The Jets were off on Sunday but will be back on the ice this morning as they look to show some consistency for the first time in some time following up an impressive win over the Capitals with another this evening against the Senators. Getting MVP goalie Connor Hellebuyck back a week earlier than projected was clearly big for this Winnipeg team as was getting more secondary scoring. Now that the health of the team is back to full, the question is can they get their first back-t0-back win in almost a month?
They’ll face a Senators team that has been on a slide in the Eastern Conference sitting six points back of a playoff spot which means points will be at a premium for a team, like the Jets, who do not want to lose ground. Ottawa comes into the game with the 5th best PP in the NHL but their PK is at the other end of the spectrum in 31st.
Special teams remain a concern for the home team as they have the 12th ranked power play and a penalty kill which has dropped like a stone down to 22nd.
Skate news:
Connor Hellebuyck was back in his usual spot for the second consecutive game. No changes for the Jets which is not surprising given how they played last game.
Jets projected lines & D pairs:
Connor-Scheifele-Vilardi
Niederreiter-Namestnikov-Perfetti
Barron-Lowry-Iafallo
Koepke-Toews-Nyquist
Morrissey-DeMelo
Samberg-Pionk
Stanley-Schenn
Hellebuyck
Senators projected lines & D pairs:
Tkachuk – Stutzle – Zetterlund
Perron -Cozens – Batherson
Amadio -Greig -Giroux
MacDermid – Halliday – Cousins
Sanderson – Zub
Kleven -Spence
Matinpalo -Jensen
Ullmark
Players media availability:
Coach media availability:
Topics:
0:00 How does last game inspire belief in this team?
1:07 What challenges does Ottawa bring
1:57 What makes Ottawa’s Powerplay so dangerous?
2:20 Barron-Lowry-Iafallo line analysis
3:17 Goalie approach now that Hellebuyck has returned
4:10 Barron’s Growth
4:35 Vlad Namestnikov trying to snap a slump
5:10 Logan Stanley finding offence
6:20 Do you see the team going on a bit of a run?
7:19 Limiting Washington’s Offence
8:15 Importance of secondary scoring
Odds:
Oddsmakers favor Winnipeg here, and the Jets will look to take advantage of home ice against an Ottawa team searching for answers. The Senators are just 3-7-1 in their last ten and coming off a loss sealed in the final minute, leaving little margin for error. If Ottawa can settle early, they may keep things close — but Winnipeg’s stability with Connor Hellebuyck back in net could give them the edge at home to control the game’s rhythm. For the latest Winnipeg Jets hockey odds, visit NHL betting site Betway.
Up Next:
Puck drop is at 6:30 PM CST. Be sure to head over to illegalcurve.com following the game for a recap of the action. You can join us on our YouTube channel for the Illegal Curve Post-Game Show around 9:10 PM CST as we discuss and analyze the results of the game.
