The San Jose Sharks are in Winnipeg to play the Jets on a fine Sunday afternoon when there are the NFL playoffs on and the weather is decidedly mild. The Sharks have been on a rollercoaster lately and the Jets are not going to make their lives any easier.
In their last game, the Sharks lost to the Ottawa Senators 6-5 after leading 5-1 at one point. In the game prior, they lost to the Toronto Maple Leafs in overtime after Joe Thornton sacrificed part of his beard to Nazem Kadri’s hands. To say they have had a bumpy ride in Canada would be an understatement.
On the other hand, the Jets have been rolling along despite injuries to key players. After weathering the loss of two of their top six defencemen, the Jets are welcoming Tobias Enstrom back into the frame today to play alongside the recently returned Dustin Byfuglien. Jack Roslovic, the first round pick called up from the Manitoba Moose in wake of Mark Scheifele’s and Brandon Tanev’s injuries, will once again be scratched.
As usual, Connor Hellebuyck will start in goal this afternoon and will countered by Sharks starter Martin Jones.
Winnipeg Jets Lineup:
Kyle Connor/Blake Wheeler/Patrik Laine
Mathieu Perreault/Bryan Little/Nikolaj Ehlers
Andrew Copp/Adam Lowry/Joel Armia
Shawn Matthias/Matt Hendricks/Marko Dano
Josh Morrissey/Jacob Trouba
Tyler Myers/Dmitry Kulikov
Tobias Enstrom/Dustin Byfuglien
Connor Hellebuyck
San Jose Sharks Lineup:
Timo Meier/Joe Thornton/Joe Pavelski
Tomas Hertl/Logan Couture/Joonas Donskoi
Mikkel Boedker/Chris Tierney/Kevin Labanc
Jannik Hansen/Barclay Goodrow/Melker Karlsson
Brendan Dillon/Brent Burns
Marc-Edouard Vlasic/Justin Braun
Tim Heed/Joakim Ryan
Martin Jones
