Game Day Set-Up: Jets @ Coyotes

When: Thursday, October 9, 2014

Time: 9:00 p.m. CST

Where: Gila River Arena, Glendale, Arizona

Records: Winnipeg Jets (0-0-0), Arizona Coyotes (0-0-0)

Television/Radio: TSN-3, FS-A/ TSN 1290 Radio

On the Horizon: Saturday, October 11th on the road against the San Jose Sharks (9:00 p.m. CST).

Last Game: 4-1 preseason win over the Calgary Flames

Top Scorers (from the 2013’14 Regular Season):

Winnipeg Jets: Blake Wheeler (28 goals, 41 assists, 69 points), Bryan Little (23 goals, 41 assists, 64 points), Dustin Byfuglien (20 goals, 36 assists, 56 points), Andrew Ladd (23 goals, 31 assists, 54 points), Olli Jokinen (18 goals, 25 assists, 43 points)

Arizona Coyotes: Keith Yandle (8 goals, 45 assists, 53 points), Radim Vrbata (20 goals, 31 assists, 51 points), Mikkel Boedker (19 goals, 32 assists, 51 points),  Shane Doan (23 goals, 24 assists, 47 points), Mike Ribeiro (16 goals, 31 assists, 46 points)

Game Day Notes:

– 2014’15 preseason records: Winnipeg (3-4-0), Arizona (4-2-2)

– The Jets have a record of 3-1-0 in four regular season games against the Coyotes, including two wins last season (5-1 on January 13th and 3-2 (Shootout) on February 27th)

– Jets forward Adam Lowry will make his NHL regular season debut tonight. The 21-year-old forward officially made the Jets opening night 23 man roster on Tuesday. Lowry spent last season playing for the St. John’s Ice Caps of the American Hockey League, registering 17 goals and 16 assists in 64 games. Lowry will wear #17 for the Jets (he was wearing #56 during the preseason).

– On Wednesday the Jets placed forward Eric O’Dell on waivers. O’Dell later cleared waivers and was sent down to the IceCaps. O’Dell had 17 goals and 25 assists in 42 games with the IceCaps last year. O’Dell had 3 goals and 4 assists in 30 games for the Jets last year.

– According to Sarah McLellan, Coyotes beat reporter for Arizona Central, Commissioner Gary Bettman will be in attendance for tonight’s Jets/Coyotes game.

– Who’s Under the Microscope for Arizona: Coyotes forward Sam Gagner. Gagner was acquired from the Tampa Bay Lightning back in June. Gagner will be expected to fill some of the offensive void that was left by Mike Ribeiro (buyout) and Radim Vrbata (free agent).

– Who’s Under the Microscope for Winnipeg: Ondrej Pavelec. It has been well documented how poorly Pavelec played for the Jets last season so a good start to the 2014’15 regular season is critical for the Jets netminder. Fans in Winnipeg are expecting a bounce-back year.

Special Teams Breakdown (from the 2013’14 Regular Season):

– Arizona had the 4th Ranked Power Play in the NHL (19.9%) and the 26th Ranked Penalty Kill in the NHL (79.0%)

– Winnipeg had the 25th Ranked Power Play in the NHL (15.4%) and the 10th Ranked Penalty Kill in the NHL (83.2%)

Starting Goalies:

– Ondrej Pavelec (2013’14 record: 22-26-7, 3.01 GAA, .901 Save Percentage)

– Mike Smith (2013’14 record: 27-21-10, 2.64 GAA, .915 Save Percentage)

Projected Winnipeg Jets Line Combinations:

Evander Kane- Mark Scheifele- Blake Wheeler
Andrew Ladd- Bryan Little- Michael Frolik
Adam Lowry- Matthieu Perreault -Dustin Byfuglien
TJ Galiardi- Jim Slater-Chris Thorburn

Tobias Enstrom- Zach Bogosian
Mark Stuart- Jacob Trouba
Adam Pardy- Paul Postma

Ondrej Pavelec
Michael Hutchinson

Healthy Scratches: Anthony Peluso, Grant Clitsome, Matt Halischuk

Projected Arizona Coyotes Line Combinations:

Mikkel Boedker- Antoine Vermette- Shane Doan
Martin Erat- Martin Hanzal – David Moss
Lauri Korpikoski- Sam Gagner- Rob Klinkhammer
Brandon McMillan- Joe Vitale- BJ Crombeen

Oliver Ekman-Larsson- Zbynek Michalek
Keith Yandle- Michael Stone
Chris Summers- Connor Murphy

Mike Smith
Devan Dubnyk

Healthy Scratches: David Schlemko, Justin Hodgman, Kyle Chipchura

Injury Report:

Arizona Coyotes: None

Winnipeg Jets:  Patrice Cormier (eye)