Post-Game Talk: Pre-season: Jets @ Wild • Sun Sep 27th, 5PM • Xcel Energy Center

[YWGinYYZ]

PRE-SEASON: JETS at WILD


The 2015 pre-season schedule continues tonight as the Winnipeg Jets head south for the
second of two meetings with the Central Division rival Minnesota Wild.

With veterans Blake Wheeler, Mark Scheifele, Drew Stafford, Mathieu Perreault and others having
played last game, and with Bryan Little and Andrew Ladd unavailable due to injury, Head Coach Paul
Maurice will be deploying a younger lineup tonight at Xcel Energy Center.

The team will depart for Minnesota immediately after practice.

"We’re going real young again" Maurice said following Saturday’s practice. "We’re running out of
games here. There are people that worked all summer to want more, either to make the team or get
more ice time. I’d like to get them into the game and give them a chance to do that, to show that
they’ve improved."

After tonight, the Jets will have only three exhibitions games left: Tuesday vs. Ottawa before
finishing up with a home-and-home set with the Calgary Flames, Thursday and Saturday.

Michael Hutchinson will get the start in goal for the Jets and is expected to go the distance
depending on workload and shot volume. Eric Comrie will back up.

The Wild are expected to ice a more competitive roster after having only two team veterans Erik
Haula and Marco Scandella appear in last night’s game in Saskatoon. With Darcy Kuemper going the
distance in goal, it is presumed that either Niklas Backstrom or Devan Dubnyk will get the call
between the pipes. Dubnyk, who had a 27-9-2 record, a 1.78 goals-against average and a .936 save
percentage with five shutouts with the Wild last year, was awarded a six-year, $26-million
contract over the off-season. The 29-year-old has appeared in one pre-season game so far, stopping
24 shots in a 5-2 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets.

The Jets (0-1-2) and Wild (2-1-0) are both coming off losses to the Edmonton Oilers earlier this
week.

Puck drop goes at 5:00pm CT and you can watch the game live on TSN3.

- Ryan Dittrick, WinnipegJets.com

STREAMS

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Audio Streams
TSN 1290 Radio

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[CorgisPer60]

Hoping to see a better game than the last 3. >_>

 

[Aavco Cup]

I auspect no loca media at the morning skate again seems Peta and Scheif are in the linep

 

[SLAYER]

I auspect no loca media at the morning skate again seems Peta and Scheif are in the linep

Petan / Chef / Wheels

would love to see that as a line.

 

[sipowicz]

Petan / Chef / Wheels

would love to see that as a line.

Likewise, Stafford looks like the ugly duckling on the Schief's-Wheeler line. Stafford hasn't even looked like a top 9 this preseason!

 

[Analyst365]

Must win game

 

[SLAYER]

Likewise, Stafford looks like the ugly duckling on the Schief's-Wheeler line. Stafford hasn't even looked like a top 9 this preseason!

I think I would be happy with Stafford on the 3rd line with Burmi and Lowry. Some good puck possession, and Stafford would add a touch of scoring.

 

[Aavco Cup]

How about Petan Scheif Ehlers?

 

[Jetabre]

Must win game

Real test.

 

[SLAYER]

How about Petan Scheif Ehlers?

Would be pretty deadly too. I think Wheels and Chef have a good thing going together though. Glad I'm not the coach, because this year there is a ton of talent to choose from that will be playing.

 

[Gump Hasek]

This preseason GDT needs a musical interlude...




Go Jets Go!

 

[KingBogo]

I think I would be happy with Stafford on the 3rd line with Burmi and Lowry. Some good puck possession, and Stafford would add a touch of scoring.

That works if you are willing to give Ehlers tougher defensive match ups on one of the top 2 lines.

 

[voyageur]

How about Petan Scheif Ehlers?

Bambi needs a big winger still. He can't carry a line physically. He had good possession stats for example with Perrault-Fro last year, but they could not score, too much perimeter play. He scored with Buff, Wheeler and Stafford as wingers. Petan-Scheif-Wheeler, Ladd-Little-Ehlers, Perrault-Lowry-Stafford would be a well rounded top 9. Each line has youth, a vet, and skill.

