Bahl, who has been averaging 21:18 of ice time this season, was limited to just 10:12 in last night's 5-4 win over the Wild so the pairings in Minnesota were mixed and matched throughout the evening. MacKenzie Weegar (26:03) and Rasmus Andersson (24:30) shouldered the bulk of the ice time but every blueliner saw their duties increased in the absence of Bahl. Daniil Miromanov logged 20:21, Joel Hanley put in 17:30, and Brayden Pachal took on 16:06 of ice time.
"I thought Ras played well tonight, I thought he was engaged, but I thought our whole team was too," was Huksa's post-game assessment of his defence corps. "It had that type of energy to the game, where it was physical, and it seemed like there was a little more of a rivalry between the two teams than you would expect.
"But I thought the guys on the back end did a good job. You lose a defenceman early like that, in the second period, that’s a lot of extra minutes to move around, and I thought they handled it very well."
With the team being on the second half of a back-to-back with an early start time this evening, making sure all five skaters on the ice are playing an efficient game with a strong backcheck will be key against a high-powered Jets crew that lead the league in goals scored this season.
"They have a real solid teams, on both ends of the ice," Huska said of the Jets. "I do think it's important that we do a much better job of being quicker below our goal lines so we can get out of our zone faster. I think it's handling the puck a little less at times - if you don't have a direct option, then not be afraid to live another day if you have to. I think that will be important for us, especially in the first 10 minutes tonight."
The Jets have not announced who they are starting in net tonight but no matter if it's Connor Hellebuyck or Eric Comrie, establishing a strong net-front presence is essential. The Jets have allowed 122 goals this season, which ranks them fourth in the league in the least goals-allowed category, so creating chaos in front of the blue paint and taking away sight lines is key in generating offence.
"We have to go to the net, try to take away his eyes through screens," Martin Pospisil said. "With all the rebounds, it's really hard for the goalies."
Dan Vladar will be in net this evening, which marks his first start since Jan. 14 in St. Louis. In that outing, he posted a .920 save percentage in a 2-1 setback.
The 27-year-old has played one game against the Jets in his career, stopping 40 of 42 shots and posting a .952 save percentage and 2.05 GAA in that matchup in April of 2022.
With no morning skate today, a full Projected Lineup will be published during warmups this evening.
