As announced Monday by the team, Winnipeg Jets head coach Rick Bowness will remain sidelined after testing positive for COVID last week and will not be behind the bench for Monday's game against the St. Louis Blues. Assistant coach Scott Arniel will once again resume coaching duties in Bowness’ absence.
Bowness first tested positive on October 14, missing the team’s season-opening game against the New York Rangers. He returned from COVID for just one game, a 4-1 loss Saturday against the Toronto Maple Leafs. The veteran head coach was feeling generally unwell Monday and cut his media availability short this morning due to dizzy spells.
The Jets are off to a 2-3-0 start to the season, limited in part due to a crucial injury to Nikolaj Ehlers. The Jets did outshoot the Leafs in Bowness’ lone appearance, but the team overall has scored 12 goals over the course of five games. Arniel will need to focus on sparking depth scoring in his return to interim duties, as no forward outside of the team’s top six not named Sam Gagner has scored this year.
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