Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 28/02/2013 (3747 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

WINNIPEG Jets backup goalie Al Montoya, who did work out with the team during the recent five-game road trip, has been declared fit for action. He suffered a lower-body injury Feb. 12 vs. Philadelphia.

Jets right-winger Antti Miettinen remains day-to-day after being hit with a puck in the privates Sunday in New Jersey.

Defenceman Toby Enstrom, who has missed six games because of a shoulder injury, was reportedly feeling significantly better Wednesday and coach Claude Noel said Enstrom may resume skating in the coming days, though he remains week-to-week.

SWITCH-UP: With Montoya ready, the Jets returned goalie Eddie Pasquale to the AHL’s St. John’s IceCaps on Wednesday. Pasquale didn’t see any action during his recall.

Defenceman Julian Melchiori, recalled last week, also didn’t see any action and was returned to St. John’s. Derek Meech was recalled from the IceCaps to be the team’s seventh defenceman.

TIES ARE REAL: Devils goalie Johan Hedberg is the likely starter tonight against the Jets.

The 39-year-old Swede was a Manitoba Moose favourite during the 2000-01 season.

His excellent play that season under coach Randy Carlyle was a springboard to his first NHL opportunity with the Pittsburgh Penguins.

“That meant the world to me,” Hedberg said of that Moose season. Since that time, Hedberg’s only other minor-league action was two conditioning games he played for the Moose (2003-04) while a member of the Vancouver Canucks.

“The fans were great,” Hedberg said. “This is one of the top two places where I had the most fun playing.”

TOUGH TO DO: The Jets’ recent success, four wins in their last five on the road, has little to do with special teams.

Winnipeg has just one power-play goal to show for its last 10 games. One helping factor on the road trip was that the team was perfect on the penalty kill in the four recent games it won.

Still, the Jets are one of three teams languishing when it comes to special teams this season.

Winnipeg (30th PK, 22nd PP), Colorado (22nd PK, 25th PP) and Carolina (25th PK, 21st PP) are in the bottom 10 of both special-teams categories.

tim.campbell@freepress.mb.ca