Spacek to join Jets for road trip

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This article was published 13/11/2019 (2126 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Winnipeg Jets recalled forward Michael Spacek from the AHL’s Manitoba Moose on Wednesday in preparation for their four-game, eight-day southern road trip.

Spacek, a 22-year-old from Pardubice, Czech Republic, will serve as a depth forward. Should Spacek dress for a game, he would become the fifth player from Winnipeg’s vaunted eight-player 2015 draft class to reach the NHL. Kyle Connor, Jack Roslovic, Mason Appleton and Sami Niku are the others.

Spacek, selected in the fourth round (108th overall) of that draft, has seven points, including three goals, in 14 games with the Moose.

“Spacek is the player whose name was always mentioned as the guy who’s playing really well right now, but (rookie centre David) Gustafsson had been healthy,” Jets head coach Paul Maurice said. “Now we’re going out on an eight-day trip and want to have an extra forward with us, but it’s not a positional need. So we took the guy that had been going very well from the start of the year for them (Moose).”

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No. 2 Jets goaltender Laurent Brossoit has appeared in five games this season, compiling a .858 save percentage and a 4.12 goals-against average in that span.

He hasn’t played since beating the Golden Knights 4-3 in overtime in Las Vegas on Nov. 2 but is due for a start tonight against the Florida Panthers.

Meanwhile, No. 1 man Connor Hellebuyck has regained his form from a breakout season in 2017-18. Hellebuyck’s current numbers include a sparkling .928 SP and a 2.40 GAA, both among the league leaders.

“You know what? The circumstance I’m in right now — Helly’s playing really well and he’s the priority and he’s the main guy,” Brossoit said. “I think it makes sense for them to ride with him. I have a bit less games than I would have liked to start at this point, but it’s all understandable and I get it.”

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Florida has been scoring in bunches lately, including a four-goal outburst Tuesday night in Boston, where the Panthers rallied from a 4-0 deficit after two periods to force overtime and ultimately beat the Bruins 5-4 in a shootout.

Maurice has noticed a major change in the way the Panthers play.

“They would be playing quite a bit faster of an offensive game than in the past, right?” Maurice said. “They do have skill and now it’s starting to move together in the right ways. They’re cleaner, with an awful lot of pucks in terms of their breakouts and their counters…

“So their game gets faster and they have a level of skill, much like our team, they can play at a high rate of speed. They can make those plays. Chances for and against are starting to tilt in their favour and… I can name probably four or five teams in the NHL that I would say if they had a 4-0 lead on you, you weren’t coming back. Boston would be very close to the top of that list.”

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Prior to tonight’s game, Panthers general manager Dale Tallon will hold a media conference to discuss a new position for Roberto Luongo, the former star goaltender who retired following the 2018-19 season. Luongo will serve as a special adviser to the GM.

mike.sawatzky@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @sawa14