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No Myers, no Stuart - and of course, no Trouba -- for Jets tonight

Winnipeg Jets v Minnesota Wild

ST PAUL, MN - OCTOBER 15: Head coach Paul Maurice of the Winnipeg Jets looks on during the game against Minnesota Wild on October 15, 2016 at Xcel Energy Center in St Paul, Minnesota. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)

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Winnipeg’s defense will be undermanned this evening when it hosts the Capitals at MTS.

Already without the services of Jacob Trouba -- who, as you may have heard, is embroiled in a contract dispute -- the Jets will also be without Tyler Myers (day-to-day, lower body) and Mark Stuart (ditto), per the Winnipeg Sun.

To partially fill the void, Julian Melchiori has been recalled from AHL Manitoba.

Considered to be one of the club’s deepest positions last season, the defense has really thinned out this year. Winnipeg has leaned heavily on Dustin Byfuglien (averaging a whopping 28:36 TOI per game), while Myers and Tobias Enstrom are both over 23 a night.

Why?

Well, Trouba’s absence is a big reason, as is the integration of former first-round pick Josh Morrissey. The 21-year-old has been a lineup fixture thus far, but has seen his ice time managed by head coach Paul Maurice (Morrissey is averaging around 17-and-a-half per).

As for the rest of the blueline? Stuart, Paul Postma and Ben Chiarot have largely rounded it out, but have been used sparingly. None of them average more than 13 minutes a night.

Add it all up, and the Jets face a tall order tonight in Washington. The Caps got off to an uneven start this year but have rebounded recently with back-to-back wins in Vancouver and Calgary, where they found the back of the net a combined eight times.