Game Day Set-Up: Sabres @ Jets

When: Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Time: 7:00 p.m. CST

Where: MTS Centre, Winnipeg, Manitoba

Records: Winnipeg Jets (15-10-6, 36 points, 8th in West), Buffalo Sabres (13-16-2, 28 points, 12th in East)

Television/Radio: MSG-B, Bell TV, TSN3/ TSN 1290 Radio

On the Horizon: Friday, December 19th at home against the Boston Bruins (7:00 p.m. CST).

Last Game: 4-1 loss to the Anaheim Ducks

Top Scorers:

Winnipeg Jets: Andrew Ladd (11 goals, 12 assists, 23 points), Blake Wheeler (9 goals, 13 assists, 22 points), Bryan Little (12 goals, 9 assists, 21 points), Dustin Byfuglien (7 goals, 9 assists, 16 points), Michael Frolik (6 goals, 8 assists, 14 points)

Buffalo Sabres: Tyler Ennis (8 goals, 13 assists, 21 points), Zemgus Girgensons (9 goals, 8 assists, 17 points), Drew Stafford (5 goals, 11 assists, 16 points), Matt Moulson (6 goals, 8 assists, 14 points), Brian Gionta (4 goals, 6 assists, 10 points)

Game Day Notes:

– The Jets are 5-2-3 in their last 10 games.

– Jets Home Record: 6-6-2.

– This is the second of two meetings between the Jets and Sabres this year. The Jets defeated the Sabres 2-1 in Buffalo back on November 26th.

– The Sabres defeated the Ottawa Senators 5-4 in a shootout last night.

– The Sabres have won four games in a row and are 7-3-0 in their last 10 games.

– The Sabres have 20 points since November 15 and are only four points behind the Boston Bruins and New York Rangers.

– Sabres defenseman Josh Gorges (undisclosed) will be a game time decision tonight.

– According to Brian Munz of TSN 1290 Radio, Ondrej Pavelec will start in net for the Jets tonight. In 23 games this year, Pavelec has a record of 9-8-4 with a .914 Save Percentage and 2.31 Goals Against Average.

– On Tuesday morning following the team’s practise, Jets Head Coach Paul Maurice announced that defenseman Jacob Trouba will be out of the line-up until February with an upper body injury.

– Grant Clitsome will check back into the line-up in place of Trouba.

– Winnipeg is 5th in the NHL in team goals against (2.29 goals/game). At the end of last year, the Jets were 22nd in the NHL in team goals against (2.82 goals against/game)

– Powering Up: Since November 25th, The Jets are 10-for-31 on the Power Play

– According to Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News, Michal Neuvirth will start in goal for the Sabres tonight. In 11 games this season, Neuvirth is 3-6-1 with a .920 save percentage and 2.87 Goals Against Average.

– On Monday, the Sabres called up Mikhail Grigorenko from the Rochester Americans of the American Hockey League. He will play tonight on the team’s second line with Brian Flynn and Brian Gionta. The 2012 1st round pick (12th overall) has seven goals and 12 assists in 27 games for Rochester this year.

– Milestone Watch: Chris Thorburn is two points shy of 100 career points.

– Red Hot: Bryan Little has four goals and two assists in the last five games.

– Defenseman Tyler Myers leads all active Sabres in ice time, averaging 25:38 of ice time per game.

– Sabres Top Face-off Guy: Cody Hodgson (47.1%)

– Jets Top Face-off Guy: Jim Slater (54.8%)

– Who’s Under the Microscope for Buffalo: Marcus Foligno. Foligno comes into Winnipeg riding a three-game points streak.

– Who’s Under the Microscope for Winnipeg: Ondrej Pavelec. After Hutchinson’s rough start last game against Anaheim, Jets fans want to see if Pavelec is ready to truly prove he is the team’s Number-1 goaltender again.

Special Teams Breakdown:

– Buffalo PP (8.0%, 30th in NHL), Buffalo PK (79.6%, 20th in NHL)

– Winnipeg PP (15.4%, 23rd in NHL), Winnipeg PK (84.3%, 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
Mark Stuart- Paul Postma
Grant Clitsome- Adam Pardy

Ondrej Pavelec
Michael Hutchinson

Healthy Scratches: Julien Brouillette, TJ Galiardi

Projected Buffalo Sabres Line Combinations:

Matt Moulson- Zemgus Girgensons- Tyler Ennis
Brian Flynn- Marcus Foligno- Brian Gionta
Nicolas Deslauriers- Mikhail Grigorenko- Drew Stafford
Chris Stewart- Cody Hodgson- Patrick Kaleta

Tyler Myers- Andre Benoit
Rasmus Ristolainen – Nikita Zadorov
Tyson Strachan- Andrej Meszaros

Michal Neuvirth
Jhonas Enroth

Healthy Scratches:

Injury Report:

Buffalo Sabres: Cody McCormick (lower body), Mike Weber (knee, IR), Josh Gorges (undisclosed), Torrey Mitchell (lower body)

Winnipeg Jets:  Tobias Enstrom (lower body, Injured Reserve), Zach Bogosian (lower body), Jacob Trouba (upper body)