Winnipeg Jets Playoff Practice Report

Jets finished off their regular season last night with a 4-2 win over the Canucks to grab ahold of 2nd place in the Western Conference.

Today they were scheduled to have an optional skate as they prepare for game 1 of their round 1 series with the Avalanche which starts on Sunday.

Pre-skate News:

The Jets announced they had assigned back to the Moose the four players they had recalled on Thursday. Interestingly as we were waiting to do media availability one of the four in Collin Delia walked past us in full goalie gear which seemed unusual if he was heading to Texas to join the AHL club of Manitoba.

Checking Twitter the team PR moments earlier had indicated he had been recalled on an emergency basis. The organization usually has a third goalie for playoffs so it seemed likely it was Delia. Head coach Rick Bowness confirmed this when we spoke with him shortly after the announcement.

Optional skate:

Most guys exercised their option but guys like Connor Hellebuyck, Mark Scheifele, Josh Morrissey, Kyle Connor, all of whom didn’t play last night took to the ice today.

No Morgan Barron for game 1:

Head coach Rick Bowness confirmed that Morgan Barron would not be available for the first game against Colorado on Sunday. He wasn’t prepared to name who would come into the lineup for number 36.

Player media:

Coach media:

Topics:

1) Mood around the team.
2) What matters the most with home-ice advantage (1:02)
3) A tough 1st round across the NHL (1:49)
4) Impact of 3rd/4th lines (2:52)
5) How much better they were in making life easier for goalies (3:31)
6) State of defensive structure heading into playoffs (4:21)
7) Areas of strength for the Avs (4:48)
8) Importance of special teams in this series (5:24)
9) Officiating in the first round (5:49)
10) Status of Morgan Barron? (6:44)
11) Who replaces him/how will they make determination? (6:52)
12) Hockey leaving the desert (7:14)
13) Is plan to have Collin Delia as third goalie for playoffs? (9:45)

Up next:

The Jets schedule for the weekend is not yet out. Start your Saturday with all the latest Jets and Moose news in the AM Papers on illegalcurve.com which are available starting at 7 AM CST and then join us at 9 AM CDT for two hours of Jets talk on the Illegal Curve Hockey Show.