Game Day Set-Up: Islanders @ Jets

When: Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Time: 7:00 p.m. CST

Where: MTS Centre, Winnipeg, Manitoba

Records: Winnipeg Jets (30-26-6, 9th in the Western Conference), New York Islanders (23-32-8, 14th in the Eastern Conference)

Television/Radio: TSN-JETS, MSG Plus/ TSN 1290 Radio

On the Horizon: Thursday, March 6th at home against the Los Angeles Kings (6:00 p.m. CST).

Last Game: 3-1 road win over the Nashville Predators

Top Scorers:

Winnipeg Jets: Blake Wheeler (23 goals, 27 assists, 50 points), Bryan Little (19 goals, 29 assists, 48 points), Dustin Byfuglien (13 goals, 31 assists, 44 points), Andrew Ladd (15 goals, 28 assists, 43 points), Mark Scheifele (13 goals, 21 assists, 34 points)

New York Islanders: John Tavares (24 goals, 42 assists, 66 points), Kyle Okposo (25 goals, 36 assists, 61 points), Thomas Vanek (21 goals, 32 assists, 53 points),  Frans Nielsen (18 goals, 25 assists, 43 points), Andrew MacDonald (4 goals, 20 assists, 24 points)

Game Day Notes:

– Heading into tonight’s game, the Jets sit in 9th place in the Western Conference, two points behind the Dallas Stars for the 8th and final playoff spot. The Jets have played one more game than the Stars.

– The Islanders lost their last game 5-3 to the Florida Panthers on Sunday. New York has only won two of their last 10 games.

– After tonight’s game, the Jets play seven of their next nine games at home.

– Jets forward James Wright is out indefinitely with an ankle sprain and will not play tonight for the Jets. Wright was injured during Saturday’s game versus Nashville. Wright has two assists in 59 games this season. Wright will be replaced in the line-up by Matt Halischuk, who has not played since December 14th (against Dallas)

– New York averages 2.65 goals/game, 17th in the NHL. The Jets average 2.71 goals/game, 15th in the NHL. New York averages 3.35 goals against/game, 30th in the NHL. The Jets average 2.79 goals/against, 19th in the NHL.

-The Islanders average 11.8 penalty minutes/game which ranks 23rd in the NHL. The Jets average 12.0 penalty minutes/game which is 24th in the NHL.

–   Islanders defenseman Andrew MacDonald leads the NHL with 198 blocked shots. Jets defenseman Mark Stuart is tied for 18th in the NHL with 115 blocked shots.

– Who’s Hot: Islanders forward Kyle Okposo has four goals and five assists in his last 10 games. Jets forward Blake Wheeler has six goals and six assists in his last 12 games.

– Tonight marks Paul Maurice‘s 16th game as Head Coach of the Jets. Winnipeg is 11-3-1 under Maurice so far.

Special Teams Breakdown:

– New York has the 21st Ranked Power Play in the NHL (16.5%) and the 29th Ranked Penalty Kill in the NHL (76.9%)

– Winnipeg has the 24th Ranked Power Play in the NHL (14.6%) and the 5th Ranked Penalty Kill in the NHL (84.6%)

Starting Goalies:

– Ondrej Pavelec (20-22-4, 2.90 GAA, .904 Save Percentage)

–  Anders Nilsson (1-3-2, 3.68 GAA, .878 Save Percentage)  

Projected Winnipeg Jets Line Combinations:

Andrew Ladd-Bryan Little-Michael Frolik
Devon Setoguchi-Mark Scheifele-Blake Wheeler
Evander Kane-Olli Jokinen-Dustin Byfuglien
Matt Halischuk- Jim Slater-Chris Thorburn

Zach Bogosian – Tobias Enstrom
Mark Stuart – Jacob Trouba
Adam Pardy – Keaton Ellerby

Ondrej Pavelec
Al Montoya

Healthy Scratches: Anthony Peluso, Paul Postma

Projected New York Islanders Line Combinations:

Thomas Vanek- Ryan Strome- Kyle Okposo
Michael Grabner- Frans Nielsen-Josh Bailey
Anders Lee- Brock Nelson- Cal Clutterbuck
Matt Martin –  Casey Cizikas- Colin McDonald

Brian Strait- Travis Hamonic
Thomas Hickey- Lubomir Visnovsky
Calvin de Haan- Matt Carkner

Anders Nilsson
Evgeni Nabokov

Healthy Scratches:

Injury Report:

New York Islanders: John Tavares (knee)

Winnipeg Jets:  Grant Clitsome (back, out for season), James Wright (ankle), Eric Tangradi (Day to Day)