Nikolaj Ehlers was in a fight against the Avalanche’s Tyson Barrie last Saturday, and a few of his fellow players poked a bit of fun at him. It turns out, he was on to something. It’s called spark! Blake Wheeler and Tyler Myers followed suit and dropped the gloves against the Bruins. What about Thorburn or Peluso you say? Meh! It’s their role to protect the stars, so firing up the rest really isn’t their schtick. But when the best players on your team jump out of their comfort zones and do something extreme in an attempt to lift the rest of the squad, you know things are a bit off. The Bruins were off, coming out of an embarrassing loss at home against the Kings, so you know they would be coming out of the gate swinging. The Jets were trying to match up against the intensity of the Bruins from the get go in both skill and braun. Skill won out as the Bruins won 6-2. Tonight, the opponent’s skill level intensifies somewhat, but like the Jets, it doesn’t reflect in the standings as Captain Andrew Ladd and the Jets take on Connor McDavid and the Oilers.
TV:
9 pm CST, CBC, TVAS, TSN 1290
Winnipeg Jets Projected Lineup:
Nikolaj Ehlers – Mark Scheifele – Blake Wheeler
Drew Stafford – Bryan Little – Mathieu Perreault
Joel Armia – Adam Lowry – Andrew Ladd
Alexander Burmistrov – Andrew Copp – Chris Thorburn
Dustin Byfuglien – Jacob Trouba
Ben Chariot – Mark Stuart
Ondrej Pavelec
Micheal Hutchinson
*With Pavelec being activated from the Injured Reserve, and Hutchinson having to go thru waivers, Connor Hellebuyck was sent back to the Manitoba Moose. Philip Iver of Arctic Ice has a great article regarding this move, and it can be found here.
Edmonton Oilers Projected Lineup:
Taylor Hall – Leon Draisaitl – Iiro Pakarinen
Benoit Pouliot – Connor McDavid – Jordan Eberle
Teddy Purcell – Mark Letestu – Nail Yakupov
Lauri Korpikoski – Matt Hendricks – Zack Kassian
Darnell Nurse – Adam Clendening
Player to boo, jeer and sneer at:
Zack Kassian is in need of some lovin’!
Prediction:
Jets 3-1
