The Winnipeg Jets return home to take on a Calgary Flames team that has been sitting waiting for their return. The Jets have been rolling of late – winning 6 of their last 8 games – but they are looking to rebound after a tough one goal loss to the Minnesota Wild last night.
The Flames are trending in the opposite direction, suffering 6 straight losses. The Flames haven't really been competitive of late. They have allowed four or more goals in four of these six losses and only topped two goals for once. Oof. The Flames are allowing an average of 3.70 goals against per game this season that is the second highest mark in the league. They are out-scoring the Jets this season though, so this may be a high scoring affair.
Regardless of the records coming in, any team can win on any given night. The Jets need to be sharp and they NEED to win. Their division is extremely difficult and the Jets can't afford to giveaway too many of these supposed "gimmie" games.
Keys to the Game
Winnipeg Jets
Rebound! Bounce back! Get back on a winning path. Despite a horrible, horrible, horrible start the Winnipeg Jets rebounded to play a pretty good road game versus a very good opponent last night and they can’t let the loss derail their recent momentum. Get back on track and score some goals. The Flame are prone to allowing em.
Tend to the Goaltender. Not sure who will be starting in goal, but the numbers suggest it should be Al Montoya. Ondrej Pavelec has historcally struggled in back to back games. He stacks losses and it hurts his personal numbers. Please coach, please protect the Pavi!
Win at special teams! The Jets seem to lose the special teams battle pretty much ever night. Their powerplay woes are well documented, but lucky for them the Flames aren’t much better. The teams rank 29th and 23rd respectively on the powerplay. The Flames are equally as stank on the PK. The Flames have the league’s 28th ranked PK and they are allowing 1 goal against on ever four attempts. Let’s go Jets. Pounce!
Calgary Flames
GoaLOLtending. The Calgary flames have a team save percentage of .876% across all situations and .892% at even strength – both numbers are last in the NHL. Goalie talent obviously has something to do with this, but even bad goalies can steal games and the Flames need some steals.
Sven you gonna score some goals? The Flames are light on scoring talent and Sven Baertschi was expected to chip in a bit offensively. His scoring hasn’t been there though. Baertschi only has 1 goal and 19 shots through 17 games played. The Flames could surely use a goal or two from the youngster.
Little Red Riding Hood! Jiri Hudler may be small, but he is playing big. He is hot fire right now. Jiri is tied for 18th in NHL scoring and has been scoring at a point per game pace this season. Hudler’s 20 points has him 7 points ahead of any other Flame. The Flames need to keep riding him. Don’t let a wolf eat him.
Player To Boo Mercilessly
No clue. I can’t name a Flame. Boo em all.
Prediction
7-2 Winnipeg Jets – Why not?
