The Jets begin a three game Pacific division road trip tonight when they face-off against the Arizona Coyotes. The Jets look to redeem themselves after falling victim to the San Jose Sharks when they lost 3-2 on Monday night. Meanwhile the Coyotes look to collect two points as they look climb out of the basement of the Western Conference.
Puck drop is at 8pm CST and you can catch all the action on TSN3. If you cant get in front of a TV set, you can hear all the action on TSN1290 Radio.
Keys to the Game
Winnipeg Jets
Bogo Returns? All indications seem to point to Jets defenseman Zach Bogosian returning from injury.
Maurice: not sure whether any of the injured players can play on this trip. Bogosian will depend on how he feels tomorrow.
— PATRICK WILLIAMS (@pwilliamsNHL) January 7, 2015
It will be interesting to see how many minutes coach Paul Maurice will give to Bogosian right off the bat. While the Jets want Bogosian to ease back to the blue line, the Jets may need him to play big minutes, right away.
Pavelec Between The Pipes. As goaltender Michael Hutchinson's workload increases, Ondrej Pavelec's decreases, but that may change.
Seems like Pavelec might get two of the next three games, unless Maurice is willing to start Hutchinson on back-to-back days.
— PATRICK WILLIAMS (@pwilliamsNHL) January 7, 2015
Pavelec could see action in two of the three games on the road trip. Pavelec will face a Coyotes squad that scores the 5th fewest goals per game in the league (2.28). With Michael Hutchinson establishing himself as the new face between the pipes for the WInnipeg Jets, Pavelec has a chance to earn more starts down the road and during this upcoming road trip.
Arizona Coyotes
Garbagemen. The Coyotes have been very streaky as of late. After losing seven of eight games, the Yotes bounced back and won 4 of there next 5 contests. Despite the recent success the team was roasted on home soil when they lost 6-0 at the hands of the St Louis Blues. Head coach Dave Tippet had some choice words regarding his team’s performance; “..you can’t play like that. That’s garbage.”
By The Numbers
- Second last place in the Pacific division with 34 points
- Score the 5th least amount of goals per game (2.28)
- Allow the 3rd most amount of goals per game ( 3.28)
- 7th best Power play in the NHL ( 21.1%)
- Worst penalty kill in the NHL ( 73.8%)
- 5th best faceoff percentage ( 52.8%)
- Allow the 5th most shots per game ( 31.8)
Players to Boo Mercilessly
Shane Doan – He was sort of a Jet, right?
Prediction
Jets: 4
Coyotes: 2
