After losing in overtime to the Pittsburgh Penguins last week, the Winnipeg Jets look to kick off the new week. The game is a home game, but an early home game because it is the Hometown Hockey game this week.
The Jets have not played that well, but have been bailed out by goaltending this year. In their last game, Steve Mason was able to put forth a strong performance which will hopefully lead to more good games from him meaning the Jets will have two strong goalies who can platoon.
Up front, Blake Wheeler has struggled this year at least to the naked eye. However, Wheeler struggling is not the greatest concern unless it continues for the entire season. Aside from Wheeler not looking like himself all the time, Matt Hendricks has returned to health and with him the Jets penalty kill has not ceded a goal against in the two games he has played. Correlation =/= causation.
Finally, for the Penguins it is more of the same: they have depth, they have skill, and they have goaltending. While they have not been as dominant as in previous year, they are the two-time defending Stanley Cup Champions for a reason.