 

[sipowicz]

Would be pretty deadly too. I think Wheels and Chef have a good thing going together though. Glad I'm not the coach, because this year there is a ton of talent to choose from that will be playing.

Good point Slayer, this probably is the most competitive camp in Jets 2.0 history!

 

[nobody important]

Likewise, Stafford looks like the ugly duckling on the Schief's-Wheeler line. Stafford hasn't even looked like a top 9 this preseason!

Being a veteran, he's just shaking off the rust, and will quickly become more involved in the play when the real season starts.

 

[KingBogo]

Bambi needs a big winger still. He can't carry a line physically. He had good possession stats for example with Perrault-Fro last year, but they could not score, too much perimeter play. He scored with Buff, Wheeler and Stafford as wingers. Petan-Scheif-Wheeler, Ladd-Little-Ehlers, Perrault-Lowry-Stafford would be a well rounded top 9. Each line has youth, a vet, and skill.

That line up would drop Burmi to 4th line center. Not saying it isn't worth considering as it sure would help give the Jets 4 balanced lines. But it does seem unlikely given usage to date.

 

[Aavco Cup]

[nhl]837877[/nhl]

 

[voyageur]

That works if you are willing to give Ehlers tougher defensive match ups on one of the top 2 lines.

Or if it was Perrault instead of Burmi on Lowry's line, coach could easily interchange Burmi and Ehlers, essentially lighting a fire under both for playing time and responsibility.

 

[sipowicz]

Being a veteran, he's just shaking off the rust, and will quickly become more involved in the play when the real season starts.

We've been down that road before: Fehr, Setoguchi, Jokinen, Miettinen, Gagnon, Ponikarovsky....and I believe they all said they were having an off-season or something like that, hope it's not Stafford's fate because the rust those guys had was already affecting the body integrity !?

 

[Mortimer Snerd]

I just realized that the Jets are 0-3 in the preseason and nobody seems to care.
We are a happy and contented lot.

 

[Aavco Cup]

I just realized that the Jets are 0-3 in the preseason and nobody seems to care.
We are a happy and contented lot.

The Oilers are undefeated.

 

[Mortimer Snerd]

The Oilers are undefeated.

And they have scarcely played McD! They are probably going to finish the season undefeated too.

 

[Jetabre]

I just realized that the Jets are 0-3 in the preseason and nobody seems to care.
We are a happy and contented lot.

Well the fashion we lost the game in last time left a bitter taste, but yup it's pre-season I'll hold my negativity until they do that in the regular season.

 

[voyageur]

That works if you are willing to give Ehlers tougher defensive match ups on one of the top 2 lines.

That line up would drop Burmi to 4th line center. Not saying it isn't worth considering as it sure would help give the Jets 4 balanced lines. But it does seem unlikely given usage to date.

I don't think Burmi will be a centre for the Jets. I look at the scrimmage, Copp cleaned him on the draw, puck's in the back of the net. 1st game, Burmi takes defensive zone draw in OT, loses it clean, puck's in the net. That was obviously a red flag for Maurice, because the next day, he announces his top 3 centres are Little, Scheif, Lowry. Copp has been good on the draws for a rook, I don't think he has been under 50%. Lowry looks like he is the ace. Little will be around 48%, book it. I have a strong disagreement with Garrett on faceoffs. I look at almost every playoff team and Cup champ as relying heavily on their centreman, whether it be Toews/Vermette last year, Kopitar/Carter/Stoll, Bergeron/Kelly, Getzlaf/Kesler did us in last year. Throw in perennials like Thornton/Couture, Backes/Stastny, and we need to be in that
realm. Without having guys like Slater or Malhotra who have no other dimensions to their game. I think if Petan moves up, it is probably not a Burmi's expense, unless he really struggles with LL, but Ehlers is moved down to a safer role, with Copp-Thor, and is progressively promoted by merit.

The added bonus of playing a centre with Scheif is that he is protected in the circle, or can be reduced to taking draws only on his strong side

 

[Puckatron 3000]

Very interesting bit on at the end of Maurice's interview, in which he clearly stated he would have no problem playing Petan on the 4th line.