles many assistant GMs take on with their teams.
Globe and Mail: Eastern conference standings tease ratings gold for the CBC. Four Canadian teams in the East, all with very good chances to make it to the playoffs. Could make for some intriguing 1st round match-ups.
Globe and Mail: Red Wings, Sens lead NHL in games lost to injury. Amazingly both these teams remain in the thick of the playoff race in their respective conferences. A testament to the coaching ability of Mike Babcock and Paul MacLean.
NHL Mid-Week with Illegal Curve Replay:
Replay: Interview with Mike Colligan of The Hockey Writers. Assessing Jacob Trouba’s options (to turn pro, or return to the NCAA). Interview with Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News. The firing of Guy Boucher and hiring of Jon Cooper.
