The Winnipeg Jets make radical changes to forward lines ahead of Saturday contest versus Capitals in hopes of generating a spark following lengthy losing skid.
The Winnipeg Jets have made several changes across the lineup lately to try and generate a spark amid their recent losing skid yet little has worked thus far with the Jets' 6-3 loss to the Boston Bruins on Thursday marking their 12th loss in their last 17 games with things potentially getting worse sooner than later as their upcoming schedule includes difficult matchups against teams like the Capitals, Oilers, Avalanche and Wild.
Jets Colour Analyst Mitchell Clinton reported Friday that Arneil has experimented with more lineup changes, keeping Alex Iafallo on the top unit after his big night Thursday where he scored a nice goal on a solo effort versus Boston's Jeremy Swayman.
Besides the top line, the forwards are going to see several surprising changes ahead of Saturday's contest versus the Capitals with Cole Perfetti teaming up with captain Adam Lowry on the second line with Tanner Pearson on the opposite wing.
In the bottom six, Nino Niederreiter will play his 1,000th NHL game on Saturday and will do so playing with Vladislav Namestnikov and struggling veteran winger Gustav Nyquist on the third line. Finally, Gabe Vilardi is dropping all the way to the fourth line to hopefully keep winger Morgan Barron hot after he scored in Thursday's loss with Jonathan Toews centering the unit.
The Jets are hoping that major shakeups to their forward lines will ignite some energy as they face a Washington team arriving in Winnipeg on a scorching run with a league-leading 10-1-2 stretch over its past 13 outings.
The Capitals have been red hot on offense with a 4.15 goals per game average during their recent surge and will likely test a struggling Eric Comrie, who has battled hard despite tough circumstances, or rookie Domenic DiVincentiis, who would be thrown into a challenging NHL debut much like his Manitoba Moose goalie partner Thomas Milic, who drew the powerhouse Hurricanes in his first start. Winnipeg is simply looking for something to finally click and to secure a badly needed win.
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