Friday night hockey is on tonight in Winnipeg, as the Winnipeg Jets look for their 3rd straight win after a 5-2 win in Winnipeg against the Columbus Blue Jackets. The 12-7-0 Winnipeg Jets are entering game 2 of their current mini 3 game home stand, and tonight they host the Metropolitan Division leading 13-5-2 Hurricanes at Canada Life Centre. These two teams will play again next Friday in Carolina, so tonight will be a an important game for both teams as the NHL league standings continue to be super close despite the season approaching the quarter-season mark.

The injury report for the Jets now has two names. This morning TSN insider Darren Dreger broke the very unfortunate news that Connor Hellebuyck is being shut down so he can have a minor arthroscopic knee procedure. Hellebuyck’s timetable to return will be 4-6 weeks. Haydn Fleury remains in concussion protocol. Fleury should be able to return next week, even if it may be as the Jets 7th defenceman now that the Jets defence is at full health.

The Hurricanes injury report is improving, with only one new name added this week. Frederik Andersen remains out of the lineup (but not on the ESPN injury report as they continue a three-goalie rotation), and Jesperi Kotkaniemi has no timetable for his return after getting injured in a game last weekend. Jalen Chatfield and Charles-Alexis Legault are the other two names listed on the Hurricanes injury report, with both of them still on the injured reserve with undisclosed injuries.

Connor – Scheifele – Vilardi

Namestnikov – Toews – Perfetti

Niederreiter – Lowry – Iafallo

Koepke – Barron – Nyquist

Morrissey – DeMelo

Samberg – Pionk

Stanley – Schenn

Comrie

Milic

The unconfirmed starting goalie is Eric Comrie, who will very likely be making his 6th start of the season. With Connor Hellebuyck out for 4-6 weeks, this with be a chance for Comrie to shine in net, with Thomas Milic recalled from the Moose as the backup. After Comrie’s last successful start, he’s now up to a 4-1-0 record with a 2.60 GAA and a .908 SV%. The rest of the Jets lineup remains unchanged, with the 4th line now being Morgan Barron with Cole Koepke and Gustav Nyquist.

Svechnikov – Aho – Jarvis

Ehlers – Stankoven – Blake

Carrier – Staal – Martinook

Hall – Jankowski – Robinson

Gostisbehere – Walker

Miller – Nystrom

Nikishin – Reilly

Bussi

Kochetkov

The Hurricanes lineup on paper looks like a team full of impactful players from the top to bottom of their lines. Looking at the Hurricanes’ stats through 20 games, every line has contributed, with Sebastian Aho leading the way with 19 points. Seven other Hurricanes skaters have 10+ points. Brandon Bussi is the unconfirmed starting goalie. Bussi has been solid to start the season, and even though he struggled in his last start, he earned the win, improving his record to 4-1-0 record with a 2.60 GAA and a .898 SV%. Comrie and Bussi have very similar stats, so tonight’s game will be a big test for both of them. Bussi continues to be in a competitive three-goalie rotation, and Comrie is suddenly the Jets starting goalie for the next month or so.

There’s several forwards and defencemen that have been on a roll lately for the Jets, but tonight the attention turns to Eric Comrie. Hellebuyck will be out of the lineup for 4-6 weeks, so tonight is the beginning of an extended amount of time where Comrie will be the Jets number one netminder. Thomas Milic (the new backup), has had a great start to the season with the Manitoba Moose, but the 22-year old will probably be used in a limited amount of games while Hellebuyck is out. Comrie has shown before that he’s capable of being a full time NHL backup goalie, and now he’ll have to show that he can play a long stretch of games as the go to netminder for the Jets.

Tonight marks the return to Canada Life Centre for long time Jets forward Nikolaj Ehlers. The Danish winger left the Jets in free agency this summer, and tonight he should warmly welcomed back by fans with a video tribute sometime in the 1st period. Ehlers has found his spot on the Hurricanes 2nd line with Logan Stankoven and Jackson Blake. Although Ehlers scoring touch hasn’t been found yet this season, in 20 games Ehlers has 4 goals and 9 assists for 13 points. Jets fans will have their eyes on Ehlers tonight as he plays his 1st career game against the Jets.

Puck drop in Winnipeg is set for just after 7:00 pm CT. Jets fans will hopefully be able to celebrate a 3rd straight win tonight as the Jets attempt to defeat a highly skilled Hurricanes team. Tonight’s game is poised to be a competitive battle, with several storylines making this game exciting to watch. Stay tuned here at Jets Nation for a recap of the action, as the Jets look to improve to 13-7-0 on the season.