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Game #56 Preview: Winnipeg Jets at Carolina Hurricanes

By PhilipAIver
James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports

Your Winnipeg Jets face off against their nemesis from February 5th, the Carolina Hurricanes. Unfortunately for them, Carolina is a significantly better team at home as opposed to on the road, with a record of 13-9-6 vs. 12-12-4. By contrast, the Winnipeg Jets have a road record of 12-14-2, but are coming off a solid effort against the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday.

Catch the game tonight, 6:00 PM Central Time on FS-CR, TSN3 and TSN 1290.

It's a Numbers Game

Winnipeg Jets

Carolina Hurricanes

Record

25-27-3

25-21-10

Games Played - Points

55 - 53

56 - 60

Division

7th (Central)

6th (Metropolitan)

Conference

13th (Western)

10th (Eastern)

League

26th

18th

Last 10 - Streak

4-6-0 - W1

5-3-2 - W1

Goals For / Game

2.55 (18th)

2.45 (22nd)

Goals Against / Game

2.87 (24th)

2.61 (15th)

Shots For / Game

29.8 (15th)

30.2 (14th)

Shots Against / Game

29.8 (15th)

26.8 (2nd)

5v5 Corsi For %

52.1% (8th)

52.9% (5th)

5v5 Shooting %

7.18% (16th)

6.93% (19th)

5v5 SV %

92.70% (15th)

91.70% (28th)

5v5 PDO

99.9 (17th)

98.6 (28th)

Power Play %

16.1% (28th)

16.3% (27th)

Penalty Kill %

77.8% (28th)

81.0% (14th)

PIM / Game

12:41 (29th)

06:19 (1st)

Carolina's February has been a mixed (though still productive) bag, with a record of 2-1-2. Prior to Saturday's 6-3 triumph over the New York Islanders, Carolina was coming off two straight shootout losses. The fancy stat darlings continue their playoff push, and are now four points behind Tampa Bay for the 2nd wild card slot. While the Jets are hardly 5v5 slouches, it will be interesting to see how they fare against one of the league's best possession teams.

When it comes to penalty infractions, these two teams are a study in contrasts. The Hurricanes are the least penalized team in the league, which is unsurprising given the lack of enforcer-types on their roster. When Brad Malone is your fisticuffs option, it's quite likely management has a very certain vision when it comes to roster construction. Will the Winnipeg Jets be frustrated both by Carolina's skill and lack of dance partners?

Advantage Pavelec

Ondrej Pavelec

Eddie Lack

Record

6-6-1

9-10-3

Overall SV%

.909%

.901%

ES SV%

.928%

.908%

PP SV%

.854%

.847%

With Cam Ward out thanks to a lower-body injury, the Carolina net temporarily belongs to Eddie Lack. Ondrej Pavelec's numbers across the board are superior to his opponent's, which feels like something Jets fans don't often get to say.

With two shutouts and two efforts below .900 in his last five appearances, Lack's up and down season continues. Meanwhile, Pavelec looked sharp against Edmonton in his first game back from injury, making 21 saves on 22 shots in a .955 SV% effort.

Out of Faulks to Give

Tyler Myers

Ron Hainsey

Games Played

55

56

Goals - Assists - Points

5 - 14 - 19

3 - 11 - 14

Power Play Points

2

0

Shots / Game

2.0

1.7

Shooting %

4.5%

3.2%

TOI / Game

22:30

22:14

PP TOI / Game

02:21

00:13

SH TOI / Game

02:12

02:36

Hits / Game

0.8

1.1

Blocks / Game

1.3

1.6

5v5 CF% RelTM

-0.5%

+0.7%

Most Frequent 5v5 Partner

Tobias Enstrom

Justin Faulk

Winnipeg's d-corps continues to be a place where happiness dies, with Tyler Myers posting one point in 14 games and Toby Enstrom one in 15. Jacob Trouba's two points in 11 contests manage to look good by comparison. Thank goodness for Dustin Byfuglien, who is on pace for 22 goals, 28 assists and 50 points on the season. With nine points in his last eight games, he is the team's sole point producing engine on the blueline.

