After a season lengthy 4 recreation shedding streak in late November/early December, the Winnipeg Jets have righted the ship by going 4-1-1 of their final 6 contests. Most not too long ago, a tough working Montreal Canadiens workforce examined the Jets’ resolve however in the end Habs’ penalties ended up offering the trail for Winnipeg to achieve the higher hand.
The True North franchise is coming off two days of relaxation, one thing that hasn’t occurred regularly for the Peggers this season. In truth, that is solely the third such break the Jets have acquired…and that features their week lengthy vacation only a week into the 2024-25 NHL marketing campaign. In order that allowed the gamers to relaxation up and heal these bumps & bruises, whereas additionally permitting head coach Scott Arniel to get some follow time in along with his squad.
GM Kevin Cheveldayoff additionally acquired a little bit of enterprise achieved at present by signing latest draft choose Kevin He to his entry stage deal. The 4th spherical choose has exploded offensively this season as he has 43 pts in 29 video games in 24-25 after amassing simply 53 pts in 64 video games final 12 months. His gritty, excessive vitality type of play might fill a a lot wanted function with the Jets sooner or later…so better of luck to Kevin as he continues his path to the NHL.
After beginning off the 12 months with 9 straight losses (together with a 8-3 loss to the Jets), the San Jose Sharks have been enjoying significantly better hockey currently. Not that it has resulted in an enormous quantity of wins coming their manner, because the Sharks have a 5-5-0 document over their final 10 video games. Extra not too long ago, San Jose has gone 1-4-0 however for almost all of these losses the Sharks have been inside a purpose of tying the sport up (3 out of 4).
Right here is how PuckPedia is predicting the coaches to line up their gamers for this late night time conflict in California:
The Winnipeg Jets are coming in with a 22-9-1 document, which is nice sufficient to put them atop the NHL standings (although a few of the groups proper behind them have video games in hand). No modifications to the Jets’ lineup is predicted, with each Nikolaj Ehlers & David Gustafsson nonetheless thought-about day-to-day. The excellent news is that Fly has shed the non-contact jersey and should make his return as early as tomorrow in Anaheim. Sadly, Winnipeg’s finest defensive defenseman Dylan Samberg will take longer to get again into the lineup, with the present timeline placing his potential return in January.
I haven’t seen an official starter named for the Jets, however with back-to-back video games on the schedule each Connor Hellebuyck (.926%) and Eric Comrie (.901%) will get into motion in California. Yesterday’s follow suggests Bucky can be within the crease. Winnipeg’s high level getters this 12 months have been Kyle Connor (38 pts), Mark Scheifele (34), Josh Morrissey (30), Nikolaj Ehlers (25), Gabriel Vilardi (24), & Neal Pionk (24).
The San Jose Sharks (11-17-5) are on the reverse finish of the spectrum, holding onto the NHL’s sixth worst document. On paper this may very well be a problematic match for the Sharks, as they’ve allowed the 2nd most targets in opposition to this 12 months whereas the Jets have scored probably the most. The house workforce can be coping with accidents, as Logan Couture, Klim Kostin, & Marc-Edouard Vlasic are on the shelf.
San Jose is getting some good offensive manufacturing from pending UFA Mikael Granlund (32 pts), 22 yr previous William Eklund (25), Fabian Zetterlund (22), Jake Walman (22), former Jet Tyler Toffoli (20), and 18 yr previous Macklin Celebrini (20). Their goaltending alternatively hasn’t been very spectacular and I doubt their latest acquisition of Alexandar Georgiev (.873%) will assist repair that situation.
Right here is how the workforce’s examine head-to-head primarily based on this season’s stats, plus ESPN’s take a look at the masked males:
As you possibly can see, the Winnipeg Jets ought to have an enormous benefit within the crease over the San Jose Sharks, whereas additionally holding an enormous benefit in targets scored/allowed. Now that you’ve all the knowledge to make an knowledgeable prediction, lets hear them within the remark part!!
Will Nikita Chibrikov explode with a multi-point recreation after being shut off the scoresheet for the primary time in his NHL profession? Maybe the Adam Lowry line will crash the crease to pop in one other well timed purpose? Possibly Kyle Connor, Mark Scheifele, & Gabriel Vilardi can be key gamers at even power and on the powerplay?
It’s going to be a late one, people…..so attempt to sneak in a cat nap (whether or not you’re working at present or not 😉 ) someday at present with the intention to keep awake to look at one other Jets’ victory tonight…
Go Winnipeg!!!!!
