Winnipeg Jets vs Montreal Canadiens: 2022-23 Game 10 Preview

After completing a three-game road trip, the Winnipeg Jets are finally back on home ice at the Canada Life Centre as they host the Montreal Canadiens tonight. The opening puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m. central time (8:00 p.m. eastern).

Winnipeg comes into this game after a successful road trip. The Jets picked up five out of a possible six points on the trip.

In their last game of the trip against the Vegas Golden Knights, the Jets were heavily outplayed but Connor Hellebuyck stole the show and helped the Jets earn a point in a 2-1 overtime loss. Hellebuyck made an outstanding 46 saves in the loss.

The Winnipeg Jets will look for a more complete game as they take on the Montreal Canadiens

Most would agree that the Jets got lucky that they got a point out of their last game and they will definitely be looking to play on the attack tonight.

In two of the last three games, the Jets have found themselves stuck in their defensive zone for long periods of time and have had few scoring opportunities. This is something Winnipeg will try to change in tonight’s clash versus Montreal.

Montreal comes to Winnipeg for the last game of a four-game road trip. The Canadiens started the road trip well with back-to-back wins, but on Tuesday night they lost to the Minnesota Wild 4-1. This game had an interesting ending after the Canadiens’ 2022 first-overall pick, Juraj Slafkovsky was checked awkwardly into the boards and some fights ensued.

Winnipeg Jets Lineup News

The Winnipeg Jets had many notable absentees at yesterday’s practice including Morgan Barron, Blake Wheeler, Mason Appleton, Pierre-Luc Dubois, and Josh Morrissey.

Out of all of those players, the Jets have only ruled out Morgan Barron in tonight’s all-Canadian matchup.

Also yesterday, the Winnipeg Jets moved Logan Stanley to the injured reserve and recalled Jansen Harkins from the Manitoba Moose. There is a chance we could see Harkins make his debut this evening, but the Jets also have Dominic Toninato available as an option to come in for the injured Barron.

Johnathan Kovacevic Makes His Return to Winnipeg

A former Jets player will make his return to Winnipeg in tonight’s clash, and that player is twenty-five-year-old, Johnathan Kovacevic.

Kovacevic was drafted by the Jets in the third round of the 2017 NHL Entry Draft and joined the Jets franchise at the end of the 2018-2019 season and played in one AHL game with the Manitoba Moose.

The next two seasons, the Grimsby, Ontario native played the next two seasons with the Moose. Then during last season, Kovacevic made his NHL debut and played in three more games with the Jets.

Coming into this season, Kovacevic had appeared in 137 AHL games and had 18 goals, 40 assists, and an outstanding plus-45 plus/minus.

As Winnipeg was making their final roster cuts towards the end of the preseason, they sent Kovacevic to waivers for purposes of assignment to the Moose.

Unfortunately for the Jets, Kovacevic was claimed off waivers by the Canadiens. After being picked up by Montreal, Kovacevic has gone on to appear in all of the Canadiens’ 10 regular season games this year. He has yet to record a point but has a plus-two plus/minus and has averaged 17:48 of ice time per game.

Where to Catch the Game

TV: TSN2, TSN3, RDS

Radio: 680 CJOB, TSN 690, 98.5 FM

Livestream: ESPN+, SportsNet Now (Both out of Market)

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After tonight, the Jets will continue this three-game homestand on Saturday with an afternoon matchup against the Chicago Blackhawks.