Which gives Winnipeg a leg up on Carolina at the moment.  With Justin Faulk injured during practice last Thursday, the Hurricanes are missing their own offensive driver on the blueline. In 54 games, Faulk has 34 points and 163 shots while averaging 24:39. Ron Hainsey is a distant second in all three categories, with 14 points and 93 shots in 22:14 ATOI. The three rookies manning Carolina's blueline have already been experiencing a baptism by fire this season; Faulk's absence simply turns up the heat.

Also, Mark Stuart is injured. It's Pardy time:

Engine Staal

Bryan Little

Eric Staal

Games Played

55

56

Goals - Assists - Points

17 - 25 - 42

9 - 21 - 30

Power Play Points

12

6

Shots / Game

2.3

2.4

Shooting %

13.7%

6.7%

TOI / Game

19:45

19:24

PP TOI / Game

02:56

03:04

SH TOI / Game

02:04

00:02

Hits / Game

0.9

0.8

Blocks / Game

0.4

0.3

5v5 CF% RelTM

+4.2%

+5.2%

Most Frequent 5v5 Linemate

Blake Wheeler

Elias Lindholm

In the battle of 1Cs, Bryan Little comes out on top. Winnipeg's first line centre is on pace for 62 points, versus just 44 for Eric Staal. In addition, Little is coming in hot, with four points in his last three appearances, while Staal is sporting a five game pointless streak.

With that said, Carolina's forward corps isn't completely devoid of players on fire. Jeff Skinner has seven points in seven games, Andrej Nestrasil four in for and Jordan Staal six in four. Winnipeg can counter with the remainder of their first line: Blake Wheeler has three points in his last two appearances, and Nikolaj Ehlers 10 points in his last 10.

Unfortunately for Winnipeg, in terms of offensive depth amongst the 12 forwards, Carolina arguably has the advantage.

KTV: Winnipeg Jets

Key:

The Edmonton Oilers went 0/5 on the power play, and Boston 0/3 game prior. One hopes the Jets penalty kill is actually improving, but it still remains 28th in the league. Coupled with the second highest PIM/GP, it's a significant reason for why Winnipeg is languishing in the bottom five. It will be interesting to see how the PK performs in the absence of its most used penalty killer, but fewer trips than Saturday's five remains a good idea for Winnipeg.

Tweet:

Video:

Nikolaj Ehlers on the top-line alongside Bryan Little and Blake Wheeler is a wonderful thing.

KTV: Carolina Hurricanes

Key:

Carolina's forward corps is at full strength and Cam Ward's injury is hardly debilitating, however the continuing absence of Justin Faulk is a significant blow. He is, in short, their d-corps' heart and soul. This will be their third game without him, and the system head coach Bill Peters built has done a stellar job maintaining its level of play. With Faulk hopefully returning sooner rather than later, 21-year-old rookie Jaccob Slavin needs to hold the top-pairing fort for just a little longer.

Tweet:

Video:

Sure, I could include a video from Carolina's 6-3 demolition job against the New York Islanders on Saturday. But I would much rather embed a moment from their 10th Anniversary Stanley Cup Celebration Alumni Game, wherein Carolina Hurricanes PA announcer Wade Minter scored, and then proceeded to announce his own goal.

Affection or Affliction

Affliction: There are so many reasons to boo Andrej Nestrasil. He's turned into an incredibly valuable forward for Carolina after being plucked off of waivers. His mother and grandmother are attending their third game in Raleigh, and Nestrasil scored in the first two. And most of all, he scored twice against the Jets on February 5th, including this rebound heartbreaker:

Boo him mercilessly.

According to Nostradamus

While the possession battle will swing back-and-forth, tonight's game on the whole will be a low-event, 28-ish shots kind of night. In spite of this, both goaltenders will give their best swiss cheese impression.

Jets win 4-3 in regulation. Jeff Skinner posts a goal and an assist, while Adam Pardy has a better game than Ben Chiarot.

Stats, facts and automobiles provided by NHL.com, Hockey Analysis and The Hockey News.