Winnipeg Jets: Three Talking Points as the Jets Beat Montreal 4-2

2. The Jets Adjust Without Blake Wheeler

The big news coming into this contest was that Winnipeg Jets’ captain, Blake Wheeler would be out indefinitely with a concussion.

Before this game, the Jets had not made a change to their lineup in weeks, but yesterday they were forced to reshuffle their lines due to the absence of Wheeler.

Paul Maurice and the Jets coaching staff decided to dress Jansen Harkins in Wheeler’s lineup spot and reshuffle every line except the “first line.”

Andrew Copp moved up to Wheeler’s spot on the wing alongside Pierre-Luc Dubois and Paul Stastny and Jansen Harkins was inserted on the fourth line with Nate Thompson and Trevor Lewis.

Mathieu Perreault then was promoted to the wing on the Jets’ third line with Adam Lowry and Mason Appleton.

These line changes were similar to the ones that the Jets made earlier this season when they traded for Dubois and he was in mandatory quarantine. To fill the vacant hole in the top-six, the Jets moved Copp up to the vacant spot, while moving Perreault up the depth chart and also inserting Harkins into the lineup.

It is fair to say that last night’s lines are somewhat familiar to the Jets and they worked well as the Jets picked up both points yesterday.

The Jets have seldom made lineup changes throughout this season and I think we will see these newly formed lines for the foreseeable future until Wheeler returns.