Game Day Set-Up: Jets @ Wild

When: Saturday, December 27, 2014

Time: 6:00 p.m. CST

Where: Xcel Energy Center, St. Paul, Minnesota

Records: Winnipeg Jets (18-10-7, 43 points, 6th in West), Minnesota Wild (16-13-3, 35 points, 10th in West)

Television/Radio: City, FS-N/ TSN 1290 Radio

On the Horizon: Monday, December 29th at home against the Minnesota Wild (7:00 p.m. CST).

Last Game: 5-1 win over the Chicago Blackhawks

Top Scorers:

Winnipeg Jets: Andrew Ladd (11 goals, 14 assists, 25 points), Blake Wheeler (10 goals, 15 assists, 25 points), Bryan Little (13 goals, 10 assists, 23 points), Dustin Byfuglien (8 goals, 11 assists, 19 points), Mark Scheifele (6 goals, 13 assists, 19 points)

Minnesota Wild: Zach Parise (13 goals, 14 assists, 27 points), Jason Pominville (7 goals, 14 assists, 21 points), Ryan Suter (1 goal, 21 assists, 22 points), Thomas Vanek (5 goals, 15 assists, 20 points), Nino Niederreiter (13 goals, 4 assists, 17 points)

Game Day Notes:

– The Jets are 6-1-3 in their last 10 games.

– Jets Road Record: 10-4-4.

– The Jets have scored the first goal 13 out of the last 16 games.

– The Jets have scored the third fewest goals in the Western Conference (88).

– The Wild are 5-6-3 in their last 13 games. Minnesota is 2-3-3 in their last 7 games at home.

– This is the second of five meetings between the Jets and Wild this year. The Wild defeated the Jets 4-3 (overtime) back on November 16th in Minnesota. The Jets and Wild will meet again in Winnipeg in just two days (December 29th).

– Jets forward Mathieu Perreault is on an eight game points streak (five goals, four assists).

– Jets forward Mark Scheifele has three goals and six assists in the last six games.

– According to Michael Russo of the Minneapolis Star Tribune, Darcy Kuemper will start in net for the Wild tonight. In 23 games this season, Kuemper has a record of 11-10-3, 2.64 Goals Against Average and .901 Save Percentage.

– According to Russo, Wild forward Jason Zucker is sick and will not play tonight. Zucker,22, has twelve goals and four assists in 32 games this season.

– According to Paul Wiecek of the Winnipeg Free Press, Michael Hutchinson will start in net for the Jets tonight. In 13 games this year, Hutchinson has a record of 8-2-2 with a .944 Save Percentage and 1.67 Goals Against Average

– **Late Breaking News: According to Michael Russo, Wild goalie Nicklas Backstrom was placed on Injured Reserve prior to game time (stomach virus) and John Curry was recalled from the Iowa Wild of the American Hockey League and will start as Darcy Kuemper was sick prior to game time (courtesy Chad Graff of the Pioneer Press)

– Milestone Watch: Jets defenseman Paul Postma needs to play 7 more games to reach 100 career games played.

– Milestone Reached: Chris Thorburn registered his 100th career point during the 5-1 win over the the Chicago Blackhawks.

– Defenseman Ryan Suter leads all Wild in ice time, averaging 29:36 of ice time per game.

– Wild Top Face-off Guy: Mikko Koivu (55.6%)

– Jets Top Face-off Guy: Jim Slater (55.6%)

– Who’s Under the Microscope for Minnesota: Mikael Granlund. Other Wild forwards have struggled this season but perhaps none more than the 22-year-old Finnish centre. Granlund has three goals on the year and has not scored a goal since November 28th (9 games). The Wild need more offensive production from the 2010 9th overall pick.

– Who’s Under the Microscope for Winnipeg: Evander Kane. After scoring in back-to-back games, Kane has no points in his last two games. Will Kane’s disappointing season continue? As always, #9 will get a lot of attention in Minnesota.

Special Teams Breakdown:

– Minnesota PP (14.2%, 26th in NHL), Minnesota PK (86.6%, 4th in NHL)

– Winnipeg PP (15.6%, 22nd in NHL), Winnipeg PK (85.1%, 8th in NHL)

Projected Winnipeg Jets Line Combinations:

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

Ben Chiarot- Dustin Byfuglien
Adam Pardy- Paul Postma
Jay Harrison- Grant Clitsome

Michael Hutchinson
Ondrej Pavelec

Healthy Scratches: Julien Brouillette, TJ Galiardi

Projected Minnesota Wild Line Combinations:

Zach Parise- Mikael Granlund- Jason Pominville
Nino Niederreiter- Mikko Koivu- Charlie Coyle
Matt Cooke- Erik Haula- Thomas Vanek
Ryan Carter- Kyle Brodziak- Justin Fontaine

Ryan Suter- Jonas Brodin
Marco Scandella- Jared Spurgeon
Justin Falk- Stu Bickel

John Curry
Darcy Kuemper

Healthy Scratches: Nate Prosser, Christian Folin

Injury Report:

Minnesota Wild: Niklas Backstrom (illness), Keith Ballard (concussion), Josh Harding (illness), Jason Zucker (illness)

Winnipeg Jets:  Tobias Enstrom (lower body, IR), Zach Bogosian (lower body), Jacob Trouba (upper body, IR), Mark Stuart (lower body)