Game Day Set-Up: Jets @ Predators

When: Saturday, November 15, 2014

Time: 6:00 p.m. CST

Where: Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, Tennessee

Records: Winnipeg Jets (9-6-2, 20 points, 7th in West), Nashville Predators (10-4-2, 22 points, 4th in West)

Television/Radio: City, FSTN/ TSN 1290 Radio

On the Horizon: Sunday, November 16th on the road against the Minnesota Wild (4:00 p.m. CST).

Last Game: 3-1 win over the Carolina Hurricanes

Top Scorers:

Winnipeg Jets: Blake Wheeler (7 goals, 5 assists, 12 points), Bryan Little (5 goals, 6 assists, 11 points), Andrew Ladd (6 goals, 5 assists, 11 points) Tobias Enstrom (1 goals, 8 assists, 9 points), Zach Bogosian (0 goals, 7 assists, 7 points)

Nashville Predators: Filip Forsberg (8 goals, 12 assists, 20 points), Mike Ribeiro (4 goals, 9 assists, 13 points), James Neal (8 goals, 5 assists, 13 points), Shea Weber (5 goals, 3 assists, 8 points), Roman Josi (2 goals, 6 assists, 8 points)

Game Day Notes:

– The Jets continue their longest road trip of the season tonight with the fourth game of a five game trip. Winnipeg has earned points in nine of their last 10 games (7-1-2). The Jets finish their road trip on Sunday afternoon against the Minnesota Wild in the second game of a back-to-back set.

– Ondrej Pavelec is expected to start in net for the Jets tonight. It will be Pavelec’s 15th start of the season. Pavelec has a record of 7-5-2 with a .928 Save Percentage and 1.99 Goals Against Average. Pavelec has played 876 minutes so far this season, 2nd most amongst goalies in the NHL.

– The Predators and Jets have already faced each other twice this season with each team winning a game (Predators defeated the Jets 2-0 on October 17th while the Jets defeated the Predators 3-1 on November 4th)

– As pointed out by Pete Jensen of NHL.com (@NHLJensen), Jets defenseman Zach Bogosian had 8 assists in 55 games last season while he already has 7 assists in 16 games this season.

– The Jets are allowing an average of 28.2 shots per game which is 7th fewest in the NHL. The Jets allowed an average of 30.1 shots per game last season which was 14th most in the NHL.

– Pekka Rinne is expected to get the start in net for the Predators tonight.  Rinne has started 14 of 16 games for the Predators this season. Rinne has a record of  10-3-1 with a Goals Against Average of 1.98 and a Save Percentage of .928.

– According to Brian Munz of TSN 1290 Radio, Chris Thorburn will replace TJ Galiardi in the line-up tonight.

– Prior to puck drop it was announced that Colin Wilson would be returning to the line-up after missing three games with an lower body injury. Wilson will be replacing Gabriel Bourque in the line-up.

– Predators defenseman Shea Weber averages 27:22 of ice time per game, 4th most in the NHL. Weber’s defense partner Roman Josi averages 26:52 of ice time per game, 5th most in the NHL.

– Jets defenseman Mark Stuart has been credited with 38 blocked shots so far this season, tied for 9th most in the NHL.

– Jets defenseman Dustin Byfuglien averages 2.65 penalty minutes/game, 13th most in the NHL.

– Winnipeg Jets forward Michael Frolik is two points shy of 200 career points.

– Predators Top Face-off Guy: Paul Gaustad (57.4%, 8th in NHL)

– Jets Top Face-off Guy: Jim Slater (57.8%)

– Who’s Under the Microscope for Nashville: Derek Roy. The 31-year-old Ottawa native is still looking for his first goal of the season (no goals, seven assists in 16 games). Roy is currently centering Nashville’s second line and although he has provided a good leadership presence for the Predators, more is expected of him offensively.

– Who’s Under the Microscope for Winnipeg: The Power Play. It’s mind boggling but the Jets have scored only six Power Play goals this year. Since they scored two Power Play goals against the New York Islanders back on October 28th, the Jets have scored just two Power Play goals in their last eight games.

Special Teams Breakdown:

– Nashville PP (14.9%, 21st in NHL), Nashville PK (72.1%, 29th in NHL)

– Winnipeg PP (11.5%, 27th in NHL), Winnipeg PK (88.5%, 3rd in NHL)

Projected Winnipeg Jets Line Combinations:

Evander Kane- Mark Scheifele- Blake Wheeler
Andrew Ladd- Bryan Little- Michael Frolik
Mathieu Perreault- Adam Lowry -Dustin Byfuglien
Matt Halischuk- Jim Slater- Chris Thorburn

Tobias Enstrom- Zach Bogosian
Mark Stuart- Jacob Trouba
Grant Clitsome- Paul Postma

Ondrej Pavelec
Michael Hutchinson

Healthy Scratches: TJ Galiardi, Adam Pardy

Projected Nashville Predators Line Combinations:

Filip Forsberg- Mike Ribeiro – James Neal
Matt Cullen- Derek Roy- Craig Smith
Colin Wilson- Calle Jarnkrok- Olli Jokinen
Eric Nystrom- Paul Gaustad- Taylor Beck

Roman Josi- Shea Weber
Anton Volchenkov- Seth Jones
Mattias Ekholm- Ryan Ellis

Pekka Rinne
Carter Hutton

Healthy Scratches: Gabriel Bourque

Injury Report:

Nashville Predators: Viktor Stalberg (knee), Mike Fisher (Achilles)

Winnipeg Jets:  Anthony Peluso (upper body, IR)