The Jets are projecting a lineup change for Canucks Vs Jets, with Brayden Yager slotted on the second line alongside Cole Perfetti and Dawson Mercer while Nino Niederreiter is scratched. Yager was recalled from Manitoba of the American Hockey League on Thursday, giving Winnipeg a fresh forward option for a game that already has a few moving parts.
That search for the lineup is being driven by the recall itself and by the absences around it. Josh Morrissey will not play because of an upper-body injury and has now missed 12 games, while the projected group also lists Filip Chytil, Thatcher Demko, Tom Willander and Nick Bjugstad among the injured players. Merilainen is expected to start, which makes the forward changes around Yager more notable for a team trying to keep its structure intact.
Scott Arniel said the Jets plan to play Tyrel Bauer at forward for the entire game, even though Bauer opened his first eight games of the season as a defenseman and has already worked both positions in Winnipeg's 5-4 overtime win in Montreal on Tuesday. That flexibility matters because Willander was a late scratch due to a lower-body injury ahead of a 5-4 loss to the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday, then skated in Winnipeg on Thursday but is still not expected to play. The result is a projected lineup that looks more like a patchwork than a finished product, with Winnipeg leaning on a recalled player and a converted skater to cover holes while one regular forward sits out. If the projections hold, Yager gets his chance and Niederreiter stays out, but the final answer will come only when the Jets drop the puck.
