Jets face shorthanded lineup in crucial homestand opener. Will depleted lines falter against struggling Blackhawks, impacting draft lottery hopes?
The 23-26-10 Winnipeg Jets are set to kick off their season-long, eight-game homestand on Tuesday night against the 23-28-9 Chicago Blackhawks from Canada Life Centre.
The 7:00 PM Central Division showdown will be the first of two March matchups between the two clubs with strong ties to Jonathan Toews, with Winnipeg travelling to Illinois on the 31st to complete the season series.
Photo by Matt Marton/USA Today It is also a test between two of the league's worst teams. With just three points separating teams placed 27th through 31st in the overall standings, Winnipeg's performance against clubs in this point range will matter in the draft lottery rankings come June.
For the Jets, a number of post-Olympic injuries have crept up, with significant depth fill-ins taking their place. Josh Morrissey, Neal Pionk, Nino Niederreiter and Vlad Namestnikov remain out of the lineup, while Colin Miller also remains sidelined with a lower-body injury. He skated with Morrissey in a non-contact sweater on Tuesday.
Winnipeg Jets expected line combinations for Tuesday, March 3 vs. Chicago:
Connor-Scheifele-Vilardi
Perfetti-Lowry-Iafallo
Nyquist-Toews-Duehr
Koepke-Barron-Pearson
Stanley-DeMelo
Samberg-Salomonsson
Fleury-Schenn
Hellebuyck
Injured: Morrissey, Pionk, Niederreiter, Namestnikov, Miller
Healthy Scratch: Heinola