When: Thursday, April 16, 2015
Time: 9:30 p.m. CST
Where: Honda Center, Anaheim, California
Regular Season Records: Winnipeg Jets (43-26-13, 99 points, 8th in West), Anaheim Ducks (51-24-7, 109 points, 1st in West)
Television/Radio: CNBC,TVA,SN, PRIME/ TSN 1290 Radio
On the Horizon: Game 2 is Saturday, April 18 in Anaheim (9:30 p.m. CST)
Last Game: 5-1 win over the Calgary Flames (final game of regular season)
Top Scorers (Regular Season):
Winnipeg Jets: Andrew Ladd (24 goals, 38 assists, 62 points), Blake Wheeler (26 goals, 35 assists, 61 points), Bryan Little (24 goals, 28 assists, 52 points), Mark Scheifele (15 goals, 34 assists, 49 points), Dustin Byfuglien (18 goals, 27 assists, 45 points)
Anaheim Ducks: Ryan Getzlaf (25 goals, 45 assists, 70 points), Corey Perry (33 goals, 22 assists, 55 points), Ryan Kesler (20 goals, 27 assists, 47 points), Jakon Silfverberg (13 goals, 26 assists, 39 points), Sami Vatanen (12 goals, 25 assists, 37 points)
Game Day Notes:
– Tonight marks the first playoff game for the Winnipeg Jets/Atlanta Thrashers franchise since April 18,2007 (New York Rangers swept the Thrashers in four games)
– Entering the first round of the playoffs, The Jets won 11 of their last 14 games.
– Jets Regular Season Road Record: 20-13-8
– The Jets had a record of 10-8-3 against teams in the Pacific Division during the regular season
– The Anaheim Ducks won all three regular season meetings between the two teams this year (one in the shootout, one in overtime).
– The Jets had a record of 31-2-6 when leading after two periods during the regular season.
– The Jets had a record of 1-20-4 when trailing after two periods during the regular season.
– Anaheim’s Regular Season Road Record: 26-12-3
– The Ducks ranked 9th in the NHL during the regular season in Team Face-off Winning Percentage at 51.6%. The Jets ranked 22nd overall at 48.9%.
– Matt Beleskey led the Ducks during the regular season with 8 game winning goals.
– Sami Vatanen led the Ducks during the regular season with 7 Power Play goals.
– Ryan Getzlaf and Francois Beauchemin have each played 81 career playoff games, most of any player in this series.
– Ondrej Pavelec will start in goal for the Jets tonight. In 50 regular season games, Pavelec had a record of 22-16-8 with a .920 save percentage, five shutouts and 2.28 Goals Against Average. This will be Pavelec’s first career NHL playoff game. Pavelec ended the regular season with three consecutive shutouts against Minnesota, St.Louis and Colorado.
– Jets forward Mathieu Perreault will be a game-time decision for the Jets tonight but he is not expected to play as he continues to nurse a lower body injury. Matt Halischuk will take his place in the line-up if Perreault is unable to go.
– Frederik Andersen will start in goal for the Ducks tonight. In 54 regular season games this season, Andersen had a record of 35-12-5 with a 2.38 goals against average, three shutouts and .914 save percentage. Andersen has seven games of playoff experience.
– Ducks forward Nate Thompson (upper body) did not take the game day skate and will not play tonight. Thompson had five goals and 13 assists in 80 games for the Ducks during the regular season. Rookie Chris Wagner will centre the Ducks fourth line. Wagner, 23, had no points in nine games for the Ducks during the regular season.
– Ducks forward Emerson Etem will play on the team’s fourth line tonight in place of Jiri Sekac. Etem had five goals and five assists in 45 games for the Ducks during the regular season. Sekac was acquired from the Montreal Canadiens in February in exchange for forward Devante Smith-Pelly. Sekac had two goals and five assists in 19 games with the Ducks after being acquired.
– Ducks goaltender John Gibson will not be in the line-up for the Ducks tonight as he continues to nurse an upper body injury. Jason LaBarbera will back-up Andersen tonight.
– Red Hot For the Jets Entering The Playoffs: Mark Scheifele had four goals and six assists in the last 12 regular season games.
– Red Hot for the Ducks Entering the Playoffs: Corey Perry had five goals and three assists in the last 10 regular season games.
– During the regular season, The Ducks averaged 2.78 goals for/game, 11th in the NHL. The Jets averaged 2.72 goals for/game, 16th in the NHL.
– During the regular season, The Ducks averaged 2.70 goals against/game, 20th in the NHL. The Jets average 2.49 goals against/game, 10th in the NHL.
– Defenseman Tyler Myers leads all Jets in ice time, averaging 24:38 of ice time per game.
– Defenseman Francois Beauchemin leads all Ducks in ice time, averaging 22:44 of ice time per game.
– Ducks Top Face-off Guy: Ryan Kesler (56.3%)
– Jets Top Face-off Guy: Jim Slater (59.2%)
Special Teams Breakdown (Regular Season):
– Anaheim PP (15.8%, 27th in NHL), Anaheim PK (81.0%, 15th in NHL)
– Winnipeg PP (17.8%, 18th in NHL), Winnipeg PK (81.8%, 13th in NHL)
Projected Winnipeg Jets Line Combinations:
Andrew Ladd- Bryan Little- Michael Frolik
Drew Stafford- Mark Scheifele- Blake Wheeler
Jiri Tlusty- Adam Lowry- Lee Stempniak
Chris Thorburn- Jim Slater- Matt Halischuk
Tobias Enstrom- Tyler Myers
Ben Chiarot- Dustin Byfuglien
Mark Stuart-Jacob Trouba
Ondrej Pavelec
Michael Hutchinson
Healthy Scratches: Andrew Copp, TJ Galiardi, Eric O’Dell, Jay Harrison, Adam Pardy, Keaton Ellerby
Projected Anaheim Ducks Line Combinations:
Patrick Maroon- Ryan Getzlaf- Corey Perry
Matt Beleskey- Ryan Kesler- Kyle Palmieri
Andrew Cogliano- Rickard Rackell- Jakob Silfverberg
Emerson Etem- Chris Wagner- Tim Jackman
Hampus Lindholm- Francois Beauchemin
Cam Fowler- Simon Despres
Clayon Stoner- Sami Vatanen
Frederik Andersen
Jason LaBarbera
Healthy Scratches: Jiri Sekac, James Wisniewski
Injury Report:
Anaheim Ducks: Nate Thompson (upper body), John Gibson (upper body)
Winnipeg Jets: Grant Clitsome (back surgery, indefinitely), Paul Postma (upper body), Mathieu Perreault (lower body)
