Jets taking precautions to not trigger the Avalanche

By: Jason Bell Posted: 1:10 PM CST Thursday, Feb. 14, 2019

Paul Maurice won't mess with success tonight as he utilizes the same Winnipeg Jets lineup that has produced two consecutive NHL victories.

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Paul Maurice won't mess with success tonight as he utilizes the same Winnipeg Jets lineup that has produced two consecutive NHL victories.

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This article was published 14/02/2019 (2397 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Paul Maurice won’t mess with success tonight as he utilizes the same Winnipeg Jets lineup that has produced two consecutive NHL victories.

The Jets head coach has pencilled in goalie Connor Hellebuyck to start against the floundering Colorado Avalanche at Bell MTS Place. Game time is 7 p.m.

Defenceman Dmitry Kulikov (upper body) and forward Nic Petan will be spectators.

Tyler Myers is considered day-to-day with a lower-body injury. (Trevor Hagan / Free Press files)

The Jets are coming off victories over the Buffalo Sabres and New York Rangers. Winnipeg (36-18-3) leads the Central Division — four points ahead of the Nashville Predators with two games in hand — and is tied with the San Jose Sharks atop the Western Conference

The Jets have a point in each of their past nine games at home (8-0-1).

The Avs, who shared the lead in the Central as recently as the first week of December, haven’t won in their last eight games (0-5-3) and have fallen four points below the playoff line. They got thumped 5-2 by the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday and lost three straight times in overtime before that.

“They’ve got world-class players there. They’ve got lots of frustration and yet they’re right there,” cautioned Maurice. “So, all it’s going to take is one period, of one game and they catch fire and the pressure comes off and now you’ve got a problem. This is a really good team.”

Defenceman Tyler Myers said taking Colorado lightly would be a big mistake.

“It’s just like any other game at this time of year. We know they’re going to come in hard. (They’re) going through a tough stretch right now so we know they’re going to be a desperate hockey team. We need to make sure we’re up to our level and playing with a little bit of consistency,” he said.

Winnipeg wraps up a three-game homestand Saturday when the Ottawa Senators visit.

The NHL trade deadline is Monday, Feb. 25 and there’s been plenty of speculation the Jets are keenly interested in a couple of Senators forwards, most notably Matt Duchene and Mark Stone, a Winnipegger.

Tonight, Ottawa general manager Pierre Dorion, assistant-GM Peter MacTavish and chief scout Jim Clark are on the list to attend Bell MTS Place tonight.

The expectation is they’ll stick around town to see the Manitoba Moose play the Chicago Wolves on Friday, with the Jets and Sens battling the next night.

jason.bell@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @WFPJasonBell