The Jets hit a big stumble on Wednesday night losing the Blues in St. Louis which kicked off three straight games against the Central Division. They got shutout for the fourth time already this season which is quite something considering last year they got shutout just once in 82 games. But it symbolizes the lack of secondary scoring that Winnipeg is experiencing. If this team is to have any hope that needs to change right away.
Tonight’s opponent will make that a very difficult task as Colorado is playing much like Winnipeg did last season in that they are running away with top spot in the NHL holding a six point edge over Dallas and nine more than third place Carolina. They are 23 points up on the Jets.
The Avs have a +56 goal differential. The Jets are -2. Those goals must be coming at 5 on 5 as they don’t score very often with the man advantage having the 25th ranked PP. Their PK makes up for it sitting 2nd overall in the NHL.
And if all that doesn’t make tonight’s game almost unwinnable they have not yet lost in regulation at home going 13-0-2 so far this season.
The biggest question for the visitors is what sort of lineup alterations will they make? Have to think one of Haydn Fleury or Colin Miller come in for Luke Schenn on the backend. Similarly will Tanner Pearson draw back into the lineup after sitting as a healthy scratch.
Skate news:
Starts at 12:30 PM CST.
Jets projected lines & D pairs:
Connor – Scheifele – Vilardi
Niederreiter – Namestnikov – Perfetti
Barron – Lowry – Iafallo
Koepke – Toews – Nyquist
Morrissey – DeMelo
Samberg – Pionk
Stanley – Schenn
Hellebuyck
Avalanche projected lines & D pairs:
Lehkonen – MacKinnon – Brindley
Landeskog – Nelson – Nichushkin
Olofsson – Colton – Necas
Kelly – Drury – Kiviranta
Toews – Maker
Manson – Burns
Girard – Malinski
Blackwood/Wedgewood
Based on how they dressed in their last game against the Kraken.
Players media availability:
To follow.
Coach media availability:
To follow.
Odds:
Oddsmakers have Colorado installed as heavy favorites in this matchup, and it’s easy to see why with the Avalanche unbeaten in regulation on home ice. Denver has been a fortress, while Winnipeg continues to sputter offensively and search for consistency this season. The Jets will need a near-perfect road effort to keep pace with an Avs team that pushes tempo and capitalizes quickly on mistakes. If Winnipeg can weather the early pressure, they may hang around, but Colorado’s dominance at Ball Arena and overall form give them a clear edge to dictate the flow of play. For the latest Winnipeg Jets hockey odds, visit NHL betting site Betway.
Up Next:
Puck drop is at 8 PM CST. Be sure to head over to illegalcurve.com following the game for a recap of the action. You can join us on our YouTube channel for the Illegal Curve Post-Game Show around 10:40 PM CST as we discuss and analyze the results of the game.
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