The Winnipeg Jets face uncertainty as they gear up to face the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday night as they seek to win two straight.
The Jets will unfortunately miss Josh Morrissey for the third straight game, so the defensive rotation must step up again. They did just that in Tuesday night’s three-goal win over the Minnesota Wild. That must be the case again against Chicago.
Despite scoring five goals in their win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday, the Hawks remain one of the league’s most stagnant teams offensively. If the Jets‘ rotation holds and the forward groups provide help, likely starting goaltender Stuart Skinner should enjoy another great outing.
Skinner has a 3-0-1 record through four starts, a .750 quality starts percentage, a .917 save percentage, and a 2.47 GAA. Should Winnipeg keep stifling opponents in the second and third periods, Skinner should benefit.
Winnipeg Jets Projected Lines And Pairings Against Chicago
Besides Morrissey missing the action on Thursday night, Jets coach Scott Arniel faces a big lineup decision.
This one is regarding Vlad Namestnikov. Per NHL.com, “Namestnikov is a game-time decision after he fell into the boards during the morning skate. If he can’t play, Lambert will take his spot.”
Namestnikov’s status is one to watch as the late afternoon and evening hours tick by.
As for the projections, Kyle Connor, Mark Scheifele, and Cole Prefetti look like they will make up the first line. Nino Niederreiter, who the Jets brought back into the lineup on Tuesday night, appears to be keeping his spot on the second line with Viggo Björck and Gabriel Vilardi.
Isak Rosen looks like he’s staying on the third line, with Adam Lowry and Alex Iafallo joining him. Namestnikov, Morgan Barron, and Cole Koepke are on the projected fourth line. But again, it’s still wait-and-see with Namestnikov.
Mario Ferraro and Neal Pionk, and Dylan Samberg and Dylan DeMelo appear to be on the first two pairings. On Tuesday night, all four of them skated between 21:40 and 24:06. Last Friday, three of the four skated between 19:58 and 22:06, while Pionk skated for 25:02. Overall, these four have mostly been skating similar minutes.
For the third pairing, Hadyn Fleury is projected to line up alongside Jack St. Ivany. That likely leaves Tyrel Bauer as the scratch. Elias Salomonsson is on the mend but remains on the injured list. Meanwhile, Garrett Brown and Walker Duehr remain on injured reserve.
Jets’ Lineup Uncertain In Upcoming Road Tilt
Despite uncertainties facing the Winnipeg Jets’ lineup, the upside is that they are 2-0-0 on the road. Both wins came on a back-to-back against the Detroit Red Wings and Pittsburgh Penguins in 3-2 thrillers.
Given Winnipeg’s track record so far on the road this season, the Jets should skate into Chicago and give the Blackhawks a hard time. That said, Winnipeg’s defense must remain stingy while Kyle Connor, Cole Perfetti, and Co. go to work.
The Jets and Blackhawks will face off at 8:00 p.m. EDT in this early-season Central Division showdown.
Winnipeg Jets’ Lineup Uncertain Ahead Of Blackhawks Clash