Jets drop out of playoff spot

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This article was published 06/01/2020 (2070 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

MONTREAL — The Winnipeg Jets woke up this morning in unfamiliar territory — outside of a playoff spot. Now the ninth-place club in the Western Conference will try to get their heads back above water as they take on the struggling Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre.

Winnipeg (22-16-4) fell below the line on Sunday after Calgary beat Minnesota in a shootout. The Jets trail both the Flames and Edmonton Oilers by a single point, while holding a two-point cushion over the 10th-place Wild and three points up on the 11th-place Nashville Predators.

Coach Paul Maurice is making a couple of lineup changes to the roster that opened the four-game road trip with a 3-2 overtime loss Saturday in St. Paul.

Forward Andrew Copp returns after missing the past eight games with an upper-body injury. He’ll slide into his familiar spot on the third line with Adam Lowry and Mathieu Perreault, taking the spot of Jansen Harkins who will be a healthy scratch. The fourth line of Nick Shore between Mason Appleton and Gabriel Bourque remains intact.

On the blue-line, defenceman Sami Niku draws in for just the second time this season. The offensively minded Niku will take Carl Dahlstrom’s spot on the third-pairing with Anthony Bitetto. Niku made his NHL debut two years ago in Montreal, scoring his first-ever NHL goal.

“It’s pretty special. It means a lot,” Niku said following an optional morning skate. He’s battled three different injuries this season which has limited his playing time, but he’s finally healthy and hoping to make an immediate impact.

“I’m feeling really good. I just need to show that I belong here and play my own game, be good in the d-zone,” he said.

Connor Hellebuyck will make his sixth straight start in net for Winnipeg, which continues the road trip with games Wednesday in Toronto and Thursday in Boston. They’ll face a tough test in a Montreal team desperate for points after going winless in the last five games.

Ilya Kovalchuk will make his Montreal debut after signing a free agent deal with the club last week, going straight to the top line with Tomas Tatar and Phillip Danault, and Winnipegger Dale Weise, who has spent much of the past couple seasons in the AHL, will play his third NHL game of the year, skating on the fourth line.

“They’re a really, really quick team. Really good sticks. And very disciplined in their style,” said Maurice. “That counter-game that they run, they get it going north real fast, and they’ve got lots of confidence to make plays in the offensive zone.”

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @mikemcintyrewpg