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Comrie, Scheifele, Wheeler in for Jets vs. Stars, Healthy Again |
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The Winnipeg Jets will have Mark Scheifele and Blake Wheeler in the line-up after missing some time in the NHL's COVID Protocol. Taking the ice to start their 7-game home stand, the Jets will look to find their fifth win of the season against a Dallas team who are on a three-game losing streak. The biggest news headed into tonight is Connor Hellebuyck's absence. Connor and his wife Andrea had a healthy baby Tuesday morning. Congratulations Connor!
After missing practice yesterday, and with Paul Maurice teasing that their may be a new future Jet or season-ticket holder, a lot of people figured Connor Hellebuyck's baby was born. When Mikhail Berdin was recalled from the Manitoba Moose, it wasn't long after we knew. Eric Comrie will get the start tonight. Comrie is carrying a 1-0-0 record headed into tonight with a .938 save percentage. In his only game, Eric Comrie looked ready to play. While only playing a handful of game over the past few years, he will look to prove his spot in the NHL as a backup goaltender, and hope to play 20+ games this year.
November 2nd/Game #9 Projected Lineup
Stasny-Copp-Ehlers
Connor-Dubois-Svechnikov
Lowry-Scheifele-Wheeler
Toninato-Harkins
Morrissey-Schmidt
Dillon-Pionk
Stanley-DeMelo
Beaulieu
Comrie
Berdin
The forward group seems a bit out of sorts, but this is just due to players returning and getting back into the swing of things. Notably missing from the list is Kristian Vesalainen, who was sent down to the AHL this afternoon, which will just end up being a move for the roster to call up Berdin. This does make it seem as if Vesalainen will be the 12th forward sitting, should Paul Maurice keep 11F/7D with Scheifele and Wheeler back.
As quite a few people pointed out in the comment section of the last article something worth keeping an eye on. That is the TOI for each "line". Though being slotted in on the 3rd line, I expect the switch from ice time to be fairly early, and potentially running a line of either Ehlers-Scheifele-Wheeler or Copp-Scheifele-Wheeler before the half-way point. Obviously, the terms for first, second, and third line, and honestly, sometimes even fourth, aren't all that important, as throughout a game any line can be your best line and do so for 21 minutes, but I expect some relatively even deployment with the top three lines getting 17-20 minutes. Maybe having Lowry with some less minutes, with Toninato and Nash playing Penalty Kill and some rotating minutes, about 8 or 9 minutes each.
The offense has been there with this group, and bringing Scheifele and Wheeler back are fantastic. Though last game only saw the lone goal by Kyle Connor (who if you haven't heard, is on fire lately!) I have no doubt about this teams ability to produce.
On the back end, the team is most definitely settling into the group they are with. Beaulieu has been a real nice subtle piece in his very limited role, and whether you agree with 11F/7D mentality or not, I would say that final spot is being used well. The Jets defense have such a back and forth showcase of transition. Some periods their transition game out of thier own end is world-class, and the next period they can greatly struggle to get the puck past the center line and into the offensive zone. Overall I would say the blue line has been fine, in both ends, but definitely could be better defensively, thinking specifiaclly the two feet in front of their goaltender. A lot of goals have been scored from there.
Let me know your thoughts ahead of tonight's game, and your thoughts after the game. I will have a piece up after the game. If you have and questions you would like answered, let me know below.
Thanks for reading!
By Jacob Billington
Winnipeg Jets Blogger • 
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