Game 38: Winnipeg Jets vs Detroit Red Wings pre-game report

The Jets woke up on the final day of the year and found themselves in last place in the entire NHL after the Hawks picked up a point last night. While Winnipeg has games in hand on a few teams the fact is this team is in dire straights and find themselves seven points back of the final wild card spot. Quite the fall from grace for the team that won the Presidents’ Trophy last year.

There are a ton of storylines ahead of this game. It will be the first time that Jonathan Toews faces off against Patrick Kane (in the NHL) since the two were teammates in Chicago for 16 seasons. It will also be the second time Mason Appleton ever faces his old team. First time was when he was with Seattle after being selected in the expansion draft and now tonight after signing with Detroit over the summer. And then you add in former Jets Andrew Copp and Ben Chiarot. A pair of Jets in Kyle Connor and Connor Hellebuyck are from Michigan.

Nostalgia storylines aside this is currently a David vs Goliath match-up since the last place Jets will go up against the first place in the Atlantic (second in the Eastern Conference) Red Wings. Detroit are 7-3-0 in their last ten games with a 13-7-1 record at home. Probably the most notable thing about them as a first place team is they have a negative goal differential (-4). They have the 6th best PP in the league and the 16th ranked PK.

Skate news:

As per Jets radio colour analyst Mitchell Clinton no changes expected today for Winnipeg.

Jets projected lines & D pairs:

Connor-Scheifele-Vilardi
Perfetti-Namestnikov-Iafallo
Barron-Lowry-Pearson
Niederreiter-Toews-Nyquist

Morrissey-DeMelo
Samberg-Pionk
Stanley-Schenn

Hellebuyck

Wings projected lines & D pairs:

Finnie-Larkin-Raymond
DeBrincat-Copp-Kane
Rasmussen-Compher-Appleton/Soderblom
Kasper-Danielson-JVR/

Edvinsson-Seider
Chiarot-ASP
Johansson-JBD

Gibson/Talbot

The lines and D pairs come via Ansar Khan who writes for MLive.com from yesterday’s Wings practice. Worth noting he had John Leonard on the 4th line but Detroit sent him down after skate to Grand Rapids.

Coach media availability:

To follow.

Odds:

Detroit holds the edge at home, backed by their strong standing near the top of the East. Winnipeg faces a tough road test as the league’s lowest-ranked team, making this a matchup that favors the Red Wings on paper. For the latest Winnipeg Jets hockey odds, visit NHL betting site Betway.

Up Next:

Puck drop is at 5:30 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 8:10 PM CST as we discuss and analyze the results of the game.