Morning Skate Report: Jets vs Avalanche

WINNIPEG - Dylan Samberg knows a thing or two about waiting for an opportunity, and his patience is going to pay off tonight.
The 23-year-old will play his seventh career National Hockey League game tonight as the Winnipeg Jets close out a three-game home stand against the Colorado Avalanche.
"Anytime you get an opportunity to play an NHL game, you're excited for it," said Samberg, who was recalled from the Manitoba Moose yesterday. "I'm looking to make the most of it."
He was patient when waiting for his first NHL opportunity earlier this season. He spent the majority of the 2020-21 season on the taxi squad, then got injured on the first day of training camp ahead of the 2021-22 campaign.
The 6'4", 216-pound defencemen worked his way back to full health and played his first game of the season with the Moose on November 18. He played 16 games before earning a recall to the Jets, and played 17:52 against Detroit in his debut, picking up his first NHL point in a 3-0 Winnipeg victory.
He played six games before he suffered an upper-body injury, which sidelined him again.
Patience may be a virtue, but it can also be frustrating.

"I have a good support group with my family. Then the staff here was behind me, saying that I need to stay positive with it," Samberg said. "The first couple days after the injury were tough. I talked with a bunch of teammates and my family, they said 'it is what it is, nothing you can do about it now, and make sure you work extra hard to get back.'"
He did just that, earning seven assists in 16 games with the Moose since his return from that upper-body injury - and now he's ready to help the Jets against the Avalanche.
"My game is just to keep it simple, play well, play sound defensively, get the puck moving forward, get it to the forwards," said Samberg. "If I can jump in on the offence, jump in."
Samberg's chance comes due to an injury to Logan Stanley on the blue line. Jets interim head coach Dave Lowry says Stanley is dealing with a couple injuries.

In addition to that, captain Blake Wheeler is day-to-day with an upper-body injury he suffered against the Detroit Red Wings on Wednesday.
Winnipeg held an optional skate this morning after holding a full practice yesterday, so Samberg's defensive partner is up in the air.
However, the forward group is expected to look like this without Wheeler available:
Stastny-Scheifele-Ehlers
Connor-Dubois-Svechnikov
Sanford-Lowry-Appleton
Barron-Toninato-Brooks
While the Jets try to cut into the eight-point gap that separates them from the final wildcard spot in the Western Conference, the Central Division leading Avalanche come into the game a rested bunch after a 6-4 win over Pittsburgh on Tuesday.
This is their first game since that night, and Colorado is 8-1-1 in their last 10 games.
"You have to make these guys play 200 feet. You have to tire them out and make them play in their own end," said Lowry. "This isn't a team that just came upon. This is something that has been building and it's taken time.
The Avalanche (50-14-6) have won both meetings with the Jets so far this season. They'll also be without their captain, as Gabriel Landeskog - who has recorded a hat trick in both meetings with Winnipeg this season - won't play as he continues to miss time due to knee surgery.

That's just one name off a list of players the Jets need to keep their eye on however. For example, Mikko Rantanen, who has a tidy 400 points in 400 career games, is another threat. As is Nathan MacKinnon, who has 74 points in 54 games.
"He's motivated athlete that wants to be the best every night. And he wants to be a difference-maker," Lowry said of MacKinnon. "He plays the game at a high pace. He plays the game in the hard areas and he's a competitive guy."
MacKinnon is just the most recent name on a list of high-profile opponents that Samberg gets exposed to each time he plays an NHL game.
His opponents on his six-game NHL resume include Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand, Alex Ovechkin, and Sidney Crosby. Now the all-stars from the Avalanche will get added to that list.
Samberg is ready for it, though.
After all, he's waited a long time for opportunities like this.
"It's very exciting, but I have to stick to my game and try not to focus on what other players are doing," Samberg said. "They're good players, but at the end of the day, we're playing in the same league."
Puck drop is set for 7 pm CT.