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Jets Depth tested with Bogosian Out |
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Jets Depth Tested again with Bogosian Out.
It's not uncommon for Zach Bogosian to face injury, he's missed 59 of the last 212 games. His struggles with his wrist resulting in surgery after the 2011-12 season are well known but what continues to ail him?
One thing that is not uncommon with hockey players is their commitment to fitness and conditioning and Bogosian is no stranger to this. From an early age he traveled from his home in upstate New York to trainers around Ottawa as part of his junior development. He's been at this a long time and despite being young and in his mid-twenties his body may be showing the signs of wear and tear.
The result for the Jets with this latest injury to Bogosian is their depth is tested again and what we will see line up tonight is far from reassuring. It's a reminder that the future for the Jets cannot come soon enough for fans who want to see the likes of Morrissey, Petan and Ehlers finally arrive and fill the holes in this roster. That time is a ways off unfortunately.
Tonight the Jets face the Islanders in Nassau and look to build on a big OT win vs Colorado from Sunday. It's a tall task for a team that faces having a top pairing defender out as well as Evander Kane. The good news is Kane looks to be back soon, but probably not on this road trip if you believe Paul Maurice.
So how does this all shake down for the Jets? It puts more pressure on Ondrej Pavelec, the starting goalie tonight for Winnipeg. Pavelec did what he's paid to do on Sunday, keeping his team in the game when they need it, and it would appear he's going to have to do the same tonight. That task seems like a tall order as Pavelec has yet to put back-to-back consistent games or wins, but neither have the skaters in front of him.
Road trips after some adversity can be helpful for teams. Bonding on the road can be that magic elixir that brings guys together to be the sum of their parts. To date Jets fans and coaches have not seen the sum of the parts that have been assembled for the 2014-15 season. Nothing consistent has happened yet the party line from players still exists as they preach Maurice's mantra about defensive awareness. Will a road trip make them act as much as they preach?
The movement towards consistency became that much harder without Bogosian, not because he provides such dynamic play, but because there is no depth to fill that void. Does Trouba move up to play with Enstrom? Pardy draws in and the defense looks like this:
Enstrom Trouba
Stuart Clitsome
Pardy Postma
That's not very reassuring against a team that has scored more than double Winnipeg's 15 goals this season. The Islanders also feature one of the most dynamic and exciting players in the game with John Taveres. In fact they are the poster child team for how to build through draft picks and trades with key value FA acquisitions, at least if you look at the last year. While no one would suggest using the Islanders as a model over their time lines of ineptitude they are showing the results of something. Whether that's a plan or luck or a bit of both the Islanders are a team Jets fans should hope Chevy can build and create. Tonight they get to measure themselves agains the Long Islanders and see if they are close. Sadly we can probably guess how most fans feel without even playing the game.
Winnipeg Jets Blogger •Winnipeg Jets Writer • 
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